Defenses (DEF) to Start in Week 15: Fantasy Tiers & Rankings

Matt Lib analyzes which defenses (DEF) to sit or start, and provides his Week 15 & playoffs rankings and tiers for all of the NFL defenses. Starting the right defense in fantasy football can be a game changer.

For those of you fantasy football owners out there who are streaming defenses, RotoBaller has got you covered with around-the-league analysis of the Week 15 NFL matchups.

Just like every other week of the fantasy football season, we’re here to give you the insight to help make your defense streaming and Week 15 lineup decisions a bit easier. Week 15 has some enticing defensive matchups, so be sure to stay on top of your league’s waiver wire options.

Bye weeks are irrelevant as we push through the fantasy football playoffs, so be sure to keep that in mind when setting your lineups. Good luck in Week 15 and in your playoff matchups, RotoBallers!

Week 15 Defenses: Playoff Tiers & Rankings

Tier 1: Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens, Seattle Seahawks, Detroit Lions

The first tier this week has some of the league's best defenses with great matchups, making them stone-cold locks for starting defenses in the playoffs. Kansas City has the luxury of facing off against the Raiders as they look to stop their three-game skid. The Raiders have been putting up 15 per game and have turned the ball over 26 times. Their O-Line has been playing fairly well, only allowing 19 sacks on the year, but this will be a big test against a Chiefs pass rush that has put up 34 sacks so far. Kansas City has been allowing 19 points per game and should be able to contain Derek Carr, James Jones and Latavius Murray.

Baltimore faces off against Jacksonville, who share's the title of the league's worst offense with Oakland. The Jaguars have only been putting up 15 points per game, and they've turned the ball over 25 times on the year. Jacksonville's O-Line play has been absolutely atrocious, allowing a league-worst 54 sacks. None of this bodes well for them as they take on a Ravens defense that is only allowing 20 PPG and boasts 37 sacks on the year. Blake Bortles, Denard Robinson and Allen Hurns have another long day ahead of them in Week 15.

Seattle's defense is officially back, in case you haven't heard. They've held the Cardinals, 49ers and Eagles to their lowest offensive performances in points and yards in consecutive weeks. They'll look for a repeat performance at home against Colin Kaepernick, Frank Gore, Anquan Boldin and Michael Crabtree, who have been putting up under 20 PPG. The Seahawks also have 10 sacks in the past three weeks, and they'll look to continue their hot stretch against an O-Line that's given up 43 on the year.

Rounding out the first tier, we find the Lions hosting the Vikings in a divisional matchup to keep them within reach of the Packers for the division lead. The Vikings have only been putting up 20 points per game and they've allowed 40 sacks on the year. Teddy Bridgewater, Charles Johnson and Greg Jennings will be taking on a Lions defense that's been the only team to rival Seattle for the best defense in the league. Detroit's only been giving up 17 points per game, and they have 22 takeaways and 35 sacks on the year. All of this makes Detroit a must-start in all leagues, joining the rest of the teams in this tier.

Tier 2: Arizona Cardinals, St. Louis Rams, New England Patriots, Denver Broncos

This week's second tier is full of good defenses with interesting matchups, starting off with the Cardinals and the Rams as they face off on Thursday night. Arizona has only been giving up 18 points per game, while the Rams have been putting up 22 PPG themselves. Shaun Hill, Tavon Austin, Kenny Britt and Tre Mason have taken care of the ball, only giving up 19 turnovers, but the Cardinals have forced 23 turnovers themselves, and have 31 sacks going up against an O-Line that's given up 39 sacks on the year. On the other side of the ball, the Rams defense has shown up in a big way the past two weeks-- they're now the first team since 1945 with back-to-back defensive shutouts. They've been giving up 22 per game on the year, and have 23 takeaways to go with their 35 sacks. The Cardinals offense, on the other hand, seems to be improving under Drew Stanton with Larry Fitzgerald, Michael Floyd and John Brown as weapons. The loss of Andre Ellington will surely be felt in these last couple of regular season games, but they've proven they can continue with the "next man up" policy at just about every position on the field.

The New England Patriots take on divisional foe Miami, led by Ryan Tannehill. The Dolphins have been putting up 24 PPG and they've only lost 18 turnovers on the year, but one of their weak points offensively has been a porous O-Line that has allowed 34 sacks so far. Mike Wallace, Lamar Miller and Jarvis Landry will have the tough task of taking on a Patriots defense that's only been allowing 21 per game. They've also got 21 takeaways on the year to go with their 32 sacks, and should be able to dictate the gameplay with their pass rush against this less-than-stellar O-Line.

Finishing off the second tier, we find the Denver Broncos heading to San Diego to play a team that is looking to rebound from a loss to the aforementioned tough Patriots defense. The problem is that Denver's defense is just about as good as their rivals in New England. The Broncos have been allowing 23 per game, and have racked up 38 sacks on the year. They'll be going up against a Chargers O-Line that's let Philip Rivers be sacked 28 times. Rivers will look to Keenan Allen, Antonio Gates and Ryan Matthews to help negate the Denver pass rush. But when all is said and done, the Broncos should end up with a stranglehold on the division and take care of business here in Week 15, making them a solid start in all leagues.

Tier 3: Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Green Bay Packers, Buffalo Bills, Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, Carolina Panthers, San Francisco 49ers, Minnesota Vikings, New York Giants

This week’s third tier starts off looking at eight teams involved in four matchups. Cincinnati heads to Cleveland for this year’s second edition of the battle of Ohio. It looks like Johnny Manziel may get the start this week as the Browns’ playoff chances slip away. This leaves Johnny Football with Josh Gordon and Isiah Crowell to try to improve on their offenses 21 PPG production. They’ve turned the ball over 18 times and have allowed 20 sacks on the year. The Bengals defense has been allowing 22 PPG and hasn’t been creating a pass rush or many turnovers. But with Cleveland’s offense in flux this leaves Cincy with a fairly juicy matchup. The offense in Cincinnati has been just as suspect, only averaging 22 PPG with Andy Dalton having AJ Green, Giovani Bernard, Mohamed Sanu and Jeremy Hill at his disposal. They’ve turned the ball over 20 times so far but have only let up 15 sacks. Cleveland’s defense has allowed 21 per game, has created 26 turnovers and generated 27 sacks on the year. This has all the makings of an AFC North defensive battle.

The Texans head to Indianapolis to take on Andrew Luck, TY Hilton and Colby Fleener who have been averaging 31 PPG as an offense. Houston has only been giving up 20 per game, has generated 29 takeaways and 29 sacks and has quietly been having a pretty good year. The Colts have turned the ball over 26 so far and have let up 24 sacks. Indy’s defense has been pretty good themselves, allowing 24 per game while racking up 22 takeaways and 35 sacks on the year. The Texans have done a pretty good job of taking care of the ball with 17 giveaways so far to go with their 23 sacks allowed. Ryan Fitzpatrick has only been able to average 24 per game with DeAndre Hopkins, Arian Foster and Andre Johnson.

Green Bay travels to Buffalo to face off against a Bills offense that’s been putting up 22 PPG and has allowed 32 sacks on the year. The Packers had been allowing 22 per game prior to their Monday night game against the Falcons and will look to exploit Buffalo’s O-Line issues and add to their 28 sacks. Kyle Orton, Sammy Watkins and Fred Jackson will have their hands full Clay Matthews and company. Green Bay’s offense hasn’t had too many issues for a while now and will look to keep rolling with their 32 PPG average. They’ve only turned the ball over 8 times on the year, negating the Bills impressive 28 takeaways. The interesting matchup here will be the Packers O-Line against the league’s best pass rush in the Bills who have 48 sacks. Not to mention they’re only giving up 19 PPG, but this is Aaron Rodgers, Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb and Eddie Lacy.

Dallas heads to Philadelphia to try and contain Mark Sanchez, Jordan Matthews, LeSean McCoy and Jeremy Maclin who’ve been averaging 30 PPG. The Eagles offense has another important stat at 30 though, and that’s turnovers. Meanwhile the Cowboys have generated 21 turnovers and have only been allowing 23 PPG. The Cowboys offense has been pretty good themselves, averaging 26 per game behind Tony Romo, Dez Bryant and DeMarco Murray. The Eagles have been allowing 24 PPG and have racked up 24 turnovers and 44 sacks, which makes for an interesting matchup against a Cowboys O-Line that’s allowed 26 sacks on the year. The Cowboys have turned the ball over 22 times and this is a must win for them in terms of the division race.

The Carolina Panthers are coming off an impressive win against the Saints, and will look to continue their roll as they take on the lowly Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who somehow weren't mathematically eliminated from the playoffs until this past week. Tampa has been putting up 18 per game, has turned the ball over 28 times, and has let up more than 30 sacks. Mike Evans, Doug Martin, Vincent Jackson and Josh McCown face a tough test as they take on an improving Carolina defense. The Panthers have been allowing 26 PPG and only have 28 sacks, but 12 of those sacks have come in their past five games, and they're facing an O-Line that's been mediocre at best.

San Francisco heads to Seattle to take on the 12th man at CenturyLink Field. The 49ers may still have a shot the playoffs, but even if they didn't, this meeting would be meaningful for the rivalry alone. San Francisco has been giving up 21 PPG, has generated 22 takeaways, and has racked up 27 sacks on the year. But they're taking on Russell Wilson, Marshawn Lynch and Doug Baldwin, who have taken care of the ball with only 11 giveaways and have been averaging 25 PPG. I'll be watching the matchup up front, as Seattle has let up more than 30 sacks and the Niners have been improving and getting healthier.

Minnesota heads east to Detroit to face off against Matt Stafford, Calvin Johnson, Golden Tate and Joique Bell, who have only been putting up 20 per game. The Vikings defense has been underrated all season and has been giving up 22 per game. They've racked up 38 sacks and are taking on an O-Line in Detroit that's let up 39 sacks on Stafford so far. The turnover battle may not be in the Vikings favor, as they've only managed 17 on the year and the Lions have only turned it over 16 times, but this Detroit offense isn't nearly as scary as most expected them to be.

The Giants host a Redskins team that isn't sure who the starting QB will be, meaning they have no starter. Whether it be Robert Griffin III, Colt McCoy or Kirk Cousins, this offense has only been putting up 19 per game and has let up 46 sacks on the year, including seven this past week against the Rams. They've also turned the ball over 24 times and face off against an improving Giants defense that's been allowing 25 per game. Against a Washington offense in flux, this makes for a decent matchup for this Giants defense who have played better of late. All of these third-tier teams are interesting streaming options, and are starting options in 10-team leagues.

Tier 4: Miami Dolphins, San Diego Chargers, New Orleans Saints, Chicago Bears, Pittsburgh Steelers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New York Jets, Tennessee Titans

The fourth tier is where matchups really start to get dicey, beginning with Miami traveling to New England to take on the Patriots. Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, LeGarrette Blount and Brandon LaFell have been averaging 31 PPG after their slow start to the season, and they've won eight of their last nine games. They've only turned the ball over 11 times so far, and their O-Line has allowed 18 sacks. They'll be going up against a Dolphins pass rush with 34 sacks on the year and a defense that's only been allowing 20 PPG to go along with their 22 takeaways. Even with those great numbers, no defense has really been able to stop Brady and company so far.

In a similar story to the Dolphins, the Chargers defense has been pretty good all season, but they have a rough matchup once again this week as they take on Peyton Manning, Demaryius Thomas, Julius Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders and CJ Anderson.  The Broncos have been putting up 30 points per game and have only given up 15 turnovers, while limiting the sacks to just 13 on the year. This O-Line won't have that big of a test facing a San Diego pass rush with only 19 sacks and a defense that has only generated 15 turnovers so far. Even though they've been averaging 21 points allowed, going up against Peyton and company doesn't bode well for anyone.

New Orleans at Chicago brings an interesting matchup on both sides of the ball, especially for the Saints defense. New Orleans has been giving up 28 per game, and only has 13 takeaways, but Jay Cutler, Alshon Jeffery, Martellus Bennett and Matt Forte have turned the ball over 25 times, have only been averaging 22 per game, and will be without Brandon Marshall for the rest of this year. The Saints have also accrued 24 sacks so far, which isn't anything to write home about, but the Bears have let up 31 sacks on Cutler so far. On the flip side, Chicago has been giving up 29 points per game and will be facing off against Drew Brees, Jimmy Graham, Marques Colston and Mark Ingram. New Orleans has been putting up 26 per game, and has only let up 21 sacks on the year, and while they have turned the ball over 22 times so far, the numbers simply aren't there to trust Chicago any given week, especially against such a potent offense.

The Pittsburgh Steelers head down south to Atlanta to face off against Matt Ryan, Julio Jones and Roddy White, who have been averaging 24 PPG prior to their Monday night matchup against the Packers. They've let up 24 sacks and will be taking on a Steelers pass rush with 24 sacks of their own. Pittsburgh has been allowing 25 points per game without too many turnovers, so I'd be looking elsewhere than an inconsistent defense against a potent offense still in the playoff race.

Tampa Bay heads to Carolina to face off against Cam Newton, Kelvin Benjamin and Greg Olson; they're coming off a great team performance against the Saints. Carolina has been averaging 21 PPG, they've turned the ball over 20 times so far, and their O-Line has let up 37 sacks on the year. They'll be going up against a Buccaneer defense that's been allowing 27 per game to opposing offenses. They've also generated 20 takeaways and 30 sacks, but the majority of these numbers have come in the past four weeks. While it's more than justifiable to ride the hot defense, I'm not looking to do so with a team like Tampa Bay while we're in the fantasy playoffs.

Finishing out the fourth tier, we look at both teams involved in the Jets taking on the Titans. New York's defense has been better than their stats or record would lead you to believe, but they're still giving up 27 PPG. They've only generated 10 turnovers and are going up against a Titans squad that's only been averaging 17 per game and has coughed the ball up 24 times on the year. Zach Mettenberger is out for the rest of the year, but Bishop Sankey, Kendall Wright and Justin Hunter will look to improve on their offensive numbers against a struggling defense. On the other side of the ball, the Titans defense has been allowing 29 per game to opposing teams, and has only generated 16 takeaways. Geno Smith, Percy Harvin and Chris Ivory have been averaging just 17 per game, have turned the ball over, and have given up more than 40 sacks on the year, so they will have a tough test going up against a Titans pass rush with 31 sacks so far. This matchup, in addition to all these fourth tier teams, is about as dicey as they come and I'm steering clear of them as we continue our journey towards the fantasy promised land.

Tier 5: Atlanta Falcons, Washington Redskins, Oakland Raiders, Jacksonville Jaguars

This week's "Do Not Touch" list is a bit light with only four squads, starting off with the Falcons taking on the Steelers. Atlanta's defense has been pretty miserable, allowing 25 per game and only racking up 14 sacks on the year, good for last in the NFL. They have created 24 turnovers, but Pittsburgh has taken care of the ball, only coughing it up 18 times. Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, Le'Veon Bell and Martavis Bryant have been putting up 28 per game, and even though they've let up more than 30 sacks, their O-Line has been improving and shouldn't have too big of a test against a nonexistent Atlanta pass rush.

The Redskins head to New Jersey to take on the Giants, who have been putting up 23 PPG. Washington has been giving up an average of 27 per game and has only generated 15 turnovers on the year. They do have 32 sacks and are going up against a Giants O-Line that has let Eli go down 30 times, but there's not enough here to trust the Redskins this week. With Eli Manning starting to jell with Rashad Jennings and Odell Beckham Jr, I'm looking to steer clear of this matchup.

Then we come to the all too familiar faces of the fifth tier where we find the Raiders and Jags. Oakland heads to Kansas City to face off against Alex Smith, Jamaal Charles and Travis Kelce who have been putting up 22 per game. The Raiders have been giving up 27 per game and have only generated 10 takeaways and 18 sacks on the year. The Chiefs have only turned the ball over 15 times and even with giving up 35 sacks so far, this isn't a scary matchup for their offense.

That other familiar defense in this tier is the Jaguars, who have been allowing 27 PPG. They take on the Ravens this week; Baltimore will have Torrey Smith back to pair with Steve Smith, Justin Forsett and Joe Flacco. Baltimore has been putting up 27 per game and has only turned the ball over 16 times on the year. While Jacksonville has racked up an impressive 39 sacks, Baltimore's O-Line has been able to contain the pass rush all year. This makes this an untouchable matchup for me, along with the rest of these fifth-tier squads.