Ladies and gentlemen, we have somehow reached the final week of the fantasy football regular season. In a campaign particularly driven by parity, the vast majority of managers find themselves in need of a win this week, either to maintain a top seed or simply get into the playoffs. Others are battling for toilet bowl seeding or simply trying to play spoiler. Regardless of your motives, the decisions you make at D/ST could make or break your team's chances in the most crucial regular season week of them all. Our Week 14 fantasy defense rankings will help steer you in the right direction and close out the season in style.
With 13 weeks in the books, we have a firm understanding of which defenses we can trust as must-start assets and which can only be used in favorable matchups. However, like always, we have fresh injuries to address -- on both sides of the ball -- and new matchups to analyze.
Leave the leg work to us — it's what we live to do. So, let's get to it! Here are our fantasy defense rankings for Week 14 of the NFL season. Good luck and check back throughout the week!
Which fantasy defenses are on bye in Week 14?
After a heavy six-team bye last week, only two squads will be off in Week 14: the Cardinals and Commanders. Neither has a particularly strong defensive unit, and neither makes for very popular D/ST options (Washington is 18% rostered, while Arizona sits at just 2%).
WEEK 14 PPR RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | Kickers
While neither of those squads should change the D/ST outlook of any fantasy squads in playoff contention, Washington and Arizona off the table means two fewer offenses to stream against. On the plus side, however, we might be able to scoop up a D/ST that was inactive in Week 12, like the Ravens, Vikings, or Bills.
WEEK 14 STANDARD RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | Kickers
Who are the best fantasy defenses in Week 14?
The Steelers (vs. Patriots in Week 14) draw a home game against the supertanking Patriots, who just lost Rhamondre Stevenson to a multi-week ankle injury. Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin recently called pass-rusher T.J. Watt "the best defensive player on the planet," an assertion I won't challenge anytime soon. No matter which terrible QB New England starts on Thursday, the Steelers will be racking up the D/ST points.
The Lions (@ Bears) needed a get-right game last weekend, but they only managed to get right offensively. Little did Dan Campbell's squad know that the banged-up Saints would pack such a punch before and after losing Derek Carr! We still like Detroit to right the ship against a mistake-prone Chicago offense that has the sixth-most turnovers and eighth-most sacks surrendered in the NFL. Go eat, Aidan Hutchinson.
The 49ers (vs. Seahawks) made mincemeat out of Seattle on Thanksgiving, and Pete Carroll's squad has only gotten more banged up since then. San Francisco looked dominant in every way against the Eagles in Week 13, and Steve Wilks' unit hasn't surrendered 20 points since before Halloween. Geno Smith might be seeing ghosts out there on Sunday, especially if he's stuck with DeeJay Dallas as his primary back.
The Jaguars (@ Browns) have been pretty solid since taking their beating from the aforementioned Niners, and we're giving them a big boost since they go up against a Joe Flacco-led offense that could be missing Amari Cooper (concussion). We also love DeMeco Ryans' Texans (@ Jets) in another potentially bad-weather game. Whether Houston gets a banged-up Tim Boyle, rusty Aaron Rodgers, or god-awful Trevor Siemian under center, it will put up fantasy points.
As we mentioned earlier, the Saints (vs. Panthers) have shown a ton of heart lately, so Carolina fans should probably shield their eyes when their squad heads into the Bayou this weekend. The same goes for Cincinnati fans, as the Colts (@ Bengals) have been awesome over the past month (17.8 standard D/ST points per game in that span) and get to face backup Jake Browning.
Don't forget about the Patriots (@ Steelers), who might be tanking but still bring it defensively every week. Mitchell Trubisky could have big problems against Bill Belichick's squad during a short week. Rounding out the top 10, the high-flying Dolphins (vs. Titans) should dominate the time of possession and force Will Levis and company into plenty of mistakes just trying to keep up. Tennessee lost two fumbles — and lost two-time rushing champ Derrick Henry (concussion) — while taking six sacks en route to a loss to Indy in Week 13. Bad could get worse when they walk into Hard Rock to face Jalen Ramsey and Xavien Howard.
WEEK 14 FANTASY ADVICE:
Sleepers | Busts | Projections | Start-sit
Who are the best fantasy defense sleepers, waiver pickups in Week 14?
Look out, world, because the Vikings (@ Raiders) are no longer pushovers. Since Week 4, Minnesota has surrendered just 16.8 points per game while racking up 26 sacks. In just the past seven games, the Purple has amassed 13 takeaways. Aidan O'Connell and Da Raiders better not underestimate Danielle Hunter and the vaunted Minny pass-rush coming off a bye.
Another NFC North squad looking hot in the cold months: the Packers (@ Giants), who just punched the Chiefs in the mouth on Sunday Night Football. Considering Green Bay had three sacks by halftime (more sacks than KC had taken in an entire game before Week 13), we like the Pack's chances of getting to Tommy DeVito this weekend.
With multiple typically strong defenses facing tough matchups — namely the Ravens (vs. Rams), Chiefs (vs. Bills), Jets (vs. Texans), and Cowboys (vs. Eagles) — you might consider opting for a higher-ceiling streamer like the Falcons (vs. Buccaneers), Bengals (vs. Colts), Raiders (vs. Vikings), or Giants (vs. Packers). We still have the former four ranked above the latter quartet, though, as we tend to favor the higher-floor options once we hit the teens. Tampa, Cincy, Green Bay, and Minnesota with Justin Jefferson back might all be too volatile to stream against over a weekly powerhouse defense in a difficult matchup.
Be sure to check in throughout the week for updates and tweaks.
WEEK 14 DFS:
DK lineup | FD lineup | Best values | Best stacks
Fantasy Defense Rankings Week 14: Who to start, sit at D/ST
Rank Player
1 Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Patriots
2 Detroit Lions @ Bears
3 San Francisco 49ers vs. Seahawks
4 Jacksonville Jaguars @ Browns
5 Houston Texans @ Jets
6 New Orleans Saints vs. Panthers
7 Indianapolis Colts @ Bengals
8 New England Patriots @ Steelers
9 Cleveland Browns vs. Jaguars
10 Miami Dolphins vs. Titans
11 Baltimore Ravens vs. Rams
12 Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Falcons
13 Minnesota Vikings @ Raiders
14 Green Bay Packers @ Giants
15 Kansas City Chiefs vs. Bills
16 New York Jets vs. Texans
17 Dallas Cowboys vs. Eagles
18 Atlanta Falcons vs. Buccaneers
19 Cincinnati Bengals vs. Colts
20 Las Vegas Raiders vs. Vikings
21 New York Giants vs. Packers
22 Buffalo Bills @ Chiefs
23 Chicago Bears vs. Lions
24 Los Angeles Rams @ Ravens
25 Los Angeles Chargers vs. Broncos
26 Denver Broncos @ Chargers
27 Philadelphia Eagles @ Cowboys
28 Tennessee Titans @ Dolphins
29 Seattle Seahawks @ 49ers
30 Carolina Panthers @ Saints
