D/ST Strength of Schedule: Best Fantasy Football Defense Streamers and Matchups (Weeks 10-17)

November 11, 2026

Joey Pollizze looks at 2026 DST fantasy football strength of schedules for Weeks 10-17, and the best fantasy football DST matchups for the rest of the season.

The best way to get a leg up over your league mates in your fantasy league is by mapping out your defenses for the rest of the season. If you are someone who likes to stream defenses each week or are looking for the right defenses to start in Week 10 and beyond, you have come to the right place.

This article will map out the defenses with the best remaining schedule. We will identify the defenses with the most plus matchups over the next eight weeks, defenses to pick up for the fantasy football playoffs (Weeks 15-17), and the best defenses to stream the rest of the year. This will be your go-to article to bookmark for the rest of the 2026 campaign.

Let's dive into the best fantasy football defenses, streamers, and matchups for Weeks 10-17.

Fantasy Strength of Schedule Process

The fantasy football strength-of-schedule process considers a lot. The biggest factor is the opponent. When looking at the top defenses to pick up for the remainder of the season, the opponent is what every fantasy manager should be looking at. The overall offense, the offensive line, the quarterback play, and offensive metrics help us identify the top offenses to target in the final eight weeks.

On top of that, the defense playing against those offenses also matters quite as much. Fantasy managers don't want to rely on the Dolphins or Cowboys defense in must-win games in the final stretch of the season. So, things like pressure rate, EPA/play, yards allowed, takeaways, and pass rush win rate are all important to consider as well.

Those two things help us build the fantasy strength-of-schedule process. The overall defense, combined with their matchups, helps us find the best defenses to pick up on waivers over the next few weeks.

2026 Rest-of-Season Fantasy Strength of Schedule

For the sake of this article, we're including all defenses. That means defenses rostered in 99% of leagues or in 1% of leagues can be considered. This will help fantasy managers navigate the second half of the season in the best way they can. This list below will look at the 10 defenses with the best "plus matchups" in the final eight weeks of the season.

The "plus matchups" include opponents that rank 20th or worse versus fantasy D/ST. This will also include some offenses that have recently undergone quarterback changes, like the Ravens turning to Jacoby Brissett, the Dolphins turning to Kyle McCord for at least the next four weeks, and Joe Milton III taking over for the injured Jalen Hurts.

Other offenses that are plus matchups for opposing defenses are the New York Jets with Geno Smith, the Cleveland Browns with Deshaun Watson, the Tennessee Titans with Cam Ward, the Indianapolis Colts with Daniel Jones, the Los Angeles Chargers with Justin Herbert, and the Arizona Cardinals with Carson Beck.

Cincinnati Bengals 

Plus matchups: 5 

• Saints in Week 12
• Browns in Week 13
• Panthers in Week 15
• Colts in Week 16
• Ravens in Week 17

Houston Texans 

Plus matchups: 4

• Browns in Week 10
• Colts in Week 11
• Ravens in Week 12
• Eagles in Week 16

Baltimore Ravens 

Plus matchups: 4 

• Chargers in Week 10
• Panthers in Week 11
• Buccaneers in Week 14
• Browns in Week 16

Ravens force a fumble, and recover!

JAXvsBAL on Prime
Stream on @NFLPlus https://t.co/XlJfs8qEbo

— NFL (@NFL) November 6, 2026

Jacksonville Jaguars 

Plus matchups: 4 

• Titans in Week 10
• Giants in Week 11
• Titans in Week 12
• Steelers in Week 14

Pittsburgh Steelers 

Plus matchups: 4 

• Eagles in Week 11
• Ravens in Week 15
• Panthers in Week 16
• Titans in Week 17

Las Vegas Raiders

Plus Matchups: 4

• Browns in Week 12
• Chargers in Week 14
• Titans in Week 16
• Cardinals in Week 17

Cleveland Browns 

Plus matchups: 4 

• Falcons in Week 14
• Giants in Week 15
• Ravens in Week 16
• Colts in Week 17

Indianapolis Colts

Plus Matchups: 4

• Dolphins in Week 10
• Giants in Week 12
• Eagles in Week 14
• Browns in Week 17

San Francisco 49ers

Plus matchups: 3

• Giants in Week 13
• Chargers in Week 15
• Eagles in Week 17

New York Jets

Plus Matchups: 3 

• Chargers in Week 11
• Dolphins in Week 12
• Cardinals in Week 15

2026 Fantasy Strength of Schedule Time Frames

Let's now dive into the best fantasy defenses for the next five weeks and for the fantasy football playoffs.

• Rest of Regular Season (RORS): Weeks 10-14
• Fantasy Playoffs: Weeks 15-17

Rest of Regular Season (Weeks 10-14)

Baltimore Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens will play the Chargers in Week 10 (32nd ranked), the Carolina Panthers in Week 11 (25th ranked), and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 14 (28th ranked) in three of the next five weeks. Considering the Ravens rank 14th in pressure rate and 13th in pass-rush win rate, this D/ST has some potential in these weeks.

Buffalo Bills 

The Buffalo Bills will have back-to-back easy matchups against the New York Jets in Week 10 and the Miami Dolphins in Week 11. Both of those offenses rank bottom-10 in sacks allowed this season, and the Bills rank fourth in pressure rate through nine weeks. This Bills D/ST is a top pickup for the next two weeks.

The Bills' defense hit the Viking row celly after their second INT of the night 😂 https://t.co/XuKV7dBKe7

— ESPN (@espn) November 10, 2026

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have one of the top fantasy schedules over the next few weeks. After a Week 10 bye and a Week 11 game against the Lions, the Buccaneers play the Panthers in Week 12, the Chargers in Week 13, and the Ravens in Week 14. For a defense that ranks second in fantasy points per game this season, look to stash this unit right now.

Houston Texans

The Houston Texans have a prime opportunity in front of them in the next couple of weeks. This defense will play the Cleveland Browns in Week 10, the Indianapolis Colts in Week 11, and the Baltimore Ravens in Week 12. Even a Week 13 matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers isn't tough for this Texans D/ST.

Fantasy Playoffs (Weeks 15-17)

Cincinnati Bengals

The Cincinnati Bengals have one of the best rest-of-season schedules, especially in the playoffs. The Panthers (ranked 25th), Colts (ranked 30th), and Ravens (ranked 20th) all currently rank in the bottom 12 against fantasy D/ST. While fantasy managers might not be able to trust them all three weeks, this group is definitely a start against the Colts in Week 16.

Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns could be started all three weeks in the fantasy playoffs. The Browns will play the Giants in Week 15, the Ravens in Week 16, and the Colts in Week 17. With this defense ranking top 12 in EPA/play, passing yards allowed per game, sack rate, pressure rate, and red zone stop rate, this is a top defense to roll with in the playoffs.

New Orleans Saints

The New Orleans Saints might not be an elite defense, but they have had some solid defensive performances this season. This group could be trusted in the fantasy football playoffs with matchups against the Buccaneers in Week 15, the Cardinals in Week 16, and the Falcons in Week 17. Even if you don't trust them in Week 15 against Tampa Bay, this New Orleans D/ST is a must-start against Arizona the following week.

Game over in New Orleans. https://t.co/e4pTvX7Ao4

— NFL (@NFL) November 8, 2026

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers have three solid matchups in the fantasy playoffs. They will face the Ravens in Week 15, the Panthers in Week 16, and the Titans in Week 17. Fantasy managers can realistically start this D/ST all three weeks. Pittsburgh ranks seventh in EPA/play, fourth in points allowed per game, third in rush yards allowed per game, fourth in sack rate, and second in red zone stop rate this season.

D/ST Streaming Road Map (Weeks 10-17)

This section will be your go-to streaming section for each of the final eight weeks of the regular season. Unlike the other sections, this will only look at defenses rostered in under 50% of Yahoo! leagues. Any defense that is currently rostered in over 50% of leagues will not be considered a streaming defense for the sake of this article.

For each week, I will provide my top streaming option (Option 1) and a secondary option (Option 2):

Week 10:

• Option 1: Ravens vs. LAC (39% rostership)
• Option 2: Bills at NYJ (21% rostership)

Week 11:

• Option 1: Bills vs. MIA (21% rostership)
• Option 2: Chargers vs. NYJ (7% rostership)

Week 12:

• Option 1: Commanders at ARI (12% rostership)
• Option 2: Giants at IND (19% rostership)

Week 13:

• Option 1: Bengals at CLE (48% rostership)
• Option 2: Eagles at ARI (42% rostership)

Note: The Commanders also play the Titans this week. So fantasy managers can pick them up for Week 12 against the Cardinals and Week 13 against the Titans.

Week 14:

• Option 1: Lions vs. TEN (49% rostership)
• Option 2: Eagles vs. IND (42% rostership)

Week 15:

• Option 1: Packers vs. MIA (28% rostership)
• Option 2: 49ers at Chargers (30% rostership)
• Bonus Option 3: Giants vs. CLE (19% rostership)

Week 16:

• Option 1: Ravens vs. CLE (39% rostership)
• Option 2: Bengals at IND (48% rostership)
• Bonus Option 3: Chargers at MIA (7% rostership)

Week 17:

• Option 1: Bills at MIA (21% rostership)
• Option 2: CLE vs. IND (30% rostership)

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