Streaming Defenses: Week 12 Fantasy Options for Team Defenses

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Published on November 21, 2023

The theme of the week is matchups between teams with poor QB play. It's concentrated in the six early games Sunday, which will give us the following "battles": Baker Mayfield vs. Gardner Minshew, Mac Jones (or Bailey Zappe) vs. Tommy DeVito, Kenny Pickett vs. Jake Browning, Bryce Young vs. Will Levis, and Derek Carr (or Jameis Winston) vs. Desmond Ridder.

The sixth early kickoff is much better; a matchup between Houston's C.J. Stroud and Jacksonville's Trevor Lawrence that could kick off a decade battling for AFC South supremacy. The Thanksgiving slate trends 'mismatch' more so than 'slugfest', while the late games Sunday project as higher-scoring besides Browns-Broncos.

It all makes for an easy enough streaming week, especially having all 32 teams in action, with the caveat that none of the defenses listed below looks especially appealing for the following few weeks. It's thus worth taking a look at the projected Week 13 rankings, and some of you in really good position may even be thinking about playoff matchups.

Defenses with favorable-looking schedules for Weeks 16-17 include Jacksonville, Atlanta, Philadelphia, New York (Jets), Atlanta, Green Bay and Chicago. A lot can change between now and then, of course, with quarterback injuries (or benchings) having an especially large impact on weekly rankings. It's been a wild year in that regard already: Cincinnati's Joe Burrow just became the sixth QB to suffer a season-ending injury.

Note: These recommendations are limited to team defenses that are rostered

Note: These recommendations are limited to team defenses that are rostered on less than 60 percent of teams on Yahoo or 45 percent on ESPN. Any references to fantasy points are based on Yahoo standard scoring, which doesn't include yards allowed.

Top Streaming Options for Week 12

1. Tennessee Titans (vs. CAR)

5% Yahoo, 5% ESPN
Team implied total: 20.5 Opponent implied total: 16.5
Upcoming Ranks (Projected) — Week 13: 14th (vs. IND), Week 14: 29th (at MIA)

'Bryce Young Lottery' is a term with a much different meaning than it had a year ago. It now refers to whichever D/ST faces the No. 1 overall pick, as the Panthers haven't scored 20 points since Week 5 and have allowed the opponent's defense to score five or more fantasy points in seven consecutive games. Any defense facing Young and Co. is a strong player, even if the Titans in general are held back by their own quarterbacking issues in the form of fellow rookie Will Levis.

2. Denver Broncos (vs. CLE)

33% Yahoo, 5% ESPN
Team implied total: 19.0 Opponent implied total: 16.5
Upcoming Ranks (Projected) — Week 13: 18th (at HOU), Week 14: 27th (at LAC)

The Broncos have won four straight games and allowed 22 points or fewer in five in a row, with their defense overcoming a brutal September to become one of the more consistent units in the league. A home matchup with Browns rookie QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson gives the Broncos defense a nice chance to make it four games in a row with at least eight fantasy points, after putting up big scores on the Chiefs (17), Bills (8) and Vikings (9).

3. New England Patriots (vs. NYG)

26% Yahoo, 28% ESPN
Team implied total: 18.5 Opponent implied total: 15.0
Upcoming Ranks (Projected) — Week 13: 22nd (vs. LAC), Week 14: 9th (at PIT)

Tommy DeVito would be leading the league in both pass TD rate (7.5 percent of attempts) and sack rate (21.6 percent of dropbacks) if he had enough volume to qualify. Daniel Jones (ACL) does have enough to qualify, and his sack rate (15.8 percent) is easily the worst in the league and also about double his pre-2023 career rate (7.9 percent). The Giants still have a bunch of offensive line injuries, now exacerbated by a semi-entertaining rookie QB with a penchant for sacking himself. Nine sacks in a 12-point win isn't something you ever really see, and it suggests the Patriots D/ST can put up a decent score here even if the offense is awful again.

4. Minnesota Vikings (vs. CHI)

29% Yahoo, 53% ESPN
Team implied total: 24.25 Opponent implied total: 20.75
Upcoming Ranks (Projected) — Week 13: BYE, Week 14: 12th (at LV)

We're going against implied totals here, counting on Justin Fields' proclivity for giving up sacks and turnovers while accounting for the possibility that the Bengals-Steelers game features extremely conservative playcalling on both sides. That's why you'll find the Vikings ahead of the Bengals even though Cincinnati's opponent has an implied total four points lower. Kenny Pickett is worse than Justin Fields overall, but the latter has been far more charitable in terms of the plays that matter most for fantasy scoring (sacks, fumbles, INTs).

5. Cincinnati Bengals (vs. PIT)

29% Yahoo, 15% ESPN
Team implied total: 17.75 Opponent implied total: 16.75
Upcoming Ranks (Projected) — Week 13: 21st (at JAX), Week 14: 15th (vs. IND)

The Steelers still haven't figured out how to build a passing game around Kenny Pickett, George Pickens and Diontae Johnson, in large part because Pickett simply is bad (and also doesn't get help from OC Matt Canada). Out of 34 qualified passers, Pickett is 31st in completion rate (60.5), 29th in TD rate (2.1), 29th in YPA (6.1) and 21st in sack rate (7.0). About the only thing he's done well is avoid interceptions (four, 1.4 percent), and I wouldn't bet on that holding up over time given his struggles in every other regard.