ClutchPoints
There’s no doubt that fantasy football managers have to consider injury situations when trying to decide on a defense. And the opponent’s quarterback position is the key focus. With those things in mind, here are our week 17 rankings for the 2025 NFL season.
Once again, we have a clear-cut No. 1 team. And like many times before this, it has to do with a key injury. Because of a recent contest, you may have a bias against this defense. But you’ll have to shrug it off and count on them to bounce back because of the terrible quarterback situation for their opponent.
You need to stick with the Denver Broncos. The Kansas City Chiefs are basically playing a practice-squad quarterback. That alone against the defense like the Broncos should be enough to sway your decision. But there are other important factors.
Included in the mix is the way the Broncos played against the Jaguars last week. Denver will come out breathing fire against the Chiefs, trying to erase the bitter taste of that awful performance.
Furthermore, the Broncos suddenly find themselves in danger of falling short in the AFC West. The Chargers put themselves in a position to wrestle the title away. So Denver is locked in for a standout defensive performance.
Yet another reason to feel safe is head coach Sean Payton’s anger about the Jaguars game, according to Sports Illustrated.
“I think the No. 1 thing, I don’t know what the third down numbers were, but I know they weren’t good,” Payton said. “[Trevor Lawrence] played a really good game, and so you can try to pin that down on … I’m sure we’re going to look at the tape. We missed a lot of tackles in space. There were a lot of yards after the catch that showed up, which was evident.”
The mindset began immediately after the loss, which ended an 11-game winning streak. And that’s another bonus for the Broncos. Winning teams bounce back with fire. The defense should score big-time fantasy points.
The Steelers have been shaky at times this year, but they’ve also been surprisingly good in some tough spots. That was especially evident in their performance against the Lions last week. They did not get any turnovers, but were able to record six sacks.
Now they get a Cleveland Browns offense that has been prone to turning the ball over. Shedeur Sanders has been sacked 12 times over his last four games and has thrown six interceptions.
If the Steelers can match the pressure that they got on Jared Goff, they should be able to come up with a big defensive play or two in this contest.
However, the Steelers will have to work for it, as Sanders seems to be improving, according to the Orange and Brown Talk podcast via Cleveland.com.
“He’s a gamer. He’s got moxie, he’s got toughness, he’s got grit,” said Browns beat reporter Mary...
