The fantasy playoffs are upon us. Everything you've worked for comes down to the next few weeks. Your roster is likely stable. However, you may be rotating defenses. Or, perhaps, you're nervous about a daunting match up against your D/ST. Whatever it may be, we're here to figure out where each team stands as your work on your deep playoff run.
Knowing who to start this week is only part of the battle though. Securing a D/ST that can carry you deep in the postseason is the real trick. Looking at the remaining teams, it's worth pointing out a few things. First of all, here are the team's that have allowed the most D/ST points so far this season (according to ESPN).
Top Five teams - Points allowed to D/ST:
1. Cleveland Browns
2. Tennessee Titans
3. St. Louis Rams
4. Dallas Cowboys
5. San Francisco 49ers
Granted, some of these teams have improved offensively as of late — namely the 49ers, who are averaging more than 22 points on offense per game in their last two games.
Two D/ST options with a good remaining schedule and very low ownership are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Detroit Lions. Each team faces the New Orleans Saints and the Rams over the next three weeks. If you're streaming defenses throughout your playoffs, they're worth a look.
In terms of streaming options for Week 14, the Lions, New York Jets, and Buffalo Bills are worth taking a look at. Each team faces a fairly generous offense. At the very least, their floor is manageable for the week. If you don't have a weekly top-5 D/ST option on your roster, you might want to see if any of these teams are available.
Defense/Special teams, Week 14
(DK: Daniel Kelley; DC: Dan Ciarrocchi; AM: Andrew Miller; JD: John Daigle; SK: Scott Kaliska)
| Rk | Consensus | Opp. | DK | DC | AM | JD | SK |
| 1 | Seattle Seahawks | @BAL | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Arizona Cardinals | MIN | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| 3 | Denver Broncos | OAK | 3 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 2 |
| 4 | Kansas City Chiefs | SD | 1 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| 5 | Carolina Panthers | ATL | 4 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 5 |
| 6 | New England Patriots | @HOU | 6 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 7 |
| 7 | Detroit Lions | @STL | 8 | 7 | 6 | 16 | 8 |
| 8 | Green Bay Packers | DAL | 21 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 |
| 9 | Buffalo Bills | @PHI | 14 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 9 |
| 10 | Cincinnati Bengals | PIT | 7 | 12 | 9 | 12 | 13 |
| 11 | New York Jets | TEN | 12 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 11 |
| 12 | St. Louis Rams | DET | 11 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 10 |
| 13 | San Francisco 49ers | @CLE | 24 | 9 | 12 | 14 | 14 |
| 14 | Chicago Bears | WAS | 22 | 13 | 17 | 10 | 12 |
| 15 | Pittsburgh Steelers | @CIN | 9 | 16 | 15 | 19 | 19 |
| 16 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | NO | 18 | 18 | 13 | 17 | 16 |
| 17 | Houston Texans | NE | 10 | 23 | 16 | 20 | 17 |
| 18 | Cleveland Browns | SF | 16 | 24 | -- | 9 | 15 |
| 18 | Washington | @CHI | 15 | 19 | 23 | 15 | 18 |
| 20 | Jacksonville Jaguars | IND | 17 | 14 | 18 | 22 | 25 |
| 21 | Miami Dolphins | NYG | -- | 15 | 21 | 18 | 20 |
| 22 | Indianapolis Colts | @JAC | 13 | -- | -- | 21 | 22 |
| 22 | New York Giants | @MIA | 23 | 21 | 20 | 23 | 21 |
| 24 | Philadelphia Eagles | BUF | 25 | 20 | 19 | -- | 23 |
| 25 | Minnesota Vikings | @ARI | -- | 22 | 22 | -- | 24 |
| -- | Oakland Raiders | @DEN | 20 | 25 | 24 | -- | -- |
| -- | Baltimore Ravens | SEA | 19 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | Atlanta Falcons | @CAR | -- | -- | -- | 24 | -- |
| -- | Dallas Cowboys | @GB | -- | -- | 25 | -- | -- |
| -- | Tennessee Titans | @NYJ | -- | -- | -- | 25 | -- |
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