Transcription
Your defense can literally make or break your chance of bringing home that championship trophy at the end of the year, which we've been wanting all season. So, I did all the work for you this week, and I'm going to give you every single defense ranked from S to F tier with all the statistics nobody's going to go into and defenses we can still add off the waiver wire that you should probably start over the defense you have right now that nobody's talking about.
So, drop a like on this video, get some good luck for you on the defensive category. And we'll start in the S tier with the number one defense of the week in the Denver Broncos. This is one of the best internal units of defense in the entire league. And now they get a great matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs. Now this wasn't supposed to be a good matchup, but now without Patrick Mahomes, without Gardner Minshew, it becomes one of the best. We also have Rashee Rice still in concussion protocol. He's likely to play, but even if he does, I'm not too worried about the quarterback situation for them. The Denver Broncos get a great pressure rate on the quarterback as well. I have their ceiling all the way up at 15 fantasy points and their floor at 8.1, the highest floor and ceiling both of the week.
Also in the S tier, we have the New England Patriots, which in one of my leagues personally, I've been holding because of this matchup. They haven't been doing too good as of late the past couple weeks, mostly because they've had some tough matchups, but this is again one of the better defenses in the NFL. They get a matchup against the New York Jets and Brady Cook. They're letting Brady Cook cook, but it's not really turning into anything. It's a great matchup for them. Another team that gets pressure on the quarterback, but they're also good at stopping the pass game. And it's not like the Jets have any defense beaters that you really have to game plan for. If you stop Breece Hall, maybe you're going to do good as a defense. And we know this game is projected to be a very, very low total for the Jets team. So, one that's really good for defenses. The other two pillars that matter is sacks and turnovers. And you can expect both of those things with a weak Jets offensive line to be true for the New England Patriots. So, I have their floor up at 7.9 points, almost as high as the Broncos, and their ceiling at 13.4 as well.
Also, we have the Pittsburgh Steelers dropping it down to our first defense in the A tier. Still a very, very viable option. They get a matchup against the Cleveland Browns who have had their troubles so far this year. We've seen Dorian Thompson-Robinson start in enough games to where we know exactly what we're going to get from him. It's going to be a couple sacks. It's probably going to be an interception and some bad decisions. And the Pittsburgh Steelers defense is the one thing they've been able to hang their hat on so far this year. DK Metcalf is going to be suspended, which will hurt the offense a bit more. The reason that matters for the defense is they're probably going to have to be on the field more often, which is not always a positive, but they can get pressure on the quarterback. They have a great run defense and Quinton Judkins is out as well. So it makes that offense so much more one-dimensional having their floor up at 7.4 points and their ceiling at 13.
Also in the A tier, another defense is the Houston Texans. A lot of people might think they're a little bit too high up this week because of their matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers, which by all means is a tough one, but they don't have the best offensive line. That's one of their weakest, if not weakest points of this team. They've been through so many injuries and the Houston Texans defense is one of the best at getting pressure on the quarterback, restricting touchdowns in the red zone and stopping the pass. Literally everything they are amazing in. I know last week the Raiders kind of turned that upside down a little bit with the amount of offense they were able to generate, but that is not statistically normal for this team. Both of these defenses are really, really good. So, it should be relatively low scoring. Another positive for the defensive numbers here. So, I have their floor at 6.9, a little bit lower than some of these other defenses, but a ceiling at 12.7 with that ability of this team.
We also have the Tampa Bay Buccaneers getting their matchup against the Miami Dolphins who are not playing with Tua. They're playing with Quinn Ewers. Now, is that much of a negative? It doesn't matter. They're not that different of a quarterback in allowing fantasy points to opposing defenses. The Buccaneers are a bit more of a pass funnel of a team, but it's not like this Miami Dolphins team is burning games every single time. So, I have their ceiling up at 12.5 and their floor down at 6.9 because the Buccaneers are the worst internal unit that we've had so far in this list.
We also have the Detroit Lions, which I love against the Minnesota Vikings. The only downside here is that their pass defense is very, very atrocious. They are top three in fantasy points allowed to the wide receivers and quarterbacks, but Minnesota is starting Jaren Hall at quarterback. So, it doesn't look like we're going to have J.J. McCarthy in, and that does hurt this team a ton. So, it makes them a bit more safe. I have their floor at 6.6 because with how bad this pass defense is, it does carry some risk, but their ceiling is up at 12.4 just because of the situation of this matchup.
The Seattle Seahawks is another great option potentially on some waiver wires in leagues. They get a matchup against the Carolina Panthers who have been playing pretty decent as of late. A very, very important game as far as playoff implications for both of these teams. So, they will be playing all out. The Seattle Seahawks defense amazing at getting pressure on the quarterback, keeping games low scoring as you can see with these statistics on screen. It's just a question of what version of Bryce Young will we get. Is it going to be MVP Bryce Young, playoff Bryce Young, or is it going to be trash Bryce Young? All of the possibilities are there. The Carolina Panthers offensive line is decent, but I have their ceiling at 12.2 and their floor at 6.9 as well.
We can look at another defense possibly on your waiver wire still. It is the New Orleans Saints. They honestly have been one of the most slept on defenses over the past few weeks. They did amazing last week in that matchup. Now they get another positive one against the Tennessee Titans which are top 10, top five in fantasy points allowed to opposing defenses. This team has been forcing some turnovers. Now the Tennessee Titans offense is looking pretty decent as of the second half of the season. A lot of that is thanks to their run game working, but Will Levis still takes his sacks and it's still a positive matchup. I have their ceiling at 12.7, so higher than some of these other ones in case the Titans look like the old Titans, but their floor at 6.8.
We can also get the Los Angeles Rams defense who I have against the Atlanta Falcons. The Rams defense is great internally. The Atlanta Falcons can generate some offense, but we are going with Kirk Cousins at quarterback, which is going to restrict the upside of this offense in general. And the way that the Rams run their defense really do cause problems for opposing quarterbacks because of the schemes that they're using and they drop out of coverage all the time. This is one of the better offenses that we're dealing with in this video so far. So, I do have their floor down at 6.5, but their ceiling at 12.3.
Dropping it down another tier. This is a clear tier drop. You can still get these guys if you need them. It's going to be the Jacksonville Jaguars. They get a matchup against the Indianapolis Colts, which haven't looked terrible, honestly. But there is a chance we don't have Anthony Richardson starting in this game. And Riley Leonard will be the starting quarterback, which is even more positive for this Jaguars team. Now, the Jaguars defense themselves are a very, very good run defense, which is great when you're dealing with Jonathan Taylor at the position. So, if they can slow him down and leave the pass game to beat them, it's going to be a great situation for them. Riley Leonard is definitely going to be the more positive quarterback for this defense. But even if we do get Anthony Richardson, I'm not worried about this Jacksonville Jaguars defense. They're just lower down this tier of defenses because of all the options that we do have. I have their floor at 6.1 and their ceiling at 11.7 fantasy points.
We can also go through and get the Green Bay Packers. This defense and this situation has so much riding on it because they get a matchup against the Baltimore Ravens, which might not be with Lamar Jackson healthy in this matchup. And if that is true, the Packers are a great one. Now, they might not have Jordan Love on their team. And Michael Parsons is out. So, it has been moving this defense back a few spots every single week in the rankings. But, if we don't have Lamar Jackson, they could be a safe option at a 5.7 floor. Again, if he does play, it's not going to be a great situation for them. But, a ceiling at 10.6 if all those things are true.
You can also go through and get the Cleveland Browns who get theirs against the Pittsburgh Steelers. We're not going to have DK Metcalf healthy in this matchup. He is suspended. So, it makes that offense that much more one-dimensional. And the Browns defense is very, very good at stopping the run. If you stop the run of the Pittsburgh Steelers, there's not much else you can do because of the receiving options being very, very poor. I have their ceiling at 10.9 and their floor at 5.9 as well.
You can also get the Los Angeles Chargers if you need them against the Houston Texans and all the defenses we can go through and pick up off the waiver wire. Your top option is going to be the Pittsburgh Steelers in some leagues. They are out there against the Cleveland Browns. We talked about how positive this matchup is, but if they're not out there for you, your second best option is likely the New Orleans Saints, rostered in less than 30% of leagues. They get a matchup against the Tennessee Titans. We've talked about how positive that one is. And if you look at their last three games, they've been playing amazing as far as a defensive perspective and scoring fantasy points. They're a top option with the New York Giants. Again, one of the riskiest options at the defensive spot, but a matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders cannot be ignored. So, they are another option for you as well as the Cleveland Browns available in some leagues and the Los Angeles Chargers.
But, that's going to finish out this video. Let me know what defense you guys are going with and drop all your questions in the comments. I will be answering all of those. I'll see you in the game-by-game recap coming tomorrow. Happy holidays. All glory to the man above.