Miami Dolphins v Baltimore Ravens
In the majority of fantasy football leagues, Week 17 brought with it Championship Week. For most, the season is over, and a champion has been crowned. I hope the week went better for you than it did for this guy—after winning eight leagues a year ago, I went 1-6 in Week 17 this year.
That stung a little. Gotta admit.
But for some fantasy managers, 17 weeks just isn’t enough. They play it all the way out to the end of the regular season and hold the title game in Week 18. It’s understandable—who doesn’t want more fantasy football before the darkness of the offseason descends upon us all? But it can be problematic, as well—including for team defenses.
Take the Baltimore Ravens, San Francisco and Cleveland Browns—three of the top-six fantasy defenses this season. The Ravens and 49ers are locked into the No. 1 seeds in their respective conferences. The Browns will be the No.5 seed in the AFC regardless of what happens Sunday in Cincinnati. Given those circumstances, it’s entirely possible that players like Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith, 49ers edge-rusher Nick Bosa and Browns edge-rusher Myles Garrett could play limited snaps or not at all.
The list of players who could sit on offense is that much more impactful. But that’s someone else’s problem.
Given this unusual week, and the few managers playing in it, this final Getting Defensive of the 2023 season (Yes. I’m aware it’s now 2024. Don’t be that guy.) will be both truncated and a little different. This week features a Baker’s Dozen of defenses—my top-12 for Week 18 and a Hail Mary play for streamers.
I hope that you enjoyed another year of reading Getting Defensive as much as I enjoyed writing it—and with any luck I’ll be back to help you all with Team Defense decisions in 2024.
WEEK 18 TOP 12 DEFENSES
1. Dallas Cowboys (at Washington Commanders): The Cowboys need a win to bring home the NFC East and the No. 2 seed, and fantasy’s No. 2 defense in 2023…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/getting-defensive-week-18-114919935.html
Author : NBC Sports
Publish date : 2024-01-02 11:49:19
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