In the majority of fantasy football leagues, Week 17 brought with it Championship Week. For most, the season is over, and a champion has been crowned. I hope the week went better for you than it did for this guy—after winning eight leagues a year ago, I went 1-6 in Week 17 this year.
That stung a little. Gotta admit.
But for some fantasy managers, 17 weeks just isn’t enough. They play it all the way out to the end of the regular season and hold the title game in Week 18. It’s understandable—who doesn’t want more fantasy football before the darkness of the offseason descends upon us all? But it can be problematic, as well—including for team defenses.
Take the Baltimore Ravens, San Francisco and Cleveland Browns—three of the top-six fantasy defenses this season. The Ravens and 49ers are locked into the No. 1 seeds in their respective conferences. The Browns will be the No.5 seed in the AFC regardless of what happens Sunday in Cincinnati. Given those circumstances, it’s entirely possible that players like Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith, 49ers edge-rusher Nick Bosa and Browns edge-rusher Myles Garrett could play limited snaps or not at all.
The list of players who could sit on offense is that much more impactful. But that’s someone else’s problem.
Given this unusual week, and the few managers playing in it, this final Getting Defensive of the 2023 season (Yes. I’m aware it’s now 2024. Don’t be that guy.) will be both truncated and a little different. This week features a Baker’s Dozen of defenses—my top-12 for Week 18 and a Hail Mary play for streamers.
I hope that you enjoyed another year of reading Getting Defensive as much as I enjoyed writing it—and with any luck I’ll be back to help you all with Team Defense decisions in 2024.
The AFC East is on the line as the Dolphins host the Bills to wrap up the NFL regular season, Sunday at 7 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock! Click here to watch
WEEK 18 TOP 12 DEFENSES
1. Dallas Cowboys (at Washington Commanders): The Cowboys need a win to bring home the NFC East and the No. 2 seed, and fantasy’s No. 2 defense in 2023 takes on a Commanders team that has allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to defenses.
2. New York Jets (at New England Patriots): Both of these teams will be glad to see the regular season end. But the Jets remain a good defensive team (fifth in total defense), and the Patriots are an offensive nightmare that has surrendered the third-most fantasy points to defenses this season.
3. Philadelphia Eagles (at New York Giants): The Eagles have backslid defensively over the last month, but the Giants have given up a staggering 83 sacks this season and the most fantasy points in the NFC to team defenses. Philly needs this game to have a chance at the division title.
4. Jacksonville Jaguars (at Tennessee Titans): The Jaguars shut out the Carolina Panthers last week. Edge-rusher Josh Allen has set a new franchise record for sacks. And the Titans have allowed the sixth-most fantasy points to defenses in 2023.
5. New England Patriots (vs. New York Jets): This has been a nightmare season for the Patriots, and Sunday may well be Bill Belichick’s last game as the team’s head coach. But no team in the league has allowed more fantasy points to defenses this season than the Jets.
6. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (at CAR): If the Buccaneers beat the two-win Panthers in Week 18, they are the NFC South champion and the No. 4 seed in the NFC. The Panthers are a bottom-five offense that has allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to defenses this year.
7. Cleveland Browns (at Cincinnati Bengals): It’s possible that the NFL’s No. 1 defense will rest some players in Sunday’s finale. But the Bengals don’t have anything to play for either, so injured players like wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins may also be spectators.
8. San Francisco 49ers (vs. Los Angeles Rams): There’s some risk involved here if the 49ers rest a bunch of players. But the Rams really don’t have a lot to play for here either—the difference between the No. 6 and No. 7 seed don’t much matter. Who’s up for some preseason action in Week 18?
9. Baltimore Ravens (vs. Pittsburgh Steelers): The Steelers need this game a lot more than the Ravens do. Baltimore could rest several defensive starters. But the Pittsburgh offense hasn’t exactly been a juggernaut—and it is Ravens/Steelers. There’s more than a little bad blood here.
10. Pittsburgh Steelers (at Baltimore Ravens): The Steelers haven’t been a great fantasy defense this season, but a desperate Pittsburgh team could be taking on Tyler Huntley and Devin Duvernay instead of Lamar Jackson and Zay Flowers. And by “could,” I mean,” all but certainly will be.”
11. New Orleans Saints (vs. Atlanta Falcons): The Saints need a Tampa loss and to beat Atlanta to win the NFC South. New Orleans is quietly ninth in the NFL against the pass, sixth in the league in scoring defense and eighth in fantasy points among defenses for the season.
12. Denver Broncos (at Las Vegas Raiders): Both of these AFC West teams are just playing out the string. But the Denver defense stymied the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 17, and the Raiders offense has gone dormant for substantial stretches in recent weeks, allowing the 10th-most fantasy points to defenses.
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Las Vegas Raiders (vs. Denver Broncos): The Raiders came crashing back to earth after two straight huge weeks in Week 17. The Raiders ranking of seventh among defenses is admittedly something of a mirage, but the Jarrett Stidham-led Denver offense isn’t exactly a juggernaut.
Gary Davenport is a two-time Fantasy Sports Writers Association Football Writer of the Year, Follow him on Twitter at @IDPSharks
