Fantasy Football Playoff D/ST Busts? Defenses to Avoid in Weeks 15-17

December 13, 2025

John looks at four fantasy football defense busts, avoids for the 2025 fantasy playoffs in Weeks 15-17. These are risky fantasy football D/ST streamers, starts.

The D/ST position in fantasy football is certainly frustrating to deal with. Each year, there are only a handful that become set and forget at their position. This season, the Seattle Seahawks and Houston Texans lead that group, but there aren't many.

The problem is that a lot of things typically have to go right for a defense to be elite throughout the season. Some teams have fantastic defensive talent that dominates through most of the regular season. But confounding factors like having a bad offense and having a losing record can ruin that production.

It's important to look past just the talent on defense and pay attention to the upcoming schedule and the quality of the offense, among other things. So, which defenses are likely to be busts through the fantasy football playoffs in 2025? Which defenses should fantasy managers avoid? Let's dive in.

Cleveland Browns D/ST

The Cleveland Browns looked like one of the best defenses to have in fantasy football after they demolished both the Baltimore Ravens and Las Vegas Raiders in consecutive weeks, but it's hard for defenses to remain competitive in games they don't have a chance of winning.

That was the case in Week 13, when the San Francisco 49ers blew out the Browns. They had one sack, failed to force a turnover, and allowed 26 points to the opposing offense, leading them to score just 2.0 PPR fantasy points. In the next week, they inexplicably got in a shootout with the Tennessee Titans.

Cam Ward has a great feel for pressure. The movement before the throw here is even better on rewatch pic.twitter.com/sU7JXdNhkO

— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) December 7, 2025

There's little reason for a defense to play hard when they're in the midst of a losing season, plagued by incompetent ownership and roster management, and have little hope as a franchise moving forward. Additionally, as the weather gets colder, some teams just do a poorer job of tackling.

The Browns also have a very unforgiving schedule coming up. Their game against the Titans doesn't inspire much confidence when they have to face the Chicago Bears in Week 15, the Buffalo Bills in Week 16, and the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 17.

It's probably better not to risk starting them. The highest-performing defenses tend to have a competent offense helping them by controlling time of possession, keeping the defense off the field to rest, and keeping games more competitive week-to-week.

Los Angeles Chargers D/ST

The Chargers are the No. 18-ranked defense on the season, but they've had some nice performances recently, including 9.0 PPR fantasy points against the Las Vegas Raiders and 14.0 points against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 14. The game against the Eagles might suggest that the Chargers' defense truly has teeth.

But the offense has struggled massively for much of the season due to the loss of both their starting offensive tackles, Rashawn Slater (knee) and Joe Alt (ankle). They often struggle to maintain possession of the ball and have turned it over quite frequently.

Run block and pass protection composite ratings pic.twitter.com/D8sN7zkNby

— Computer Cowboy (@benbbaldwin) December 10, 2025

Due to the injuries, the Chargers have the worst offensive line in the league. It's hard to say it's close because it really isn't. They've struggled to do much in the passing game, and quarterback Justin Herbert is under a near-record-breaking amount of pressure.

This puts a ton of (metaphorical) pressure on the defense, which has to contend with turnovers and very quick three-and-outs. They also have one of the NFL's worst run defenses, as they allow 4.6 yards per carry to opposing rushers, which is eighth-worst in the league.

There's a consistent theme that plays out year after year -- the best defenses have a good run defense. If you can't stop the run, opposing offenses can keep the ball on the ground, limit interceptions, grind down the clock, tire out the defense, and more. The Chargers' defense is very risky for the fantasy playoffs.

Minnesota Vikings D/ST

It's not totally crazy to start the Vikings defense in their Week 16 game against the New York Giants. That team is dealing with a major lack of talent, and while quarterback Jaxson Dart has at times looked like one of the best signal-callers in the NFL, they don't match up well with Minnesota.

The Vikings are, in general, very vulnerable to the poor play of their offense. First-year starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy has been, on film and on paper, arguably the worst starting QB in the NFL, and has been plagued by bad turnovers and low passing production.

From Week 7 forward, Baker Mayfield ranks 36th of 37 in both EPA and CPOE among QBs with 80+ passes, ahead of only JJ McCarthy.

For reference, the four names just ahead of him are Justin Fields, Davis Mills, Carson Wentz, & Dillon Gabriel. pic.twitter.com/jObfmgOZ66

— Brandon Anderson (@wheatonbrando) December 7, 2025

This is the second section in which we get to see a chart that shows that something or someone is very, very bad. He's even struggled against some of the NFL's poorer defenses. Matchups against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 15 and the Detroit Lions in Week 17 don't bode well for Minnesota's defense.

Both the Cowboys and Lions are among the highest-scoring offenses in the NFL. Dallas averages 29.3 points per game, good for third in the NFL, while Detroit scores 30.3 points per game, which is first. Facing two of the top-3 offenses in the NFL in the playoffs is not a recipe for defensive success.

New England Patriots D/ST

So the Patriots will face the New York Jets in Week 17. I'm not arguing that they won't be a good start in that game. In fact, I'd highly recommend starting them that week, even with a potential fantasy football championship on the line.

But in Weeks 15 and 16, the Patriots will have to face the Buffalo Bills and go on the road against the Baltimore Ravens. That's a pretty tough two games to play. Starting any defense against the Bills is a huge risk -- while some teams have found success against them, it's pretty rare.

Josh Allen strike to Dalton Kincaid to make it a 3-point game

CINvsBUF on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/HejP1KoazG

— NFL (@NFL) December 7, 2025

Bills quarterback Josh Allen, despite a few rough games here and there, is playing absolutely out of his mind right now. And he's missed arguably his best pass-catching target, tight end Dalton Kincaid, for a few games now with various injuries.

When Kincaid is on the field, the Bills' defense is typically rolling quite well, which can result in very high production in terms of both yards and points. Allen is also still an excellent rusher, and it's very hard for defenses to handle his combination of talents.

The Ravens are improving on offense with a healthier quarterback, Lamar Jackson. He's been dealing with some injuries, and didn't play very well when he returned, but he bounced back last week with two total touchdowns.

How can I know what a catch is and NFL referees don’t?

This was ruled not a catch for Isaiah Likely in the Ravens-Steelers game. Swung the game.

Wut? pic.twitter.com/nQNQPOBzYK

— Diggin’ Brigham (@DigginBrigham) December 7, 2025

He could have had another passing touchdown last week, and two more pass touchdowns the week before, were it not for two very questionable refereeing decisions and one costly fumble through the end zone that resulted in a touchback.

It's time to be a bit more afraid of what Jackson can do, so it makes sense to be concerned about starting defenses against him. To make matters worse, the Patriots have had a very poor run defense since their star defensive tackle, Milton Williams (ankle), was placed on injured reserve.

In Weeks 15 and 16, you're probably better off benching the Patriots defense for another option, if you can find a decent one. The matchups and the injury to Williams make them very risky to have in your lineups.

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