Fantasy Football Week 18 Streaming Defenses: Falcons, Panthers, and More

I've been talking about the craziness of Week 18 in terms of finding offensive fantasy players, but it can cause even more chaos for fantasy defenses.

When picking a team for your D/ST spot, you are always counting on 20-plus guys to make it work for you. When players are sitting out because it's the final week, that rotating crew is also in flux, leaving fantasy owners trusting names they've never heard before.

When picking a defense this week, it might be a good idea to focus on a team that still has something to play for if possible because they will put their best foot forward all game, something you can't necessarily say about every eliminated team. Then again, beggars can't always be choosers.

Let's look at four D/ST groups with good matchups in Week 18 that are widely available in fantasy leagues and can easily be picked up and inserted into your lineup. Most stats are from NFL.com.

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Atlanta Falcons vs. New Orleans Saints

I'm still OK targeting the Saints with the right defenses, but New Orleans has now shown more than just competence, putting up 34 points on the Titans last week. Tennessee is one of the worst teams in the league, something true of the defense as well, but for a team that seems to be at the beginning of a rebuild, the Saints have been impressive.

They are still short on skill talent and have a low-level offensive line, and while Tyler Shough has proven that he belongs in the NFL, he is still a rookie and will have growing pains, even while looking average (in a good way). In Shough's eight starts, New Orleans is averaging 20.1 points per game, which would rank seventh worst (compared to the Saints' actual standing at fourth worst).

The Falcons rank second in sacks and tied for sixth in interceptions, regularly making plays that score fantasy points. On Monday night against a very good Rams offense, Atlanta picked up three sacks and three interceptions of Matthew Stafford.

This isn't a great streaming situation, but it's not bad either; the Falcons are somewhere in the middle this week. Any owner without a solid option could do a lot worse than picking up Atlanta's D/ST.

Carolina Panthers @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Carolina is legitimately good on defense. Well, maybe we could argue if “good” is the right word, but they rank in the middle in points and yards per pass attempt allowed (while struggling more against the run). For a team that was maybe the worst defense in the league last season, that's impressive.

The Panthers are tied for the seventh-most interceptions, but they are also tied for the third-fewest sacks. I feel comfortable calling them a middling defense; again, that's quite the feat based on where they were coming from.

The Bucs would seem like a team to avoid, but I'm not scared of them. They are right in the middle in points per game and yards per rush attempt, but Tampa is averaging the seventh-fewest yards per pass attempt, a real disappointment given the players involved.

Injuries could explain part of that, and they are healthier. When these teams played two weeks ago, the Bucs had a poor offensive day, scoring 20 points and gaining 5.6 yards per pass attempt (average is around 7.0) and 4.3 yards per rush attempt (right near average). Baker Mayfield also threw an interception, a stat in which he is tied for 10th most (along with the ninth-most sacks taken).

I like Carolina's chances of having another good day against Tampa Bay here. The Bucs are struggling, and the Panthers are coming off a strong defensive performance last week against the Seahawks before things got away from them late.

Both because of their outlook and because they still have something to play for, Carolina is my favorite defensive streamer this week.

Kansas City Chiefs @ Las Vegas Raiders

Las Vegas Raiders vs. Kansas City Chiefs

We usually only do three defenses per week, but since we have a high-stakes game here, why not focus on both teams involved? The stakes aren't elevated because it's a division game or because of any playoff implications. Instead, the Raiders need to lose this game to guarantee themselves the top pick in the draft.

Vegas has been doing everything they can to accelerate their losses, putting Brock Bowers and Maxx Crosby on IR, and quarterback Geno Smith reportedly has a high ankle sprain, which would keep him out of Week 18.

Most seasons, this matchup against KC would be a guaranteed loss. Everything has gone wrong for the Chiefs, though, and they have been out of the playoff race for several weeks. Patrick Mahomes is one of many who will surely miss this game for Kansas City.

With so much uncertainty, risk-averse fantasy owners might choose to stay away from this game because of the variety of outcomes. Those in need of a fantasy defense can take advantage of so many stars being out, from both starting quarterbacks to the top pass catchers on each team and multiple offensive linemen.

The chaos could lead to points, but I see it more likely that this is a low-scoring game. Both the Chiefs and Raiders are feasible fantasy D/ST units, and I give the slight advantage to the Chiefs.