Welcome to the fantasy football playoff semifinals, folks! If you’re reading this, congratulations. It means you’ve made it this far in your leagues, and a championship is right around the corner… as long as we can mail it in over these next two weeks! We won’t be able to do that without getting our fantasy football defenses right, however.
To help you set your lineups in Week 16, here’s a look at three D/ST sleepers to consider, plus Week 16 fantasy defense rankings.
Green Bay Packers D/ST vs. NO
The Green Bay Packers’ defense has no doubt been one of the most pleasant surprises this fantasy season. After going undrafted in 82% of fantasy leagues this year, this unit has come up clutch as the fifth-highest scoring fantasy D/ST this year — a top-eight unit in points allowed (287), yards per play (5.2), turnovers forced (26) and sacks (40). In a crucial week, this productive unit headlined by playmakers like CB Jaire Alexander, LB Egerrin Cooper, S Xavier McKinney and Rashan Gary (among others) gets a matchup with the injury-riddled New Orleans Saints’ offense. In case anyone hasn’t been keeping track of the team’s injuries on offense, the team’s without their starting quarterback Derek Carr, top-two WRs in Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed, Swiss-army knife TE/RB/everything else Taysom Hill and now, they could be without RB Alvin Kamara, currently dealing with a groin injury. Whether it’s Spencer Rattler or Jake Haener under center, the lack of playmakers (and the Packers’ ability to make splash plays) could be a top-tier combo for fantasy managers in need of a sleeper for Week 16.
Atlanta Falcons D/ST vs. NYG
The Atlanta Falcons have struggled to get pressure this season with the fifth-lowest pressure rate in the league at just 18.3%. It’s a middle-of-the-pack unit in terms of yards per play allowed and turnovers forced while ranking below the league average in points allowed. Yet still, this fantasy defense was able to string together some decent performances since the Week 12 bye, scoring double-digit points in two of three games since, holding the LA Chargers and Las Vegas Raiders to a combined 20 points with 9 sacks, 2 INTs, 2 fumbles and a recovery in that span.
The New York Giants offer a similarly intriguing matchup against this Falcons defense, having surpassed the 22-point mark just once all season (Week 5 @ Seahawks) and fewer than 15 points in each of their last two games. The G-Men have no answer at quarterback, as Drew Lock is managing a heel injury, while backup Tommy “Cutlets” DeVito exited Week 15 with a concussion and is uncertain for this week. That leaves Tim Boyle as the next man up… and not much else. The Giants are allowing the fourth-most fantasy points to opposing defenses, ranked bottom-five in EPA per play (-0.142) and scoring drive percentage (25.8%) while allowing the third-highest pressure rate (39.1%) in the league.
Indianapolis Colts D/ST vs. TEN
The Colts have been a better all-around defense than a fantasy defense this season, with DeForest Buckner continuing to play at a high level with 6.5 sacks in just nine games this season. Alongside him are a potent group of playmakers, including Keity Paye (6.0 sacks) and rookie Laitu Latu (4.0) and playmakers Kenny Moore II, Julian Blackmon and Nick Cross in the secondary.
This week, the Colts will face the Tennessee Titans, who are making a switch at quarterback this week after a disastrous tenure for Will Levis as a starter, ranked top-five in the league with 40 sacks taken this year while averaging the third-lowest passing success rate (36.4%) this year. In his place, it will be Mason Rudolph getting the start, who feels like a pretty solid upgrade over Levis, but still has a 6:5 touchdown-to-interception ratio this year and a career average 43.3% successful pass rate. In Weeks 7-9, when Rudolph started in place of the injured Levis, opposing D/STs averaged just over 10 fantasy points per game.
Fantasy football: Week 16 defense rankings
Kate Magdziuk is an editor and contributor for Yahoo Fantasy and co-host of the Locked On Dynasty Football podcast. She is also the managing editor for Behind The Steel Curtain, SB Nation’s exclusive Pittsburgh Steelers blog. Her previous bylines include Pro Football Focus, NBC Sports Rotoworld and 4for4 Football, among others.
