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Below are RotoBaller's Week 12 defense tiers and rankings, or which defenses to stream and start for Week 12 of the NFL and fantasy football season. Our tiered defense rankings are your guide to making waiver wire pickups and adds to improve your lineups, and to decide which defenses to start, sit, target, avoid or stream for Week 12.
Are you looking for some assistance with your lineups? Not sure which defenses have good matchups for Week 12? Can't decide which defenses to target off the waiver wire, or whether you should stream a different defense for this week? No worries, we are here to help every week of the fantasy football season.
Starting the right defense every week can be a difference-maker, so we have broken out our defense rankings into tiers with analysis on each matchup. Some of these Week 12 defenses have good matchups and are not widely owned, representing sleeper opportunities if they are available on your league's waiver wire for a Week 12 pickup or add. Good luck in Week 12 RotoBallers!
Week 12 Defenses To Start & Stream: Tiers & Rankings
Tier 1 Defenses: New York Giants, Arizona Cardinals, Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals
The Giants have actually been one of the best fantasy D/STs this season thanks in large part to their 23 turnovers and five defensive touchdowns. I expect more turnovers to come in their Week 12 matchup with the Redskins. After his Week 10 explosion against the hilariously bad New Orleans pass defense, Kirk Cousins was brought crashing back to Earth by the infinitely more fierce Carolina defense. This is the "real" Washington offense in my eyes, and the Giants certainly offer enough of a challenge to keep Cousins, DeSean Jackson, Pierre Garcon and Jordan Reed in check. The Redskins running game is so bad that I barely even need to mention Matt Jones, Alfred Morris, and Chris Thompson.
The Arizona D/ST has been surprisingly sub-par in the last two weeks, albeit against the Seahawks and Bengals offenses. They should have no problem climbing back into the top tier against the Blaine Gabbert-led 49ers. Anquan Boldin returned but gimped around for most of Week 11, and he's the only real receiving threat the 49ers have (Torrey Smith is...whatever). It remains to be seen if Carlos Hyde will be back for Week 12, and in his absence the Cardinals simply need to stop Shaun Draughn--not the tallest of orders.
I'm calling it--the Bills are going to circle the wagons against the Chiefs this Sunday. Kansas City has relied heavily on Charcandrick West to move the football, as Alex Smith simply game-manages his way to mediocrity. Travis Kelce and Jeremy Maclin aren't enough to overcome the Bills' under-the-radar secondary led by Stephon Gilmore and rookie Ronald Darby, so the Chiefs will need West to do most of the work again. I'll take the Bills run defense over West all day long and tomorrow too.
Prior to their Week 11 matchup with the prolific Arizona offense, the Bengals hadn't allowed more than 10 points to any of their last three opponents. They should be able to get back on track against the Rams in Week 12, who will either have Case Keenum or Nick Foles under center--doesn't matter much at this point. Todd Gurley and Tavon Austin are quite literally the only weapons that the Rams have, and I think the Bengals should have no problem adding to their middling sack and turnover totals.
Tier 2 Defenses: Philadelphia Eagles, Denver Broncos, Carolina Panthers, Pittsburgh Steelers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Atlanta Falcons
The Eagles found out just how good Jameis Winston and the Buccaneers can be, as he hung five touchdowns on them while Doug Martin busted out 235 yards on the ground. I like the Eagles' chances to return to form against a much less robust Detroit offense. Matthew Stafford has been held to 282 yards or fewer in all but one game this season, which isn't enough to win many games given how bad Joique Bell and Ameer Abdullah have been. Philly should be able to force at least two turnovers on Thanksgiving.
The Broncos are still the unquestioned number one defense in fantasy football despite a string of average performances. Unfortunately they'll get Tom Brady and the Patriots in Week 12, who are still the top offense in football despite the losses of Julian Edelman and Dion Lewis. Brady is lethal as long as he has Rob Gronkowski and Brandon LaFell over the top and LeGarrette Blount punishing people on the ground, but if anyone can slow him down it's the Broncos. The Patriots are missing some key pieces on their offensive line, so expect Denver to put Brady on his back at least a few times to add to their league-leading sack total.
The Panthers might not be the best fantasy defense in the league (they're still top-five), but they certainly rival the Broncos for best real-life defense. They are typically a lock for the top tier, but they'll face a resurgent Cowboys team on Thanksgiving, and I think they are ripe for their first loss. Tony Romo has a knack for winning on Turkey Day, as he's compiled a 6-2 record on the holiday in his career. With his usual contingent of weapons (Dez Bryant, Terrance Williams and Jason Witten) and a healthy Darren McFadden ready to roll, I like the Cowboys to upset the Panthers and keep their playoff hopes alive.
The Steelers with a healthy Ben Roethlisberger are a playoff team, plain and simple. In Big Ben's absence it's been the defense that has kept the Pittsburgh faithful's hopes alive. They're tied for fifth in the NFL in sacks, and have racked up 18 turnovers in 10 games as well. They should be able to add to that sack total against the porous Seattle offensive line, and at the very least they'll be able to shut down Russell Wilson, Jimmy Graham and...I guess Doug Baldwin? The big challenge will be stopping rookie phenom Thomas Rawls, who just hung over 200 yards on the hapless 49ers in Week 11. I believe the Steelers are up to the challenge.
There's not much to say about the Buccaneers. They've been a solid fantasy D/ST in good matchups, which is what they have in Week 12. They'll head to Indianapolis to face 40-year-old Matt Hasselbeck and the Colts, and should be able to come away with at least 7-10 fantasy points. T.Y. Hilton and Donte Moncrief are not as effective with the game-managing veteran under center, and the Colts will likely run Frank Gore into the ground. The Bucs have a high floor this week and make a great streaming option.
Teddy Bridgewater simply can't light anybody up despite the emergence of Stefon Diggs, leaving Adrian Peterson as the only hurdle for the Falcons to overcome. Believe it or not, Atlanta is the second-best run defense in the NFL as far as total rushing yards allowed, and I think they hold Peterson in check and merit a fantasy start.
Tier 3 Defenses: New York Jets, Seattle Seahawks, St. Louis Rams, Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings
Hey, so...what the hell's up with the Jets? They were touted as one of the best fantasy defenses coming into the season, but that simply hasn't been the case. They haven't been bad per se, but they certainly haven't been elite for quite some time. They'll get the Dolphins in Week 12, but this feels like a trap game to me. Lamar Miller and Jay Ajayi are a potent 1-2 punch on the ground (if somebody would just USE THEM, Dan Campbell), and I think Ryan Tannehill and Jarvis Landry could have a field day if Darrelle Revis doesn't clear concussion protocol by Sunday. If you have them you're likely going to start them, but I wouldn't expect anything better than an average fantasy performance.
I've already mentioned how great I think the Steelers offense is, and I definitely will take Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant over the former "Legion of Boom". The Seahawks only managed two sacks and no turnovers against Blaine Gabbert last week (although they held the 49ers to just 13 points) and now they'll get a well-rested Ben Roethlisberger and DeAngelo Williams. I don't think it'll be a blowout, but I've got the Steelers all day here--definitely benching the Seahawks in favor of a streaming option.
The Rams are another squad that I would typically have towards the top of the list, but I don't trust them as much against the Bengals this week. Andy Dalton looked much better against the Cardinals in Week 11 than anyone anticipated, and Gio Bernard and Jeremy Hill played their roles to perfection. Tyler Eifert is going to be a matchup problem, and A.J. Green is always a threat to erupt. Skip the Rams if you've got a better option out there.
The Kansas City Chiefs are typically one of the best fantasy defenses, and that has held true in 2015. They've posted 14 turnovers and a whopping 18 sacks in the last five games, but they'll have to stop the Bills offense in Week 12. Tyrod Taylor has been careful with the ball, relying more on LeSean McCoy and Karlos Williams to do damage. Sammy Watkins is the only real aerial threat, and I expect more of that formula in Week 12--ground-and-pound with some deep shots to Watkins. There's a low ceiling for the Chiefs, keeping them lower in my rankings.
The Patriots get the Broncos in Week 12, and damned if I don't believe in Brock Osweiler. All he needs to do is put up Alex Smith-type numbers and the Broncos should compete every week. If Emmanuel Sanders can return, Osweiler will have four legitimate weapons (Sanders, Demaryius Thomas, Vernon Davis and Cody Latimer) in addition to an improving run game. Pass on the Pats this week.
The Packers got back on track as a team in a key matchup with the Vikings in Week 11, but I'm not sure the defense can keep it up on Thanksgiving. They had five sacks against Teddy Bridgewater, but I don't think they'll be able to get to Jay Cutler quite so easily. He needs to get Alshon Jeffery back to be a legitimate threat, but with Matt Forte likely returning and rookie Jeremy Langford proving to be a valuable asset the Bears offense should continue to roll. I wouldn't stream the Packers unless I had no better options.
The Vikings also have a high floor, as they're good for at least 6-9 every week. That should continue against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 12. Matt Ryan and Julio Jones will be able to connect for at least 100 yards I'm sure, but with Devonta Freeman in concussion protocol they may be without a second dimension to their offense. I like the Vikings chances in that scenario.
Tier 4 Defenses: Miami Dolphins, Houston Texans, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars
The Dolphins make the list because they'll get the Jets in Week 12. Ryan Fitzpatrick and the passing game has sputtered lately, lowering the ceiling for Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker. The loss of Cameron Wake hurts the Dolphins front seven, but they should still be able to hang with Chris Ivory and Bilal Powell four four quarters. The ceiling is especially low here considering they'll have to head north and content with colder weather, but they could be valuable in a desperation scenario.
The Texans are back like they forgot something, and have held the Titans, Bengals and Jets in check for three solid fantasy outings in a row. J.J. Watt is leading the NFL in sacks (because of course he is), and the pass rush has been excellent lately. Unfortunately they'll host Drew Brees and the Saints in Week 12, keeping them towards the bottom of this list. The Saints are coming fresh off their bye, meaning that Mark Ingram, Willie Snead, Brandin Cooks and Benjamin Watson will all be healthy and ready to blow up. The one hope that the Texans have is being able to get to Drew Brees early and often, which is certainly possible--but I'm not putting any money on it.
Sigh. I hate putting the Cleveland Poo...excuse me, Browns on this list. The matchup is simply too good this time around to ignore. Both Joe Flacco and Justin Forsett suffered serious injuries in Week 11, meaning that the Browns will be tasked with stopping Matt Schaub, Javorius Allen and Kamar Aiken. That's it. Those are the three key pieces in the Ravens offense. There's no way the Browns screw this one up, right? Right? You guys...?
The Eagles looked positively awful on offense in Week 11--Mark Sanchez looked like a backup, DeMarco Murray had people questioning his effort, and Ryan Mathews was out with a concussion. They'll travel to Detroit in Week 12, making the Lions worth a look as a streaming option.
The Jaguars get the Chargers, who looked just as inept as the Eagles on offense last week. Philip Rivers has been unproductive for the last two weeks, and the offense as a whole has been awful since Keenan Allen was lost for the season. Melvin Gordon is nothing more than a short-yardage back, with Danny Woodhead doing most of the real damage. Rivers barely looked at Antonio Gates and Ladarius Green in Week 11, and he'll need to do that if he wants to succeed. I like the Jaguars chances for a decent fantasy day.
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