Fantasy Football Week 12 Defense Rankings and Streamers feat. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Commanders, and more

Streaming defenses is often a popular strategy in fantasy football, but your pick can make or break your scoring week. The NFL is a week-to-week business with new matchups to exploit and avoid to maximize weekly point totals.

Let's go through the best weekly defensive streaming options and give you an overview of how the top defenses rank heading into the new fantasy week. For streamers, we consider all defenses under the 60% threshold in ESPN and Yahoo! Sports leagues.

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Fantasy Football Defense Rankings for Week 12

Los Angeles Chargers v Pittsburgh Steelers - Source: Getty

Week 12 Defense Rankings	Opponent
1. Pittsburgh Steelers	at Cleveland Browns
2. Houston Texans	vs. Tennessee Titans
3. Kansas City Chiefs	at Carolina Panthers
4. Minnesota Vikings	at Chicago Bears
5. Denver Broncos	at Las Vegas Raiders
6. Tampa Bay Buccaneers	at New York Giants
7. Washington Commanders	vs. Dallas Cowboys
8. Miami Dolphins	vs. New England Patriots
9. Detroit Lions	at Indianapolis Colts
10. Chicago Bears	vs. Minnesota Vikings
11. Cleveland Browns	vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
12. Philadelphia Eagles	at Los Angeles Rams

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Fantasy Football Defense Streamers for Week 12

#1 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Defense vs. New York Giants

NFL: NOV 10 49ers at Buccaneers - Source: Getty

This Buccaneers' defensive unit has had its fair share of struggles this season — especially in pass defense. Tampa Bay has allowed the fourth most passing yards (2,835) and multiple passing touchdowns in five of 10 games this season.

How can we forget Kirk Cousins' 509-yard game in Week 5 or Lamar Jackson's five-touchdown game in Week 7, ll at the expense of Todd Bowles' unit. But the NFL and Fantasy is a week-to-week business.

Even the most abused defenses can be viable for one week in the right matchup. And the Bucs have the best chance at producing a top-12 fantasy day against a poor offense starting a new quarterback this weekend.

If Tommy DeVito is the answer, I'm scared to know the question. But DeVito is the answer for the New York Giants — at least for Week 12. For streaming targets, we're looking for turnover and sack-prone offenses with low volume, and the Giants fit the bill perfectly.

With Daniel Jones under center, New York had the sixth-worst completion percentage (62.6%), seventh-fewest passing yards (2,076) and the second-fewest yards per attempt (5.9).

Jones has thrown seven interceptions, while the Giants' offensive front has allowed the sixth-most sacks (30), the 11th-most pressure rate (31.4%) and the fifth-most QB hit rate (18%). Tampa Bay also has a favorable schedule for the next three games, with the Giants, Panthers and Raiders on the horizon.

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#2 Washington Commanders Defense vs. Dallas Cowboys

New York Giants v Washington Commanders - Source: Getty Los Angeles Rams v Chicago Bears - Source: Getty

The Cowboys are cooked. Watching this offense in the two previous weeks, you can't help but notice a completely deflated team. Without Dak Prescott, the Dallas offense is an ideal unit to target for the rest of the season, starting with Week 12 against Washington.

It won't matter if the Cowboys keep Cooper Rush in the starting role or give former first-rounder Trey Lance a shot — stream most defenses against this poor offense. Philadelphia and Houston have blown out Dallas without Prescott and will come into this divisional matchup on a short week after getting smacked on Monday Night Football.

Much like the Buccaneers defense mentioned above, the Commanders have had some growing pains in Dan Quinn's first year in Washington. In the first four games of the season, the Commanders gave up the 10th most passing yards (993), the sixth-highest completion percentage (72%) and the most passing touchdowns (10).

However, Quinn's unit has turned the corner in the previous four games, with the third-fewest passing percentage (57.9%) and the eighth-fewest passing yards (721), and has allowed five touchdown passes.

We know Quinn will bring the heat against his former employers, as the Commanders blitz the sixth-most at 34,6% of its defensive snaps, while Dallas has allowed the ninth-most pressure rate this season (31.5%). Get Washington in your lineup, as the Commanders are trending to be a double-digit home favorite with something to prove against a divisional rival.

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#3 Miami Dolphins Defense vs. New England Patriots

Las Vegas Raiders v Miami Dolphins - Source: Getty

Since being inserted in the lineup, rookie quarterback Drake Maye has brought some life to the Patriots' offense. But we're still targeting this low-volume offense for the rest of the fantasy season.

New England has the fewest passing yards in the league (1,669), the second-fewest yards per attempt (5.8) and the fewest passing touchdowns this season (7). The Patriots' offensive line has struggled to protect Maye and the original starter Jacoby Brissett this year, with the second-most pressure rate (33.7%), 11th-most sacks (28) and the third-most QB hits (18.9%).

Getting to the passer isn't a stable part of Miami's defense, with only 17 sacks in the season. The Dolphins come into this matchup with the third-fewest sacks in the league despite blitzing the 10th-most this year (30.3%) but only generating the fifth-fewest QB hit rate (11.8%) and the 20th-most pressure rate (30.8%).

Without constant pressure, the backend of the defense is typically vulnerable to long coverage times, but not with this Miami secondary. The Dolphins have allowed the eight-fewest passing yards (2,106), the seventh-fewest yards per attempt (6.6) and the seventh-fewest passing touchdowns (10).

Miami isn't an every-week defensive starter, but, in Week 12, you can do worse than this defensive unit.