If you’re reading this, first of all, congratulations on punching your ticket to the fantasy playoffs. The postseason is reserved for those who have put in the year-long research, scoured the waiver wire every week, and earned the right to play for a championship.
If you’re fortunate enough to be the last team standing when Week 17 comes to an end, you’ll probably have plenty of players on your roster to credit before you get to your defense. But especially in the playoffs, finding and slotting in a winning defense can be the difference between getting fitted for a championship ring or going home early.
Luckily for you, we’ve already dug into all of the NFL’s upcoming matchups to find the premier defenses for your impending playoff run.
We’ll start with a few no-brainer options that will likely be owned in your league but are worth looking into before digging into some D/ST options that are widely available and could be the final piece on your championship roster.
Preparing for a championship run? Check out RotoBot – our brand new AI Fantasy Tool!
SET AND FORGET
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (72% ROSTERED ON YAHOO!)
The Eagles defense is one of the league’s best, but their fantasy ownership has been dropping lately due to some lackluster performances in a tough stretch of their team’s schedule. Over their last five contests, Philly’s defense averaged less than four fantasy points per game, allowing 147 points (29.4 PPG) in that span.
Things don’t get any easier for the Eagles in Week 14 as they travel to Dallas to face their division rival, who have won four straight since losing to the Eagles on November 5th.
But once the postseason rolls around, Philly finally gets a break in their schedule, heading to Seattle to face the struggling Seahawks offense on Monday Night Football before hosting the Giants and Cardinals to finish off the fantasy playoffs.
Especially with a tough Week 14 matchup still looming, it may be easier than ever to scoop up Philadelphia’s defense before they head into a very easy stretch of games at the perfect time.
NEW YORK JETS (79%)
The Jets defense has been the lone bright spot of their season to this point. They’re a top-ten unit in total yardage and top three against the pass and have managed to keep New York in some games despite terrible QB play.
The Jets may also see a drop in ownership heading into Week 14 as they host Rookie of the Year favorite CJ Stroud and the Texans to end the fantasy regular season.
They also kick off the postseason with a tough road matchup with Miami in Week 15, but if you can hold onto them, they wrap up the fantasy postseason with a home matchup with Washington and a trip to Cleveland to face the Browns.
They’re owned in nearly four out of five leagues as of today, but take a peek at your league’s waiver wire for the Jets and snatch them up if you have the chance.
FANTASY PLAYOFFS WAIVER WIRE DST STREAMERS
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (31%)
The Colts defense is on an absolutely insane run over the past four weeks, averaging almost 18 fantasy points per game with 21 sacks and three defensive touchdowns in that span. They have more fantasy points (71) than points allowed (65) in this dominant stretch that’s coincided with a four-game win streak.
The Colts are a hot streaming option for Week 14 with a road matchup against the Bengals, but it gets even better after this week.
For the fantasy postseason, Indy’s defense will face Pittsburgh, Atlanta, and Las Vegas, a generous helping of subpar quarterbacks and disjointed offenses that should bode well for their fantasy outputs.
LA RAMS (36%)
The Rams are currently on the outside looking into the NFC Playoff picture, but a few wins to round out the year could get Sean McVay’s squad back into the postseason after a two-year drought.
The defense has been doing their part as of late, allowing 19 or fewer points in all three games of their recent win streak with eight sacks and two interceptions in that span.
You’ll want to hold off until next week to pick up LA unless you have an extra bench spot available, as in Week 14 they’ll head east to face the first-place Baltimore Ravens at what will feel like 10 AM for them.
But looking ahead to Weeks 15-17, games Los Angeles will desperately need to win for playoff positioning, they’ll host Washington and New Orleans before heading to New York to end their season against the lowly Giants.
The Rams don’t jump off the stat sheet in any specific categories defensively, but they’re starting to look like a playoff team and have a great slate of matchups at the most opportune time for fantasy managers.
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (43%)
Unlike the Colts and Rams, New Orleans hasn’t been particularly hot as of late, averaging just two fantasy points per game over their last three. But similar to those teams, New Orleans finds themselves in the middle of a wild card race in need of a few wins down the stretch to reach the playoffs.
The Saints are a great streaming pickup for Week 14 in a home matchup with the struggling Panthers, and they’ll stay in New Orleans to start the fantasy postseason and host the Giants and their league-worst offensive attack.
Their next two weeks take them on the road to face the Rams and Buccaneers, two offenses that boast star power but aren’t particularly consistent when it comes to scoring points.
You may want a backup option for Weeks 16 and 17, but you can’t do much better in the D/ST slot for the next two weeks than the New Orleans Saints.
GREEN BAY PACKERS (19%)
Fresh off consecutive weeks keeping the Lions and Chiefs’ powerful offenses in check, the Packers boast a salivating remaining schedule for the fantasy postseason.
One of the NFL’s hottest teams will head to East Rutherford this week for a Monday night matchup with the struggling Giants before heading back home to host the Buccaneers. They’ll end the fantasy playoffs on the road against Carolina and Minnesota.
The Pack boasts a top-ten pass defense and is ranked ninth in scoring, and their remaining schedule indicates they may end up even better in both categories by season’s end.
They averaged almost nine fantasy points per game from Weeks 11-13 against some of the league’s tougher offenses, so I feel very good about the league’s youngest team in a much easier stretch with a playoff birth on the line.
Preparing for a championship run? Check out RotoBot – our brand new AI Fantasy Tool!
