Streaming Defenses: Week 14 Fantasy Options for Team Defenses

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Published on December 5, 2022

Week 13 brought two more significant injuries to starting QBs, which means big changes to D/ST matchups against Baltimore (for the next week or three) and San Francisco (for the rest of the season). Matthew Stafford, meanwhile, has officially been ruled out for the remainder of the season, all but locking in the Rams as a top-three matchup from this point forward (they might be anyway even with a healthy Stafford, given all the other injuries).

While a lot will change throughout December, I now have three defenses that have struggled for most of the season — Seahawks, Browns, Chargers — ranked Top 15 for Weeks 16 and 17 (the fantasy playoffs in most leagues). All three are reasonable stashes for those who don't have the 49ers or an even better playoff pairing, e.g., TEN+KC or NYJ+TB.

	Week 16		Week 17
1	Titans (vs. HOU)	1	Bucs (vs. CAR)
2	49ers (vs. WAS)	2	Chiefs (vs. DEN)
3	Bills (at CHI)	3	Ravens (vs. PIT)
4	Jets (vs. JAX)	4	Eagles (vs. NO)
5	Ravens (vs. ATL)	5	Jaguars (at HOU)
6	Broncos (at LAR)	6	Chargers (vs. LAR)
7	Browns (vs. NO)	7	49ers (at LV)
8	Lions (at CAR)	8	Seahawks (vs. NYJ)
9	Bucs (at ARZ)	9	Browns (at WAS)
10	Commanders (at SF)	10	Giants (vs. IND)
11	Chargers (at IND)	11	Cowboys (at TEN)
12	Bengals (at NE)	12	Dolphins (at NE)
13	Jaguars (at NYJ)	13	Lions (vs. CHI)
14	Rams

	Week 16		Week 17
1	Titans (vs. HOU)	1	Bucs (vs. CAR)
2	49ers (vs. WAS)	2	Chiefs (vs. DEN)
3	Bills (at CHI)	3	Ravens (vs. PIT)
4	Jets (vs. JAX)	4	Eagles (vs. NO)
5	Ravens (vs. ATL)	5	Jaguars (at HOU)
6	Broncos (at LAR)	6	Chargers (vs. LAR)
7	Browns (vs. NO)	7	49ers (at LV)
8	Lions (at CAR)	8	Seahawks (vs. NYJ)
9	Bucs (at ARZ)	9	Browns (at WAS)
10	Commanders (at SF)	10	Giants (vs. IND)
11	Chargers (at IND)	11	Cowboys (at TEN)
12	Bengals (at NE)	12	Dolphins (at NE)
13	Jaguars (at NYJ)	13	Lions (vs. CHI)
14	Rams (vs. DEN)	14	Patriots (vs. MIA)
15	Cardinals (vs. TB)	15	Colts (at NYG)

For injury/ranking updates throughout the week, follow me on Twitter (@JerryDonabedian).

Note: These recommendations are limited to team defenses that are rostered on less than 60 percent of teams on Yahoo or 45 percent on ESPN. Any references to fantasy points are based on Yahoo standard scoring, which doesn't include yards allowed.

Top Streaming Options for Week 14

1. Kansas City Chiefs (at DEN)

66% Yahoo, 43% ESPN

Team implied total: 26

Opponent implied total: 17

Upcoming Ranks (Projected) — Week 15: 1st (at HOU), Week 16: 18th (vs. SEA)

The Chiefs barely meet the requirements for this article — rostered on less than 60% of Yahoo teams or 45% of ESPN teams — despite facing a top offense on the road this past weekend (and coming away with only one sack and no takeaways in a loss). It seems we weren't the only ones to notice value in stashing the Chiefs, who still have two matchups remaining with Denver and another against Houston. The only defense you'd rather have the next two weeks for a playoff push is Dallas, and it doesn't hurt that the Chiefs have that tasty Week 17 home date with Russell Wilson looming if you make it to the Super Bowl.

2. Las Vegas Raiders (at LAR)

11% Yahoo, 7% ESPN

Team implied total: 25

Opponent implied total: 19

Upcoming Ranks (Projected) — Week 15: 21st (vs. NE), Week 16: 20th (at PIT)

This is our pillow fight of the week — ideal Thursday night fare — pitting one of the worst defenses in the league against an injury-riddled offense that's given up the most fantasy points to D/STs. The Raiders at least have been better of late, notching three or more sacks and six or more fantasy points in three straight games. On the other hand, they had only 10 sacks in their first nine games, relying entirely on Maxx Crosby until Chandler Jones erupted for three sacks in Sunday's win over the Chargers (giving him 3.5 sacks in 12 games, after 10.5 in 15 games for Arizona last year). It just doesn't take much to beat up on the Rams offense these days.

3. Pittsburgh Steelers (vs. BAL)

28% Yahoo, 45% ESPN

Team implied total: 20

Opponent implied total: 17

Upcoming Ranks (Projected) — Week 15: 6th (at CAR), Week 16: 16th (vs. LV)

The Steelers are an unexpected inclusion, facing Tyler Huntley instead of Lamar Jackson after winning three of their first four games coming out of a Week 9 bye. I'm not sure I agree with the Steelers being favored by a field goal at the beginning of the week, but two points would seem fair with Mike Tomlin's defense and running game looking better of late (against bad teams, admittedly) and playing at home against a backup QB. For our purposes, it's nice that the Steelers have another excellent matchup around the corner Week 15 at Carolina.

4. Tennessee Titans (vs. JAX)

31% Yahoo, 27% ESPN

Team implied total: 22.5

Opponent implied total: 19

Upcoming Ranks (Projected) — Week 15: 21st (at LAC), Week 16: 1st (vs. HOU)

The Titans have a pair of AFC South home games within the next three weeks, and while this one isn't nearly as appealing as the upcoming matchup against Houston, the Titans are favored by 3.5 points in a game with an over/under of 41.5. They should bounce back from this past weekend's dismantling in Philadelphia.

5. Arizona Cardinals (vs. NE)

9% Yahoo, 10% ESPN

Team implied total: 21.25

Opponent implied total: 22.75

Upcoming Ranks (Projected) — Week 15: 10th (at DEN), Week 16: 15th (vs. TB)

The Cardinals have a soft landing to a disappointing season against a string of mediocre and subpar teams, though they themselves fall in that category and a poor finish would obviously be nothing new under coach Kliff Kingsbury. The game against New England looks like a toss-up, with one team more talented and the other better coached. It's close enough to make the Cardinals a solid streamer in deep leagues, with multi-week starting potential given the matchups ahead.