3 Defenses To Stash For The Fantasy Football Playoffs: NFL Week 16

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – OCTOBER 26: The Buffalo Bills defense looks on before the play in the first quarter of the game against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium on October 26, 2025 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

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Just as we’ve done for the past few weeks, these are three defenses to get ahead of your leagumates in the fantasy football playoffs. These defenses are not for Week 15, but instead they help you think ahead to Week 16.

Forbes3 Defenses To Stash For The Fantasy Football Playoffs: NFL Week 15By Steve Bradshaw

That way, while everyone else is trying to find the best matchup at defense next week, you’ll already have them stashed on your bench. The only requirement for this list is that all of these defenses must be under 50% rostered on ESPN.

1. Buffalo Bills @ Cleveland Browns

With the Buffalo Bills only 44% roasted, they’re my clear number one option. If you can’t grab them, keep reading, but if you can, rush to your waiver wire right away.

Although we heavily favor the matchup for defense, it’s important that the defense has been at least solid throughout the year in order to call them our top option. The Bills absolutely check that box.

So far this year, the Bills are averaging seven PPG, which is great to see. Not only that, but they’ve been playing their best football in terms of their fantasy defense as of late.

In each of the last two games, the Bills have scored at least 10 points, including a 17-point week in Week 13. What really matters, though, is the matchup.

As things stand right now, the Cleveland Browns have allowed the 4th most PPG to opposing defenses at 9.7. Now, a few things do need to be noted. Shedeur Sanders hasn’t been the starter for most of the year, which does skew these numbers slightly.

Although Sanders had a great Week 14 performance, that was against the Tennessee Titans, who have allowed the 3rd most PPG to opposing fantasy defenses. While Sanders is still clearly very talented, he’s still a rookie who just had his first game with over 250 passing yards.

The point being that the Browns may not be an elite matchup if Sanders continues to develop, but they should still be a good one.

2. Kansas City Chiefs @ Tennessee Titans

As of late, the Kansas City Chiefs’ defense hasn’t been playing very well, with less than six points in each of their last five games. Even so, they’ve still been fine this year, averaging 4.8 PPG.

The most appealing part about the Chiefs is that they take on the Tennessee Titans in Week 16. As we talked about above, the Titans have allowed the 3rd most PPG at 10.3 this year.

Not only that, but we don’t have to take into consideration a big quarterback change with Cam Ward still at the helm. Given the Chiefs’ defense has been good enough this year, and now they get a great matchup, you can feel good about starting them in Week 16.

3. New York Giants vs Minnesota Vikings

Compared to the other defenses on this list, the New York Giants actually have the best matchup. In Week 16, the Giants take on the Minnesota Vikings, who have allowed the most PPG to opposing defenses with 10.9.

Not only that, but J.J. McCarthy has played in seven games this year, so this is a pretty strong sample size. With this being the first time McCarthy has been a starter, he’s yet to put together some big games this year.

In those seven games, McCarthy has gone under 250 passing yards in all of them and under 200 in six. The problem here is that the Giants’ defense has scored 1.1 PPG this year.

Typically, a team’s average isn’t a massive deal, but this number is so low that it’s hard to feel good about starting this defense with a ton of confidence. However, if there’s not a better option, the Giants’ defense is worth plugging into your lineup for the fantasy football playoffs given their matchup.