Fantasy Football Week 15 best defenses: Saints, Browns & Jets in the spotlight as Seahawks host sliding Eagles

Modified Dec 13, 2023 12:09 GMT

Fantasy Football Week 15 best defenses: Saints, Browns & Jets in the spotlight as Seahawks host sliding Eagles

With Week 14 of the NFL season almost over, fantasy football managers are already looking ahead. While the Miami Dolphins and Tennessee Titans are still to play, it's never too early to plan for the future.

Week 15 sees most fantasy leagues in their final matchup before the playoffs, so for many it's win-and-in, and for the rest, well it's always good to ruin the fun. Getting the right defense is crucial for maximizing your points in fantasy football, as we have seen some colossal scores from the position this season.

In Week 14 we saw the Jacksonville Jaguars and Cleveland Browns' defenses turn the ball over a combined seven times (1 INT, 2 fumble recoveries Jags, 3 INTs, 1 recovery Browns), which normally translates into good points. While the Browns defense came away with 12 points, the Jaguars barely beat their projections with 6.

The Browns host the Chicago Bears in Week 15, which looks like an unpredictable fixture. While Justin Fields can be hard to pin down, if there's one defense capable of forcing him into traps and dangerous throws it's the Browns. As such, they are projected to hit 7.63 points in Week 15 and are a must-start.

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Topping the rankings for next weekend is the New Orleans Saints. The Saints' defense has been impressive this season and just had a tremendous 21-point day against the Carolina Panthers. On Sunday, they recorded 4 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries, 1 TD and conceded only 6 points.

New Orleans hosts the New York Giants in Week 15 and that looks like a favorable matchup. While you can't rely on another 21-point display, it could happen again here.

The emergence of the Houston Texans has been one of the NFL's biggest storylines this season and fantasy football managers have been loving their offensive stars. However, the wheels truly fell off the bandwagon in Week 14, when the Texans traveled to take on the New York Jets.

On a wet and cold Sunday, the Texans' offense ground to a halt as the Jets stifled the passing and running games and had C.J. Stroud looking to the heavens. An ugly head injury that saw Stroud exit the game in the fourth summed up a bad day for Houston. The Jets ran away with it in the second half and their D came away with 12 points from the 30-6 dismantling.

Week 15 sees NY take on the Miami Dolphins, which is normally a matchup to avoid. Given the power of the Jets' defense and that Miami has not historically done an amazing job of protecting Tua Tagovailoa, this might not be as easy as people think. While the Jets D is a risk here, you could do a lot worse.

The Philadelphia Eagles have seen their defense fall hard since the 2022 season and they are 32nd against receivers in fantasy football this year. While the Eagles lost a second-consecutive game to the Dallas Cowboys (33-13), their defense put up 10 points on the back of a TD.

This is hard to trust happening again in Week 15, and a trip to the noisy Lumen Field and the increasingly desperate Seattle Seahawks should be avoided.

As for the Cowboys, fantasy football's highest-scoring defense recorded 11 points in Week 15. They should be started against the turnover-happy Buffalo Bills, albeit in a high-scoring matchup away from home.

Below are the projections for all 32 teams in fantasy football Week 15: