Best Fantasy Football Week 17 Championship Defense Streamers (D/ST): Lions DST, Giants DST Can Win You A Title

It’s finally here – championship week. (Side note: if your championship is Week 18, let this be a wake up call to leave that life and find true happiness elsewhere) Months of draft prep, waiver research, and meticulous setting of lineups week in and week out has led to this.

Story time: I once faced someone in a postseason matchup that started the Raiders defense against the Texans when there were tons of better options available. Did it work out for them? Yes, because I had the All-Concussion Team of Jordan Love and TreVeyon Henderson and the rest of my team fell apart at the worst possible time, but this person got just one point from their defense in a critical spot because they didn’t even entertain there could be better options out there.

In the above matchup, I started the Saints, who were one of our top picks last week and exploded for 20 points against the Jets via eight sacks, two turnovers, and just six points allowed. Unfortunately, the Saints were one of just two members of my team to score in double digits (thanks for nothing, Bucky Irving and Amon-Ra St. Brown) and I’m about to see my season end unless Brock Purdy and Christian McCaffrey get hit by a bus on their way to the game tonight.

However, I was glad to see a good performance from New Orleans after I told dozens of people on Reddit to start them this week. The Vikings also had a solid day, finishing with 11 points in a win over the Giants, but the Chiefs put up just three points in a loss to the Titans to keep us from being three for three.

Week 17 has a handful of duds as expected, but we also have a few matchups that will go a long way toward deciding playoff positioning in both conferences, including the Chargers hosting the Texans, the Colts hosting the Jags, and the Eagles facing the Bills in Buffalo.

While I pray to whoever will listen to let Tyler Warren and Michael Pittman go nuts tonight while Purdy and CMC lay an egg, let’s take a look at the best fantasy football Week 17 championship defense streamers (D/ST) that should be available on the waiver wire.

TEAMS TO AVOID IN WEEK 17

Kansas City Chiefs (64% rostered): Despite heading into the game eliminated from playoff contention, the Chiefs were a popular streaming pick for Week 16 in a matchup with the Titans. However, Kansas City failed to get anything going on either side of the ball and ended up losing 26-9 and putting up only three points on defense. Now, Kansas City heads into a primetime Thursday matchup against the AFC’s number one seed and their division rival, the Denver Broncos.

This one seems really obvious but given KC’s ownership and the importance of this week’s games, I figured it was worth mentioning. Denver is coming off a tough loss to Jacksonville but is still the top team in the AFC and has allowed less than four points per game to opposing fantasy defenses in 2025, allowing the fewest sacks in the league with 18 and committing just 16 turnovers. The Chiefs, meanwhile, have averaged just over three points per game on defense since their Week 10 bye and have forced just two turnovers in that span. Kansas City has owned this matchup for about a decade, but that ends this week.

Philadelphia Eagles (92%): The Eagles are in a position to potentially do some coasting for the last couple weeks of the season, as they’ve already locked up the NFC East and have little room to move up or down in the NFC playoff seeding. Barring some crazy movement, they appear to be headed for the three seed and a matchup with likely whoever finishes third in the NFC West.

I’m not saying Philly won’t be trying to win on Sunday in Orchard Park against the Bills, but they may also be keeping in mind that when push comes to shove, the result of the game doesn’t change much for them. On the flip side, Buffalo may still be working to clinch a playoff spot by the time this game rolls around, and Josh Allen and James Cook have been absolutely cooking as of late. Philly’s averaged 12 points per game over their last three, but their run defense still needs to sort some things out and Cook should be able to exploit that with ease. Philly may have gotten you this far, but don’t fall into the trap of rolling with them this week.

NON STREAMER-ELIGIBLE HONORARY MENTION: DETROIT LIONS

Just a quick mention here for Detroit as they’re just over the 50% roster threshold on Sleeper, so I can’t actually pick them, but the Lions are fighting for their playoff lives after losing to the Steelers this week and will face the Vikings, who could be trotting out Max Brosmer at QB after JJ McCarthy left last week’s win with a hand injury.

Detroit has everything to play for in this one, and in Brosmer’s only NFL start to date, Seattle racked up 32 points with four interceptions and four sacks on the day.

The Lions put up just five points in a loss to Pittsburgh in Week 16 and haven’t been able to return to their level of play early in the season where they averaged over 11 points per game from Weeks 2 to 7, but with their backs against the wall, it’s now or never for Detroit.

Keep an eye on Minnesota’s injury reports this week, but if Brosmer starts looking likely to start, Detroit is a great play.

FANTASY FOOTBALL WEEK 17 DEFENSE STREAMERS (D/ST)

NEW YORK GIANTS (5%)

The Giants have had one of the worst fantasy defenses all year long, currently coming in as the DST31 for the season. However, they’ve been much better over the last couple weeks, averaging over 12 points per game in their last two compared to their average output of just over three points per game for their first 13 contests. New York was my “they’re awful but consider them anyway” pick in my Postseason DST Preview and, if you took the leap and added them for the last two weeks, they’ve really panned out well.

New York’s scoring was boosted by a defensive TD in Week 15 on the strip sack that knocked JJ McCarthy out of the game, but they’ve still amassed six sacks and four turnovers over their last two games against Washington and Minnesota. And in Week 17, New York will head back on the road to face the Las Vegas Raiders.

The Raiders are tied with Minnesota with the most points allowed to opposing fantasy defenses this year, and it’s not hard to figure out why. Their 16 interceptions thrown are tied for the third-highest mark in the league, and their 57 sacks allowed are just one behind the Jets for the most in the NFL. Geno Smith has been hugely underwhelming all year long, and Ashton Jeanty hasn’t had the successful rookie season many projected for him when he was taken in the first round this year, despite having a great game in Week 16.

Most recently, Houston put up 12 points against the Raiders with three sacks and a pick six. And while Houston is worlds ahead of the Giants defensively, I wouldn’t be surprised if New York had a similar output in this one.

CINCINNATI BENGALS (6%)

Like the Giants, the Bengals were one of the worst defenses in the league for most of the season but have turned it on as of late. However, Cincy has a much larger sample size than New York for their turnaround. Currently the DST28 for the year, the Bengals averaged under three points per game for their first ten games, but have averaged over nine points per game over their last five.

To make their recent stretch even more impressive, they haven’t been facing exclusively terrible offenses, with their recent performances coming against the Ravens twice, the Patriots, and the Bills before facing Miami and their rookie QB this past week.

The Bengals are eliminated from postseason contention at 5-10, but still appear to be playing hard to round out what’s been a lost season. They failed to record a sack in their Week 16 win over the Dolphins, their first zero-sack game since Week 8, but made up for it with three turnovers in a dominant 45-21 victory.

Looking to keep their hot streak going, the Bengals will return home in Week 17 to host the Arizona Cardinals.

The Cardinals have a great offense on paper — Marvin Harrison Jr. is a talented young WR1, Trey McBride is arguably the best tight end in the league, and Michael Wilson has exploded in recent weeks as Harrison missed time. Jacoby Brissett is no MVP contender, but he’s a reliable QB that’s filled in well with Kyler Murray missing most of this season.

Arizona’s passing game is unsurprisingly a top ten unit, but where they’ve really struggled has been running the ball. A slew of injuries in the backfield and an underperforming offensive line has them ranked 27th in rushing with less than 100 yards per game on the year.

The Cardinals are also eliminated from the postseason at 3-12, so this game means virtually nothing to most people, but I’m expecting another strong performance from Cincinnati, who has struggled to stop the run this year but shouldn’t have much to worry about from Arizona’s run game.

DALLAS COWBOYS (9%)

The aforementioned Giants were able to move out of the DST32 spot in recent weeks as it was taken over by Dallas, who boasts the league’s worst pass defense and has put up a total of four points over their past four games. After a stretch of good performances where they averaged over nine points per game from Weeks 7 to 11, America’s Team has fallen off a cliff lately and they were just eliminated from playoff contention after a loss to the Chargers at home.

Dallas will hit the road for their last two games of the year, with Week 17 bringing a divisional matchup with the Commanders. These teams have already played this year, with Dallas winning 44-22 in Week 7. Jayden Daniels left that game with a hamstring injury and Marcus Mariota took over, which makes it a good comparison for us as either Mariota or Josh Johnson will likely be under center in this contest. The Cowboys defense put up 16 points in that game, their highest point total of the year, with four sacks, two turnovers, and a defensive TD.

Despite a top five rushing attack, Washington is 24th in scoring on the year and sits at 4-11 in an injury-riddled, disappointing season. With both teams eliminated, it’s hard to know exactly what we’ll get effort-wise from these teams, but if history is any indication, Dallas is a strong play if you can’t lock up the Lions, Giants, or Bengals on waivers.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Tennessee Titans (5%): The Titans put up 11 points in a win over the Chiefs in Week 16, and will stay at home this week to face the Saints.

Chicago Bears (27%): The Bears are a borderline top ten fantasy unit this year, leading the league in interceptions and total turnovers forced. They’ll hit the road and face the 49ers this week as both teams fight for playoff seeding.

Los Angeles Chargers (18%): The Chargers have averaged over ten points per game over their last four contests since their Week 12 bye, and will face the Texans this week in a matchup that is huge for the AFC Playoff Picture.