Best Fantasy Football Defense Streaming Options for Week 18: Buccaneers, Packers, Titans, Chargers

I know I said that last week’s would be my final defense streaming article of the season, but I have since been informed that some crazy leagues stretch all the way into Week 18. So I am back one last time to pick out the top D/ST streamers for Week 18!

As always, let’s start by going over last week’s picks. In Week 17, I made four picks. Three were great, but one was week-losingly terrible. The Chargers, Dolphins, and Raiders all scored between 11 and 13 points and landed in the top 10 defenses for the week. But the stupid Colts finished as the fourth-worst team in the league with negative four points. If you played the Colts and they lost you a championship, I’m sorry … but I’m sure those people aren’t reading this article anyway. Hopefully this week we can build off those three good picks and avoid the true stinkers, although Week 18 is always weird. Let’s get started!

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Week 18 Fantasy Football Defense Streaming Options

Widely-Rostered Options

On top of all of the other Week 18 weirdness, this just so happens to be a week in which most of the top matchups have been claimed by defenses that are already widely rostered. The Ravens (80% Rostered), Eagles (71% Rostered), Broncos (67% Rostered), and Bills (73% Rostered) all have great matchups and are worth playing if you can land them. 

You may think that the Broncos playing the Chiefs is not a great matchup, but Kansas City will almost certainly be resting their top players, as evidenced by their disgusting 13.5-point team total. It’s also worth noting that Buffalo also has nothing to play for, so it is worth thinking twice about the Bills’ defense, even in a great matchup with the Patriots. 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (51.9% Rostered) vs. New Orleans Saints

Usually, I try to avoid listing teams that are over 50% rostered. But I am willing to bend the rules for teams close to the threshold in great matchups, and there is no better matchup than Spencer Rattler. In the four games where he has played over half of the Saints’ snaps, they have scored just 12.3 points per game. In his last two games, he has the same amount of combined sacks and turnovers as points (10). 

Of course, the Buccaneers’ defense is bad. With that said, they’re not as bad as their reputation might indicate. They rank no worse than 12th-lowest in each of yards per game, points per game, and EPA per play. That’s more than good enough for me to trust them against the Rattler-led Saints. 

Green Bay Packers (57.4% Rostered) vs. Chicago Bears

I’m bending my 50% threshold even harder here, but that’s just the nature of Week 18 weirdness. We have to look hard to find decent defenses in good matchups who also still have something to play for. Even these Packers don’t necessarily have too much to play for, as their only possible outcomes are landing as the sixth or seventh seed. Hopefully, that’s a difference they are willing to play for, but make sure you have a backup and pay attention to what their coaches are saying, just in case.

Assuming the consensus is that the Packers will be trying to win on Sunday, they will be in a great spot. With a massive seven sacks last week, Caleb Williams continues to expand his lead as the top qualified non-Deshaun-Watson quarterback with 4.19 sacks per game. That’s really the only stat that matters here. In most defensive scoring formats, those 4.19 sacks are worth 4.19 points, which is a huge boost that we can more or less count on. 

If you need more convincing, Green Bay’s defense ranks fourth-best in EPA per play allowed, sixth-best in points against, and eighth-best in yards against. They also force the fourth-highest percentage of opposing drives to end in turnovers. As long as they’re bringing their A game (and even if they bring their B-plus game), this is a smash spot for them. 

Tennessee Titans (21.8% Rostered) vs. Houston Texans OR Houston Texans (39.3% Rostered) @ Tennessee Titans 

Bear with me on this one. The Texans are another team that doesn’t have anything to play for this week, as they are locked in the AFC’s four seed. If it appears as though they will be resting their top players, C.J. Stroud included, it doesn’t take a genius to see that the Titans are a great play against — checks notes — Davis Mills. Especially Davis Mills behind a terrible O-line with likely backup weapons.  

On the other side, if the Texans are giving their all, they’re in a great position this week. Apparently, Tennessee plans to play both Mason Rudolph and Will Levis on Sunday. Even 50% of Levis (who ranks second among qualified QBs in both sack rate and turnover-worthy-play rate) counts as a good matchup … especially when the other 50% is Rudolph.  

Of course, this play comes with extra difficulty due to the uncertainty of whether the Texans will play their starters. But if you’re willing to check back in on Sunday to decide which to start, stashing both of these teams (you can’t possibly need the bench slots heading into Week 18) is a great way to guarantee yourself a solid defensive option. 

Los Angeles Chargers (47.9% Rostered) @ Las Vegas Raiders

I’ve been doing a lot of rule-bending and weird picks in this article, so let’s end with a classic “good defense rostered in less than 50% off leagues against a terrible offense” pick. The Chargers rank fifth in defensive EPA per play, first in points against, and 12th in yards against. Meanwhile, the Raiders are 31st in offensive EPA per play, 28th in points per game, and 25th in yards per game. 

Aidan O’Connell is decent at avoiding sacks, but he does rank above average in terms of turnover-worthy plays. Assuming the Chargers aren’t resting (this game has some seeding implications for them), they are a solid option this week.  

Ted Chmyz is a fantasy football contributor for FantasySP. Find him on Twitter @Tchmyz for more fantasy content or to ask questions.