We are just about 11 weeks into the NFL season, and the Patriots and Bears are both in first place with a combined record of 16-5. Just like everyone expected, right?
Week 11 was another solid one, as nine of 13 games played on Sunday were decided by one score or less, including two games that went to overtime. Buffalo topped the Bucs in a shootout with help from six total TDs from Josh Allen, the Rams and Broncos won close divisional matchups at home to remain in first place, and the Eagles put up a second consecutive offensive dud against an NFC North opponent in primetime — but still won.
READ: WEEK 12 WAIVER WIRE PICKUPS
Reviewing our streamer picks from last week, Atlanta continued their streak of letting me down every time I pick them, finishing with just four points in an OT loss to Carolina. Luckily, our other selections made up for things, as Baltimore finished with ten points in a win over the Browns and the Steelers had the best performance of the week, putting up 22 points in a rout of the Bengals.
Looking ahead to Week 12, we’ll start things off with a solid TNF tilt as the Bills head to Houston to face the Texans. And on Sunday, we’ll be treated to Steelers vs. Bears and Colts vs. Chiefs in the early window before a great primetime matchup in LA as the Rams host the Buccaneers.
As I assure my wife that the international games for this year are over and she no longer has to endure 14 consecutive hours of football on Sundays, let’s take a look at the best fantasy football Week 12 defense streamers (D/ST) that should be available on the waiver wire.
TEAMS TO AVOID IN WEEK 12
Houston Texans (91% rostered): The Texans have stayed alive in the AFC Wild Card race, despite poor offensive performances, solely on the back of their defense, which is currently the DST1 in fantasy with over ten points per game in 2025. Over the last two weeks in wins over Jacksonville and Tennessee, they’ve put up 26 total points with eight sacks, three turnovers, and a pick six.
With the Cardinals, Raiders, and Chargers on their schedule from Weeks 15 to 17, Houston is a great stash as we barrel towards the fantasy postseason, but they’re hitting a very tough schedule for the next few weeks. Starting with Week 12, when they host Buffalo off a huge offensive showing at home last week, they’ll then head on the road to face the Colts and Chiefs to round out the fantasy regular season. They’re a great defense that needs to keep winning to make the playoffs, so I’m hesitant to pull too much stock out of them, but that’s a gauntlet of a three week stretch to endure and I can’t start them with confidence this week.
Pittsburgh Steelers (58% rostered): This feels like a crazy pick after a 22-point outburst in Week 11, but Pittsburgh benefitted significantly from two defensive TDs, which are hard to replicate. They had a decent day otherwise with one sack, two turnovers, and just 12 points allowed, but that came against Cincinnati, who’s been one of the most generous teams to opposing defenses in 2025.
This week, Pittsburgh heads on the road to face the Bears, who are 7-3 and boast an offense that’s in the top eight in total yardage, rushing yards, and scoring. They’re also tied for sixth with just 16 sacks allowed on the year, and their six turnovers is tied with the Chiefs and trails only Philadelphia as the lowest mark in the league. All told, the Bears have allowed the fifth-fewest fantasy points to opposing defenses this season. This game will also take place in Chicago, and while the Steelers defense has averaged 12.5 FPPG in their four home games since the bye, they’ve averaged just three FPPG in two road games during that same stretch. They’ll also follow this week up with matchups against Buffalo and Baltimore, so I’m not particularly high on the Steelers for the next few weeks.
FANTASY FOOTBALL WEEK 12 DEFENSE STREAMERS (D/ST)
CLEVELAND BROWNS (33% ROSTERED)
I included the Browns in my “Teams to Avoid” section for Week 11, and my punishment was writing “I will stop doubting the Cleveland Browns” 1,000 times on a chalkboard all Sunday evening. I have personally benched the Browns defense twice in their last three games, but after they put up a combined 27 points in those contests, I am vowing to start them for the rest of the season even if they face the Monstars who just signed Air Bud and the ghost of Jim Brown.
Simply put, Myles Garrett is inevitable. He leads the league with 15 sacks, a full two ahead of Brian Burns for second place, and his 22 tackles for loss also lead the league. Cleveland’s defense as a whole is second in total yards and first against the pass, and they’re the DST6 in fantasy scoring through 11 weeks. Even with one of the league’s worst offenses, they’re dominating games and giving the team a chance to win — even though they rarely do.
Cleveland is proving to be borderline matchup-proof, but luckily for them, that doesn’t matter much the next few weeks, starting with Week 12 as they head to Las Vegas to face the Raiders.
This is being written before the Raiders take on Dallas on Monday Night Football, but even if they have a good day against that awful defense, it doesn’t change much for me. The Raiders have allowed the third-most points to fantasy defenses in 2025, most recently giving up 15 to the Broncos via six sacks, an interception, and just seven points scored.
Geno Smith is second to only Tua Tagovailoa with 12 interceptions on the year, and Vegas’ 27 sacks allowed are also in the top 10. Trading Jakobi Meyers to Jacksonville left them with virtually no proven NFL talent at receiver, and even though Brock Bowers is arguably one of the best tight ends in football, he can only do so much.
Ashton Jeanty, meanwhile, has been a relative disappointment as a rookie, currently sitting in 19th in rushing yards with just four TDs on the year — however, with one of the worst offensive lines in the league, he isn’t solely to blame for the sluggish start to his pro career.
Despite their 2-8 record, Cleveland’s defense has been playing hard all year long and should have a great performance in this contest. It remains to be seen who will be playing quarterback for Cleveland in Week 12, but no matter who ends up in that starting role, I see Cleveland’s defense powering them to victory number three this week.
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (26%)
Coming off of an absolute beatdown of the Chargers at home, the Jaguars are 6-4 and find themselves as the seven seed in the AFC. Currently the fantasy DST8, they’ve averaged over 11 points per game over their last two contests against Houston and Los Angeles.
Jacksonville’s bread and butter defensively is stopping the run, where they’re second in the league to only New England with under 87 yards per game allowed. They’re pretty unremarkable in most other defensive statistics, including boasting one of the lowest sack totals in the league, but their 18 takeaways is tied for second in the league which, combined with a stout run defense, has made them a respectable fantasy unit in 2025.
Looking to improve to 7-4 and ramp up the pressure on Indianapolis in the AFC South, Jacksonville will hit the road this week and face off with the 3-7 Cardinals. Arizona has lost seven of their last eight, but if you’re a Cards fan looking for a silver lining, Jacoby Brissett did just break the NFL record for completions in a game with 47.
With a plethora of injuries to their running backs this year, Arizona has yet to develop much of a ground game, and I don’t see that changing against Jacksonville’s run-stuffing unit. The Cardinals only hope to be competitive in this game will be another high-volume game from Brissett, and I just don’t think that’s sustainable at all. And with Marvin Harrison Jr. potentially sidelined again as he recovers from appendicitis, Michael Wilson and Greg Dortch will need to replicate their success from last week yet again, along with Trey McBride, who is always a candidate for an explosion.
Jacksonville has given up the second-most fantasy points to tight ends in 2025, so their success here will rely primarily on locking up McBride, especially in the red zone. If the Jags are smart, they’ll rush no more than four or five on the majority of plays, knowing they’ll be able to stop the run anyway and selling out to ensure McBride, Wilson, and Dortch are locked up on dropbacks. If this is effective, Jacksonville should have no problem pulling out a road win and putting together a solid fantasy day on defense in the process.
CHICAGO BEARS (25%)
The limited reader feedback I get when I put these articles out is generally pretty positive, but that was NOT the case when I picked the Bears as a streaming option two weeks ago. The people hated that decision, fully going off the headline and ignoring my justification, which was that Chicago is not a good real-life defense but has been a solid fantasy unit.
They put up eight points in that matchup against the Giants, although not in the way I expected, as they had four sacks and just one turnover. My reasoning for picking them, admittedly, was due to an expectation of the opposite to happen, as they have hovered toward the bottom of the league in sacks all year but have led the league in turnovers for most of the season.
Last week against Minnesota was closer to what I expect from Chicago — they picked off JJ McCarthy twice and held the Vikings to 17 points, finishing with six fantasy points despite a zero-sack day.
Against all odds, Chicago has jumped ahead of Detroit and Green Bay to take over first place in the NFC North, and they’ll look to hold onto that top spot as they return home in Week 12 to host Pittsburgh. The Steelers comfortably beat Cincinnati in Week 11, but a good chunk of their 34 points came via two defensive touchdowns.
Kenneth Gainwell led the team receiving-wise with 81 yards and two scores, further solidifying Pittsburgh’s need for legitimate pass catchers, but even worse for the Steelers was Aaron Rodgers going down with what could potentially be a serious wrist injury. Mason Rudolph came in and finished with a solid day, completing 12 of 16 passes for 127 yards and a touchdown, but we know what Rudolph brings to the table as a starting quarterback, and it isn’t much.
If Chicago has a full week to game plan for Rudolph, which it appears may be the case, Pittsburgh could be in trouble. Their wide receiver group managed just seven receptions against Cincinnati, five coming from DK Metcalf alone, and it’s become clear in their last few contests against the Chargers and Bengals that the Steelers dropped the ball by not adding a receiving threat at the trade deadline.
Chicago’s ball-hawking secondary should have a field day if Rudolph plays, locking up the few pass catching threats that the Steelers currently have and having plenty of guys available to sell out for interceptions. Even if Rodgers manages to play, he won’t be 100%, which could be even better for the Bears. They follow this week up with games against the Eagles and Packers, so they’re a one-week play as it stands now, but they should put up solid numbers this week.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
San Francisco 49ers (37%): The Niners had seven points in a win over the Cardinals via three turnovers, and will head back home this week to host the Panthers.
Las Vegas Raiders (3%): The Raiders surprised many with a double-digit day against Denver in Week 10, and after a MNF tilt against the Cowboys, they’ll stay home to host Cleveland.
New Orleans Saints (2%): Heading into their Week 11 bye, the Saints held Carolina to seven points in a 17-7 win, putting up 12 fantasy points with two sacks and two turnovers. They’ll host the Falcons in Week 12, who may be without Michael Penix, Jr. after he suffered a knee injury in Atlanta’s Week 11 loss to Carolina.
