For a sleeper defense for Week 17, how about the Indianapolis Colts? A pretty smelly defense to be sure, but the matchup sure looks nice. Titans have been very generous when handing out sacks and turnovers.
Suppose that you use the scoring system of 6 points for touchdowns, 2 for every interception or fumble, and 1 for every sack. And suppose you were to total what every defense has done, along with the offense it’s going to play against.
Using that process, Indianapolis grades out with 247 fantasy points in a combined 30 games. Just over 8 per game. That’s No. 1 for Week 17, just ahead of Denver, Arizona and Pittsburgh.
This doesn’t include any additional work. No accounting for injuries or teams that have switched quarterbacks. No weighing of offenses or defenses that are playing better or who have cooled off. Washington, for example, comes in at #5, but it will probably be resting a bunch of guys this week.
But it’s a starting point, and Indianapolis (available in many fantasy leagues) is way up there. Colts are also at home. While Titans are more prone to bad stuff with Zach Mettenberger at quarterback.
| DEFENSE MATCHUP NUMBERS, Week 17 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Defense | Sk-TO-TD | Opponent | Sac | Sk-TO-TD | Points |
| Indianapolis | 31-24-4 | Tennessee | 50 | 50-32-5 | 247 |
| Denver | 47-25-6 | San Diego | 37 | 37-23-5 | 246 |
| Arizona | 35-33-7 | Seattle | 45 | 45-16-4 | 244 |
| Pittsburgh | 41-26-3 | Cleveland | 46 | 46-26-4 | 233 |
| Washington | 34-23-5 | Dallas | 29 | 29-29-6 | 233 |
| Carolina | 42-36-4 | Tampa Bay | 25 | 25-25-3 | 231 |
| Kansas City | 41-28-6 | Oakland | 27 | 27-23-4 | 230 |
| NY Giants | 22-26-6 | Philadelphia | 36 | 36-29-4 | 228 |
| Houston | 37-21-2 | Jacksonville | 43 | 43-24-6 | 218 |
| St. Louis | 40-25-4 | San Francisco | 52 | 52-16-2 | 210 |
| Philadelphia | 35-25-6 | NY Giants | 25 | 25-20-3 | 204 |
| Tennessee | 38-18-2 | Indianapolis | 36 | 36-29-4 | 204 |
| Cincinnati | 38-25-1 | Baltimore | 23 | 23-26-5 | 199 |
| New England | 48-21-2 | Miami | 44 | 44-19-2 | 196 |
| Minnesota | 38-20-5 | Green Bay | 42 | 42-15-2 | 192 |
| Detroit | 38-15-2 | Chicago | 29 | 29-18-7 | 187 |
| New Orleans | 30-20-3 | Atlanta | 31 | 31-28-2 | 187 |
| NY Jets | 37-29-0 | Buffalo | 40 | 40-18-2 | 183 |
| Jacksonville | 34-17-4 | Houston | 34 | 34-19-3 | 182 |
| Seattle | 35-20-5 | Arizona | 25 | 25-21-1 | 178 |
| Buffalo | 20-22-3 | NY Jets | 21 | 21-21-5 | 175 |
| Tampa Bay | 34-21-3 | Carolina | 29 | 29-17-3 | 175 |
| Miami | 29-16-4 | New England | 36 | 36-14-4 | 173 |
| San Diego | 30-15-1 | Denver | 34 | 34-25-3 | 168 |
| Cleveland | 29-18-3 | Pittsburgh | 33 | 33-24-0 | 164 |
| Green Bay | 40-20-2 | Minnesota | 42 | 42-15-0 | 164 |
| Atlanta | 19-22-3 | New Orleans | 32 | 32-19-2 | 163 |
| Baltimore | 34-13-4 | Cincinnati | 27 | 27-16-3 | 161 |
| Oakland | 37-23-0 | Kansas City | 45 | 45-13-1 | 160 |
| Chicago | 31-17-0 | Detroit | 40 | 40-24-1 | 159 |
| Dallas | 30-11-2 | Washington | 26 | 26-22-3 | 152 |
| San Francisco | 28-12-1 | St. Louis | 18 | 18-21-4 | 142 |
—Ian Allan

