Week 17 Fantasy Football Who Should I Start? Chargers, Bills, Colts, Dolphins and Eagles D/ST
Comparing four teams to the D/ST unit of the LA Chargers in Week 17 (with full rankings).
The Los Angeles Chargers D/ST is all over our FantasySP “Who Should I Start?” tool. That means fantasy owners are comparing them often to other teams when deciding who to start in Week 17.
Fantasy defenses are tougher to project on a week-to-week basis because turnovers are more random than yards and opponent skill level can vary greatly. Matchups are so much more important for a fantasy D than anything else (along with luck).
Let’s go through four D/ST groups being compared often to the Chargers to determine who the better play is heading into the weekend. The full rankings for all five teams will be listed at the bottom, so you might get your questions answered even if you aren’t considering the Chargers.
I used stats from NFL.com and our FantasySP defensive fantasy rankings and will reference those numbers often.
Los Angeles Chargers @ New England Patriots
LA turned into a credible defense, both in fantasy and real life, seemingly overnight with the arrival of Jim Harbaugh. The Chargers were tied for seventh in fantasy scoring among defenses heading into Week 17.
Brandon Staley, their previous head coach, was supposed to be a defensive guy. Los Angeles finished as fantasy DEF27, DEF22, and DEF22 in his three years overseeing the team from 2021-23. Whether you want to give most of the credit to Harbaugh, players who were brought in, or other defensive coaches, it’s a stark difference between these Chargers and the recent past.
New England has found their quarterback; now they just need everything else. Drake Maye has been right near the middle, averaging 6.9 yards per attempt and a 67.6 completion percentage. He seems likely to develop into an above-average quarterback when he gets real talent around him.
The Patriots have scored the third-least touchdowns and the third-least points; they have given up the fifth-most fantasy points to opposing defenses. New England offers one of the best matchups for D/ST units.
Buffalo Bills vs. New York Jets
The Jets have a recent history of being a great matchup for opposing defenses. Aaron Rodgers’ arrival was supposed to change those fortunes, and it has at times, though the offense is still below average. New York is just a regular bad team rather than brutally bad on offense.
The Jets are right near the middle in touchdowns scored and fantasy points allowed to opposing defenses. Teams have a middling matchup against New York.
The Bills were DEF6 heading into Week 17, one of the most stable units in fantasy. They are tied for seventh in most interceptions and right in the middle in sacks. Buffalo is 11th in least points per game allowed.
This is a case of a good defense against a “blah” offense. It’s a good matchup that makes the Buffalo defense appealing. It’s a 50/50 call as to who to start between the Bills and Chargers; I’ll slightly favor LA because they play a weaker team.
Fantasy Advice: Start the Los Angeles Chargers over the Buffalo Bills
Indianapolis Colts @ New York Giants
The Giants may have been the team most likely to implode before the season. Everyone knew that Daniel Jones’ contract had an out at the end of the season, but injury would have locked in more guarantees; that essentially meant that he would be released unless he excelled. Jones asked for and was granted his release several weeks back.
New York has been starting Drew Lock and Tommy DeVito in the meantime, getting below-average play that has helped drive their league-worst 2-13 record. Saquon Barkley has starred since leaving for Philadelphia, but he wouldn’t have helped make this team even average. They need to add a lot of talent to compete for the playoffs any time soon.
Indianapolis doesn’t have a great defense; this is all about the matchup. It’s always risky to trust a team without high-level talent, but sometimes you find a target and attack them. Starting the Colts is a bet against the Giants, not on Indy.
New York has scored the least touchdowns and allowed the third-most fantasy points per game to opposing defenses. The Colts, even as the 19th-ranked defense in fantasy scoring, have a promising outlook against the Giants.
I’ll favor the Chargers again because they are the better team, but the Colts are an OK bet if you want to go after one of the worst offensive teams.
Fantasy Advice: Start the Los Angeles Chargers over the Indianapolis Colts
Miami Dolphins @ Cleveland Browns
Another weak offense here, the case for targeting the Browns is clear: They have scored the fourth-least touchdowns and given up the most fantasy points to opposing defenses. Things are even bleaker for the Cleveland offense now because Dorian Thompson-Robinson is starting under center (presumably for the rest of the season).
DTR has been horribly overmatched in his 13 career appearances, completing less than 53% of his passes at 3.9 yards per attempt (league average is around 7 yards per attempt). Cleveland has a low offensive ceiling with Thompson-Robinson under center, making any team facing the Browns an intriguing defensive fantasy option.
Miami has played well on defense, currently allowing the ninth-least yards per pass attempt and 10th-least yards per rush attempt. The team was without quarterback Tua Tagovailoa for four games, lowering their ceiling and putting the defense in tough positions. The D kept them in games, though it might be too little too late for their playoff hopes.
The Dolphins are DEF27, averaging just 4.5 fantasy points per game. Decent real-life defense hasn’t translated to big fantasy scores. Much like the previous team listed, this is a bet against Cleveland, not on Miami.
Given how much better the Chargers have performed from a fantasy perspective, I have to favor LA over the Dolphins in Week 17.
Fantasy Advice: Start the Los Angeles Chargers over the Miami Dolphins
Philadelphia Eagles vs. Dallas Cowboys
Philly might have the best defense in the league. They have allowed the least yards per pass attempt, eighth-least yards per rush attempt, and the fifth-least points per game. The Eagles are 10th in scoring among fantasy defenses.
Dallas is finishing up a lost season, as they missed Micah Parsons for a stretch early and have been without Dak Prescott since Week 10. Cooper Rush has filled in admirably, but he has a defined ceiling, especially against good defenses. CeeDee Lamb has been shut down for the season with a lingering shoulder injury.
This feels like an easy Eagles victory in which they dominate the game. That would probably mean a strong defensive effort, giving them a good fantasy score. Philadelphia isn’t terribly far ahead of the Chargers, but I do favor the Eagles in fantasy this week.
Fantasy Advice: Start the Philadelphia Eagles over the Los Angeles Chargers
Full Team Rankings
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Los Angeles Chargers
- Buffalo Bills
- Miami Dolphins
- Indianapolis Colts
