I'm a big proponent of streaming defenses. If you draft a defense early, even if it doesn't disappoint, it seems like one or two regularly show up undrafted that perform even better on a weekly basis. That's not as common at quarterback, running back and receiver positions. Rare that one of those players isn't drafted and winds up among the league's best at a particular position.
So as we enter the home stretch of the fantasy season and the important playoff matchups, we can say with some degree of confidence which teams you want to match a defense up against in the remaining weeks, and which you want to avoid, based on how they've performed so far.
It's not surprising that Cleveland, Denver and Indianapolis are the best offenses to match a defense up against. Cleveland frequently has benched quarterbacks mid-game; that's how disappointing those players have been. Denver has benched Trevor Siemian and will soon bench Brock Osweiler for Paxton Lynch (and might eventually return to Siemian). If you'd known at the beginning of the season that Andrew Luck wouldn't play a snap, you'd have been confident that putting up a defense against the Colts would be the way to go.
In a scoring system that awards 2 points for turnovers, 1 point for sacks and 6 points for all touchdowns and safeties given up to the defense/special teams (shown in table as Pts), here's how NFL offenses have fared so far this season.
| FF PTS ALLOWED TO OPPONENTS, 2017 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | G | Int | FL | TO | Sk | Pts | FFPts/G |
| Denver Broncos | 9 | 13 | 8 | 21 | 28 | 24 | 10.4 |
| Cleveland Browns | 9 | 18 | 5 | 23 | 27 | 20 | 10.3 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 10 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 38 | 38 | 10.0 |
| Houston Texans | 9 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 31 | 24 | 9.9 |
| Detroit Lions | 9 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 30 | 24 | 8.4 |
| Chicago Bears | 9 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 24 | 18 | 8.2 |
| Washington | 9 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 23 | 20 | 8.1 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 9 | 9 | 5 | 14 | 26 | 14 | 7.6 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 9 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 25 | 6 | 7.2 |
| Tennessee Titans | 9 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 20 | 18 | 7.1 |
| New York Jets | 10 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 32 | 6 | 7.0 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 10 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 32 | 6 | 7.0 |
| Carolina Panthers | 10 | 11 | 5 | 16 | 23 | 12 | 6.7 |
| Green Bay Packers | 9 | 7 | 2 | 9 | 30 | 12 | 6.7 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 9 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 24 | 12 | 6.2 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 9 | 10 | 4 | 14 | 19 | 6 | 5.9 |
| Miami Dolphins | 9 | 10 | 2 | 12 | 17 | 12 | 5.9 |
| Oakland Raiders | 9 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 5.8 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 9 | 9 | 5 | 14 | 18 | 6 | 5.8 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 9 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 18 | 12 | 5.6 |
| New York Giants | 9 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 22 | 6 | 5.6 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 9 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 15 | 12 | 5.4 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 9 | 10 | 3 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 5.4 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 9 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 14 | 12 | 5.3 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 9 | 7 | 2 | 9 | 23 | 2 | 4.8 |
| Buffalo Bills | 9 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 28 | 0 | 4.7 |
| New Orleans Saints | 9 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 4.4 |
| New England Patriots | 9 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 22 | 6 | 4.2 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 9 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 13 | 0 | 4.1 |
| Los Angeles Chargers | 9 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 11 | 4 | 3.9 |
| Kansas City | 9 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 24 | 2 | 3.8 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 9 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 2 | 3.6 |
There's some uncertainty here. The Bills just benched their quarterback, so although they've been great so far in terms of FF Pts allowed, they might not be with Nathan Peterman (part of why I'm high on the Chargers defense this week). Minnesota will eventually switch out Case Keenum for Teddy Bridgewater, so who's to say if they'll still be as unfriendly for fantasy defenses the rest of the way.
But based on what we know, the best defenses the rest of the way should include Jacksonville (which plays three of the top 4 teams on this list the rest of the way: Browns, Colts and Texans) and Baltimore (which plays those same three teams, including the Browns and Colts in Week 15 and 16).
But as for defenses that are actually available in many leagues, for those who prefer the streaming route, if you're looking to get a head start on Week 15 and 16, make sure the Bears (who play the Lions and Browns) are on a roster. Washington also might be a nice pickup those two weeks: they're at home against the Cardinals and Broncos.
And if you've got critical matchups earlier than those weeks, check out the Packers (who play Cleveland in Week 14) and Chargers (who play Cleveland and Washington in Week 13 and 14).
As far as offenses that should be avoided, pretty clearly if your regular defense is scheduled to face the Patriots, Saints or Kansas City in a key playoff week, you should be scouring the waiver wire for better options.
--Andy Richardson