Defenses are a very important part of fantasy football. Streaming the best defense each week off waivers is a very good and important strategy. It’s unfortunate that more and more leagues are getting rid of defenses every year. Sounds like a bit of a skill issue if you ask me, but do as you wish.

For those of you who still have defenses in your league and are trying to figure out the best one to start this week, you came to the perfect place. I’ve gone through all the matchups and picked out the top-15 defenses for Week 12 of the NFL season.

15. Detroit Lions

Matchup: New York Giants

I really like the Detroit Lions’ defense, but I don’t love their matchup this week. Jaxson Dart is on track to play this week after missing Week 11 with a concussion, and the New York Giants have scored 20+ in every single game that he’s started. Detroit’s defense should yield some positive points, but nothing too crazy.

14. Kansas City Chiefs

Matchup: Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City has one of the best defenses in the league, but they also face one of the more potent offenses in the NFL this week. I do think the Chiefs have a good enough defense to slow down Jonathan Taylor, so I don’t see the Colts running all over the place and scoring 30+, but I do think they’ll be able to get into the low 20s, which makes Kansas City’s defense a fringe starter.

13. Jacksonville Jaguars

Matchup: Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals have scored 20+ points in all five of Jacoby Brissett’s starts, but they’ve also failed to score more than 27 in a game he’s started. They have a clear floor and ceiling every week. They’re not going to kill you, but they’re not going to lie down and die, either. Jacksonville’s defense hasn’t been great this year, so I see a 24ish point outing coming for Arizona.

12. New England Patriots

Matchup: Cincinnati Bengals

This is another defense that I really like, but just don’t love the matchup. I know Cincinnati’s offense didn’t look great last week against Pittsburgh, but that was a one-off. Joe Flacco and Co. have put up a ton of points since he was traded to Cincinnati, but this is one of the toughest defenses they’ve faced. I think they score 20+, but their ceiling is capped by New England’s defense. Even if Joe Burrow does start, which is looking more and more likely, I wouldn’t move New England off this spot.

11. Pittsburgh Steelers

Matchup: Chicago Bears

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense has been improving over the past few weeks, but they’ve still got a ways to go before they’re back in that elite category. That being said, I like their matchup this week. I’ve said it countless times, but Chicago is not as good as their record, and their offense has really struggled at times this year. I think Pittsburgh can keep them below 20 points this week and force a couple of turnovers.

10. Chicago Bears

Matchup: Pittsburgh Steelers

This one was hard because Aaron Rodgers’ health is still up in the air, but even if he plays, he’s not going to be 100 percent. I don’t love Chicago’s offense at all, but I don’t trust the Steelers’ offense, with or without Rodgers, even more. This will be a pretty ugly game with both sides scoring in the high-teens or low-twenties, so they’re both startable this week.

9. Los Angeles Rams

Matchup: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

I think, even with all their injuries, that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers still have a good offense. They proved that last week when they scored 32 against Buffalo, but this week, they face one of the best defenses in the NFL. The Los Angeles Rams have given up 20+ points in just one of their last five games, and while Tampa could threaten that streak, there’s a good chance they don’t even hit 20.

8. Atlanta Falcons

Matchup: New Orleans Saints

I don’t love the Atlanta Falcons’ defense, but I also don’t love the New Orleans Saints’ offense. Tyler Shough looked good his last time out, but he’s an unproven commodity and could revert to how he played in his first start. They also just released Brandin Cooks, so now their wide receiver room is thinner than ever. This will be a low-scoring game, so I think Atlanta’s defense is a viable starting option.

7. San Francisco 49ers

Matchup: Carolina Panthers

I know Bryce Young just had a career day and set the Carolina Panthers’ franchise record for passing yards in a single game, but do I really believe they can do that again? No, I don’t. The Panthers’ offense has been very inconsistent this year, and while San Fran’s defense hasn’t been great, they’re still a pretty solid unit. I think the 49ers win this game by 10+, and Carolina struggles to score more than 14.

6. New Orleans Saints

Matchup: Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons will be without Drake London and Michael Penix Jr. this weekend. Kirk Cousins will start, and they don’t really have that many great receivers outside London. Bijan Robinson is still a threat, but the Saints can key in on him and hopefully limit his production. Again, this should be a low-scoring affair, so both defenses are a top-10 unit this week, even though they typically wouldn’t be.

5. Las Vegas Raiders

Matchup: Cleveland Browns

The Las Vegas Raiders don’t have a great defense by any stretch of the imagination, but the Cleveland Browns’ offense is just horrible, and I don’t think it will be any better with Shedeur Sanders. I’m not a Sanders hater, but he struggles with maneuvering the pocket and has no internal clock. He holds onto the ball far too long, and it’s going to cause him to take a lot of bad sacks. And when your offense sucks as much as Cleveland’s, that’s the last thing that can happen. This game could be in the 10-7 range, so the Raiders are a viable start this week.

4. Green Bay Packers

Matchup: Minnesota Vikings

The Green Bay Packers have a great defense and have a great matchup. It’s hard to ask for more than that. I do like some of the pieces Minnesota has on offense, mainly Justin Jefferson, Aaron Jones and Jordan Addison, but J.J. McCarthy has been holding them back. Unfortunately, they can’t go back to Carson Wentz either, because he’s on season-ending IR. When Kevin O’Connell can’t make a quarterback look good, that’s how you know he’s bad. Green Bay should easily hold them under 20 this week.

3. Baltimore Ravens

Matchup: New York Jets

The Baltimore Ravens had one of the worst defenses in the league to start the year, but as they’ve gotten healthy, they’ve improved drastically. They have held their last four opponents to under 20 points, and now they get the Jets, who have one of the worst offenses in the NFL. They are easily one of the best defenses in Week 12.

2. Cleveland Brown

Matchup: Las Vegas Raiders

The Browns have an elite defense, and now get to play a Raiders offense that has struggled all year. They’ve strung together a couple of good games here and there, but they’ve scored 26 combined points in their last two games, and seven of them came in garbage time last week. I don’t see them having much success at all against Cleveland.

1. Seattle Seahawks

Matchup: Tennessee Titans

Topping our list this week is the Seattle Seahawks. Not only do they play statistically the worst offense in the league, but they’re going to be pissed off after their loss to the Rams a week ago. I wouldn’t be surprised if they hold Tennessee to single-digits in this game, so they’re my No. 1 defense of the week.