Back in August, I recommended a few DTBC combinations for fantasy owners to use throughout the season. My top recommendation was GB/DAL, who have combined to score 69 points through eight weeks (8.6 ppg). This combo started a bit slow, as Dallas posted a goose egg in Week 2, over the last three weeks, it has scored 44 combined points.

Still own these two defenses? You can still hold onto them, but Week 15 is looking a little rough as the Packers play in Pittsburgh and the Cowboys visit the Saints. Green Bay just isn’t putting much pressure on the QB, so Ben Roethlisberger may be able to sit back and pick apart the Packer secondary.

If don’t own a top tier defense (PHI, NO, MIN, BAL and PIT, now that they have Troy Polamalu back), you may want to consider acquiring two good but not great defenses that combine to have a favorable schedule down the stretch. Normally, it doesn’t make sense to carry two defenses, but now that most of the teams are past their byes, it’s not necessary to hold onto bye week fill-ins because you’re probably not going to need them.

There are eleven DTs that are owned in more than two-thirds of ESPN leagues making it somewhat unlikely that they’re available on your league’s waiver wire. This list includes the aforementioned six teams along with the Broncos, Packers, Giants, Jets, Bears and Colts. If you have one of these six, it might behoove you to grab a defense with a complementary schedule.

I’m targeting nine defenses — the Cardinals, Patriots, Texans, 49ers, Bengals, Cowboys, Falcons, Seahawks and the Dolphins — that either mesh well with the Broncos, Packers, Giants and Jets, or with each other. These defenses are all ranked in the top 22 and are available in at least a third of ESPN fantasy leagues. These are defenses that relatively healthy and have had success in good matchups. Here’s a look:

If you have the Broncos (good matchups in Weeks 9, 10 and 15)…
…pick up the Cowboys (11, 12, 16), Cardinals (11, 15, 16), Dolphins (11, 14) or the Bengals (11, 12, 13). If you’re just eyeing a strong playoff run, pick up the Patriots (14, 16).

If you have the Packers (9, 12)…
…pick up the Bengals (11, 12, 13), the Texans (13, 15) or the Cardinals (11, 15, 16). Arizona would have you better positioned for the playoffs.

If you have the Giants (15, 16)…
…pick up the Falcons (9, 10), Bengals (11, 12, 13), or the Dolphins (11, 14). If you just want to be strong for a three-week playoff, pick up the Patriots (14, 16).

If you have the Jets (10, 12)…
…pick up the Cardinals (11, 15, 16), the Texans (13, 15) or the Patriots (14, 16). The Pats have a pretty good matchup in Week 15 as well, so you would be well positioned for the stretch run.

If you have the Bears (13)…
…cut them and pick up a couple of other defenses with a better combined schedule. The Bears defense just isn’t good enough to overcome its tough schedule.

If you have the Colts (15)…
…you can keep starting them, but take note that through Week 8 they have had the 4th-easiest schedule. Pick up the Cardinals (15, 16) or the Patriots (14, 16) to give yourself a fall back plan if they start to stink it up. They just lost Bob Sanders for the year.

Not in any of these situations? Consider picking up a pair of middling defenses from the table below with complementary schedules. The weeks where each team have good or great matchups are listed without an asterisk. Weeks with an asterisk represent matchups that are pretty good or solid. I’ve ranked each combination based on their pure strength of schedule (from Footballguys). If you feel better about one particular defense — for example, I like the Patriots the most — then bump them up a little bit. Combos without a rating are decent to bad.

If you’re team is looking really strong and is destined for the playoffs, then you can focus on finding a combo that has a great schedule in the fantasy postseason (Week 14-16). I’ve listed those combos in green (or a green box, if those combos — in this case ARI/MIA or NE/HOU — didn’t earn a rating).

I’m targeting the Patriots due to their terrific schedule during the fantasy playoffs (CAR, @ BUF, JAX), but if New England isn’t available, ARI/SEA, ARI/HOU and HOU/DAL all offer a nice combined schedule the rest of the way.

If your team isn’t in good shape and needs to make a run, you may want to grab one of the combos that has a good schedule over the next four or five weeks (ATL/CIN or ATL/DAL, for example) and hope that you can make a run. Another option is to play DTBWW, which is a weekly post here at TSR.

If you have any questions, fire away. I’ll do my best to answer them.