2024 NFL Defense Rankings Week 16

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  • By brandonfurtado2

    Rank Defense Opponent Blurb
    1 Packers Saints Green Bay’s D has been top-five in fantasy, destroyed Seattle last week, and put up 16 fantasy points. The Saints don’t have competent QB play.
    2 Bengals Browns Normally, Cincinnati wouldn’t be this high, but Cleveland just benched Jameis Winston and are down to their third-string QB. There is no reason for them to fail this week.
    3 Vikings Seahawks Minnesota still sports a top-three fantasy D and Seahawks QB Geno Smith has turnover problems.
    4 Falcons Giants Like Cincinnati, Atlanta’s D wouldn’t be this high if they faced any other opponent. The Giants don’t have steady QB play, can’t score, and are injury-riddled. Couple that with the fact that Atlanta has posted two double-digit fantasy performances in the last three weeks, the Giants could be in for a long day.
    5 Bills Patriots Buffalo’s secondary is not good, but having an easy opponent at home after two straight road games seems like a nice remedy. New England’s offense is not good as a whole and can’t really score.
    6 Colts Titans Tennessee made a QB change to Mason Rudolph. There is a chance he is better than Will Levis, but Rudolph is not a starting-caliber QB. The Colts had a great performance against the Broncos last week on the road, so a nice home win seems in order.
    7 Cardinals Panthers Arizona’s D sits in the middle of the pack, but they face a Panthers team whose offense is inconsistent at best and slightly injured. This could be a big game for the birds.
    8 Lions Bears Detroit is injured all over their roster, but the Bears offense is showing no sign of life right now. Chicago’s offensive line is brutal, so Detroit could wreck them this week. This D could use a boost after a -12 fantasy point performance last week against the Bills.
    9 Broncos Chargers Denver still has the best fantasy D this year. They have eight double-digit fantasy performances. The only issue is that Justin Herbert only has two interceptions on the year, so turnovers might be hard to come by. However, L.A. is not a high-scoring offense, so Denver could have a good day once again.
    10 Eagles Commanders Usually, these two teams split the season series. However, the Eagles sport the best D in football and one of the best offenses in terms of time of possession. Washington, who struggled against a bad Saints team last week, might have limited possessions to work with offensively.
    11 Buccaneers Cowboys Dallas had a great game against Carolina last week, but that’s a given. Tampa Bay’s D has put up three double-digit fantasy performances in the last four weeks. Cooper Rush is not a good QB despite a great game last week, so the Bucs should feast.
    12 Chargers Broncos This Chargers D is still top-10 in fantasy this year despite a bad showing against the Buccaneers last week. They face a Broncos offense that is extremely inconsistent with a rookie QB in Bo Nix, who has thrown five interceptions in the last two games. Between the inconsistent Broncos offense and being at home this week, the Chargers could be a very good start this week.
    13 Ravens Steelers Baltimore’s D has been near the bottom-five in fantasy this season. They’re at home this week against an inconsistent Steelers offense that may be without star WR George Pickens once again. If he plays, this game becomes interesting. If not, this D can have a good day against a sluggish offense.
    14 49ers Dolphins Oddly enough, this 49ers D is still top-10 in fantasy. They face a Miami offense that is inconsistent and a QB in Tua Tagovailoa, who is coming off his worst game in the season. This D is a risky start due to their health and record, but there is some hope here.
    15 Titans Colts Tennessee’s D is not that bad and they face an offense who’s QB has turnover issues and the worst completion percentage in the entire league this year. The Colts have also dealt with a ton of injuries this year, so this matchup is very favorable to the Titans. The only issues are that this D is on the road this week and has an offense that can’t keep them fresh.
    16 Texans Chiefs Houston’s D is top-five in fantasy. They face a Kansas City team that can’t do much offensively this season. The biggest question mark is if Patrick Mahomes will play. If so, this game should be very close and competitive. If not, this D could have a field day against Carson Wentz. For now, Houston is a risky start this week.
    17 Chiefs Texans Kansas City’s D put up an insane 22 fantasy points last week. However, that was against the Browns. This Texans offense, despite being much better than Cleveland, has trouble scoring 20+ points each week. They are slightly injured and have to travel on the road to one of the loudest stadiums in football. This game could be a toss-up, though, as this Chiefs D does not force many turnovers and C.J. Stroud has protected the ball well the last couple weeks.
    18 Cowboys Buccaneers The only reason this D falls in the middle of the pack this week is the amount of turnovers Baker Mayfield has in the last five weeks. Mayfield has eight fumbles and five interceptions in that span. Dallas is home this week and has posted three double-digit fantasy performances in the last four weeks. However, this Tampa Bay team has explosive weapons like Bucky Irving and Mike Evans that can ruin a potential big day for Dallas.
    19 Rams Jets L.A.’s secondary is not great, but the Jets are not a high-scoring offense. DT Jared Verse should be a huge factor in this game against an inconsistent offensive line. QB Aaron Rodgers had his best game of the season last week, but that was against the Jaguars. Don’t count on it again unless the Rams’ secondary falls flat again.
    20 Steelers Ravens Pittsburgh’s D got shredded through the air last week. However, before that game this D had back-to-back double-digit fantasy point performances. Baltimore has relied less on Derrick Henry and more on Lamar Jackson the last two weeks. If that happens again, Pittsburgh’s D could be in deep trouble.
    21 Giants Falcons This Giants D faces a rookie QB who hasn’t taken a snap yet. That sounds good until the realization sets in that Kirk Cousins won’t be throwing interceptions anymore. If Michael Penix Jr. is halfway decent, New York is in trouble. This D gave up 35 points to the Ravens last week in a blowout loss. Don’t be confident in starting them.
    22 Seahawks Vikings Seattle’s D has looked terrible against the NFC North this year, giving up a combined 72 points to the Lions and Packers. They face another NFC North opponent this week in the Vikings. Minnesota has one of the best WR duos in football, a good running game, and a reemerging Sam Darnold. Darnold has thrown just one interception in the last five weeks. The only saving grace for Seattle is that they are home this week and the 12th Man may play a role.
    23 Dolphins 49ers Miami’s D is near the bottom-10 in fantasy, but the 49ers are extremely banged up and their season is basically over. This game is a toss-up, but the 49ers still have enough firepower that they could put up some points here.
    24 Panthers Cardinals Kyler Murray has more interceptions than touchdowns over the last month. That alone could help Carolina’s D from getting torched. While the matchup is not favorable, Carolina is also at home this week. Home field advantage plus turnovers could be the story here, even for the worst fantasy D in the NFL.
    25 Raiders Jaguars Despite putting up a double-digit fantasy performance last week, this Raiders D still sits in the bottom-five in fantasy. They have forced four turnovers in the last two weeks, but it is simply not worth a start. A bad Jaguars offense can’t save this D, although in a matchup like this there is always a chance.
    26 Jaguars Raiders Despite having a bottom-three fantasy D, the Jaguars actually have a favorable matchup for once. This game against the Raiders still doesn’t warrant a start, but Las Vegas is an awful scoring offense with bad QB play. There is hope for Jacksonville this week.
    27 Saints Packers The Saints are too injured and Green Bay can hang 30+ points on anyone. Jordan Love has not had a turnover in a month and Josh Jacobs has nine touchdowns over the last five weeks. The Saints have a very hard task in front of them.
    28 Jets Rams Wide receivers Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp are lethal to any defense. As long as they’re healthy, any defense they play against is in serious trouble. This Jets D has allowed the fewest PPR points to opposing WRs, but it’s hard to see that being the case this week.
    29 Browns Bengals Cincinnati’s offense has too many weapons to stop. If the Bengals had a defense, Joe Burrow would most likely be the leader in the MVP race. The Browns are down to their third-string QB, so their defense will be exhausted from having to bail them out this week.
    30 Commanders Eagles Saquon Barkley put up nearly 200 yards of total offense and two touchdowns the last time these two played each other. Now, with Philadelphia’s passing game finding its stride again, Washington’s D has to be perfect to stop this team.
    31 Patriots Bills Josh Allen is the league MVP right now and James Cook is a very talented RB. New England won’t be able to stop this offense from scoring a bunch.
    32 Bears Lions Detroit may be missing RB David Montgomery this week, but they can still score 40+ points on anyone. They have more than enough offensive firepower to wreck Chicago’s D.
    December 19, 2024, 12:25 pm