Week 17 NFL Defense (DEF) Fantasy Football Rankings: New England To Finish Up Season Strong

Are you interested in getting the upper hand vs your friends this season in you fantasy football league. You can do it by checking out our fantasy football rankings and projections. Don’t forget about the defense either with our full defense fantasy football rankings. Our information is some of the best in the industry and we invite you to take a look for free.

Week 17 is underway, and the top defenses are in a good spot this week. If you are playing DFS or looking for season long help still, you have come to the right place. The Colts were the big winners in Week 16 with two punt return touchdowns and held Carolina to just six points. Houston, Arizona, New York all had some surprisingly high scores, where the Browns, Cowboys, Seahawks, and Chargers all put up disappointing performances. You can find our season long rankings here.

Week 17 Team Defense Rankings, Stats, Projection

Week 17 Top Options

New England comes in with a chance to wrap up the season strong, and will be going up against the Dolphins. While Ryan Fitzpatrick has been on a roll, he has done it against lesser defenses. The Patriots are also still playing for seeding. Overall this season they have averaged 9.9 fantasy points per game, with the Steelers only averaging more. Staying in the AFC East, the Bills have a home matchup against the Jets. The Bills have a great secondary and 42 sacks on the season. I love their upside this week against New York in what should be a win to close out an excellent season. The Jets have allowed the 7th most fantasy points per game to opposing defenses this season. The Panthers will take on the Saints again, and the Panthers are allowing the 4th most fantasy points per game to opposing defenses this season, and the second most over the last five games. The offensive line is in shambles, and rookie Will Grier is not necessarily an upgrade over Kyle Allen. New Orleans projects very well this week.

Pittsburgh might be a playoff team, but their offense is still horrendous. James Conner left the game again, and JuJu Smith-Schuster is not 100%. Add this in the mix with below average quarterback play, and this is a good matchup for Baltimore to finish things up. Dallas is in a similar boat against the Redskins at home this week. Kansas City still has some seeding to play for and will welcome the Chargers, who have struggled at times this season. They have allowed the 8th most fantasy points per game to opposing defenses.

Fantasy Football Strategy Podcast Week 17 (Free)

Streaming Options

If you are looking for streaming options for Week 17, there are a few places you could go. Green Bay is still less than 45% owned, and will get Detroit this week who are limping towards the finish line. The Lions have allowed the 10th most fantasy points per game on the season, and the 4th most over the last five weeks with David Blough under center. Opposing defenses are averaging ten fantasy points per game in that span. The Chiefs are another one I talk about above, but are less than 50% owned. The Chargers are allowing the third most fantasy points per game in the last five weeks, and Philip Rivers has eight interceptions over the last four games. These would easily be the two defenses I go with if they are out there. However if you are in a deeper league or are looking for monster upside, the Falcons are going up against Jameis Winston, who leads the league in interceptions. Atlanta’s defense has scored the third most fantasy points over the last five weeks. Tampa Bay has allowed six defensive touchdowns, and 10.7 fantasy points per game to opposing defenses this season. Despite the high implied total, the Falcons could put up a big number.

Fantasy Viable Defenses In Tough Spots

Defenses only average 3.9 fantasy points per game against the Ravens and Vikings this season. Chicago and Pittsburgh are good defenses but will have tough matchups this week. However things could change for Pittsburgh if Baltimore takes some players out. Both Baltimore and Minnesota have solid offensive lines that do not allow a ton of sacks. They are also not turnover prone teams. I would be looking elsewhere for defenses in Week 17. San Francisco and Seattle was a 27-24 game that went into overtime. It is going to be a crucial game for both teams and was flexed to the night game to wrap up the regular season. Both teams turned the ball over a combined seven times, and there were four total defensive or special teams touchdowns. I wouldn’t bank on these times of numbers again, and they rank in the middle to bottom half for projected fantasy points this week. I would look to go elsewhere if you also own any of the higher ranked defenses or they are out there for you to pick up.