The Fantasy Finals are here! It’s do or die, and luckily for those of us that stream defenses, there are several offenses who only have draft picks to play for at this point. If you play in one of those leagues that’s still going in Week 18, stick around at the end for my recommendations for defenses to target for that week. Let’s get to it!

Streaming Defenses: Waiver Wire & Start/Sit Advice (Week 17)

If you’re a regular reader there is a high likelihood you already have your defense planned for this week, but if you do need to pick up a streamer it’s a solid week, with 3 of my top 10 defenses available in more than 2/3 of leagues. Rostership numbers are from Yahoo. You can find me on Bluesky.

Week 17 Matchups

1. MIA @ CLE: Dorian Thompson-Robinson took over for the benched Jameis Winston in Week 16. He replicated Winston’s sacks and turnovers, but not his scoring. DTR had 2 interceptions, 5 sacks and no touchdowns against a not-very-good Bengals defense. He will remain the starter, and the Browns will remain an excellent matchup.
2. IND @ NYG: The Giants have not yet announced their starting quarterback for Week 16. Drew Lock is dealing with a shoulder injury and was pretty bad against the Falcons this week, so it would not surprise me to see Tommy DeVito. It doesn’t super matter which quarterback plays – the Giants are an excellent matchup either way.
3. LAC @ NE: The Chargers are one of the best defenses in the league, and in recent weeks I’ve been recommending you stash them to get to this matchup for the fantasy finals. Drake Maye is not bad by rookie quarterback standards, but he is brought down by a weak receiving core and a horrible offensive line. Maye is on a 7-game interception streak and scoring has topped out at 25 points since he took over in Week 6.
4. LV @ NO: In Week 15, the Saints gave Jake Haener the start and he was so bad he got benched for Spencer Rattler at halftime. In Week 16, Rattler’s first start since Week 8, he answered by getting shut out by the Packers. The Raiders’ defense is certainly weaker than the Packers, but this is still an offense that’s circling the drain. Part of the reason they were so bad last week is the absence of Alvin Kamara. Kamara missed Week 16 with a groin injury and his status is unknown for Week 17. Given that the Saints are eliminated from the playoffs, it would not surprise me if they play it safe with the veteran running back.
5. SEA @ CHI: Caleb Williams is the best thing about a Bears team that doesn’t have much else going for it. Since the Week 7 bye they are 0-9. Williams has avoided interceptions in that time, but he is on pace to tie for the third-most sacks taken in a season. This is a high-floor, limited-ceiling matchup.
6. BAL @ HOU: While leading a decent offense, C.J. Stroud is still one of the more sack-able quarterbacks in the league, and has the potential for multiple turnovers on occasion. He threw two interceptions to the Chiefs last week, his fifth multi-turnover game of the season.
7. TB vs CAR: Bryce Young might be the most improved quarterback this year, but it hasn’t been perfect. His 9 sacks in the last two games are a big change – prior to that he hadn’t taken more than 2 in a game since Week 1. He is still prone to turnovers in some games, including a 4-turnover collapse against the Cowboys in Week 15. The Buccaneers are far from a sure thing this week, but the potential for big points from sacks and turnovers is there.
8. PHI vs DAL: The Eagles have been one of the best defenses in football lately and Cooper Rush is a backup quarterback, so why are they ranked so low? Rush has been playing the best football of his career lately. He has been keeping the sack and turnover numbers down like always, and the Cowboys have already won more games with Rush than with Dak Prescott this season. I still expect the Eagles to dominate in this game, but the lack of sack and turnover potential seriously limits their upside.
9. NO vs LV: Aidan O’Connell will get his second straight start after a low-scoring win over the Jaguars last week. The Raiders have been a good matchup regardless of who plays quarterback this season, but with O’Connell defenses tend to make their money on turnovers and low scoring, instead of sacks.
10. TEN @ JAC: The Jaguars have struggled to move the ball with Mac Jones under center, though they did cross the 20-point threshold once in his five starts. Jones does not take a lot of sacks, but he has had 7 interceptions in those five games. That’s becoming a bit of a theme in the back half of my top 10 – low scoring expectations and good turnover potential, but not a lot of expected sacks.

Week 18 Defense Targets

For the last several weeks I’ve been maintaining a google sheet with my analysis of each team’s quality as a matchup for defenses, and a schedule grid to help with planning. Some teams are liable to sit their starters in Week 18, which can change up the streaming landscape. For example, if the Chiefs in this week, they will lock up the #1 seed and can rest their starters in Week 18. I’ll give my current guesses for which defenses will be good, but be sure to check in next week for the latest guesses at what teams will be playing backups, and the latest projections.

• The Los Angeles Chargers are a great defense in a great matchup this week, and have another great one next week in Las Vegas.
• The Philadelphia Eagles are an excellent defense with an OK matchup against Dallas this week, and an amazing matchup against the Giants next week. Both games are at home.
• The Baltimore Ravens face the Browns, who have become an even better matchup since benching Jameis Winston for Dorian Thompson-Robinson.
• The Tampa Bay Buccaneers get to face the New Orleans Saints, who have been awful since Derek Carr went down for the season with a broken hand.
• The Indianapolis Colts have a good matchup against the Giants this week, and another good matchup at home against the Jags next week.
• The Buffalo Bills get the Patriots in Week 18.
• The Houston Texans are certainly a team to sit against the Ravens this week, but are worth holding on to for the Titans in Week 18.