Week 11 of the 2024 NFL season is here and as it is crunch time in fantasy football, getting the right defense is essential. Games can sometimes be decided by the smallest margins so it’s wise to analyze the matchups in Week 11.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Arizona Cardinals, New York Giants and Carolina Panthers are all on byes, so these defenses are out of the streaming pool. Let’s look at the defense rankings by projections, as per fantasy.nfl.com:
Week 11 Defense Rankings
- Minnesota Vikings (@ Titans) – 6.79
- Green Bay Packers (@ Bears) – 6.64
- Houston Texans (@ Cowboys) – 6.52
- Detroit Lions (vs. Jaguars) – 6.48
- Miami Dolphins (vs. Raiders) – 6.43
- New York Jets (vs. Colts) – 6.35
- Los Angeles Rams (@ Patriots) – 6.15
- Chicago Bears (vs. Packers) – 6.01
- Cleveland Browns (@ Saints) – 6.00
- Baltimore Ravens (@ Steelers) – 5.90
- New Orleans Saints (vs. Browns) – 5.89
- Atlanta Falcons (@ Broncos) – 5.87
- San Francisco 49ers (vs. Rams) – 5.85
- Denver Broncos (vs. Falcons) – 5.83
- Pittsburgh Steelers (vs. Ravens) – 5.79
- Kansas City Chiefs (@ Bills) – 5.73
- Dallas Cowboys (vs. Texans) – 5.73
- Buffalo Bills (vs. Chiefs) – 5.66
- Washington Commanders (@ Eagles) – 5.61
- Indianapolis Colts (@ Jets) – 5.60
- Philadelphia Eagles (vs. Commanders) – 5.56
- Los Angeles Chargers (vs. Bengals) – 5.50
- New England Patriots (vs. Rams) – 5.45
- Tennessee Titans (vs. Vikings) – 5.38
- Cincinnati Bengals (@ Chargers) – 5.37
- Seattle Seahawks (@ 49ers) – 5.17
- Las Vegas Raiders (@ Dolphins) – 5.03
- Jacksonville Jaguars (@ Lions) – 4.66
From these, some of the best defenses will already be taken, however, there are some offenses in real trouble, so targeting them is a good strategy. Let’s look at three streamers in more detail.
Week 11 Defense Streamers
#1, Houston Texans (@ Cowboys) – 24.2% rostered
The Dallas Cowboys were an offense to target defensively last week, and after a spectacularly disappointing 34-6 loss against the Philadelphia Eagles, are again in the spotlight. The Texans have a capable defense, but it is the Cowboys’ lack of a run game and two very nervy QBs in Cooper Rush and Trey Lance that you are targeting here.
The Eagles managed 3 sacks, 1 INT and 4 fumble recoveries in Week 10, worth 20 points in fantasy. The Texans have three games this season where their defense has broken 10 points, and this looks like a lock in Week 11.
#2, New Orleans Saints (vs. Browns) – 30.1% rostered
In similar fashion, the Cleveland Browns look like drafting early in 2025 and QB Jameis Winston followed up a masterclass with a disasterclass before going on a Week 10 bye. The Saints traded Marshon Lattimore to the Commanders but their defense is still very capable and could be in for a multiple-turnover day here.
Winston threw for 1 TD and 3 INTs in the 27-10 loss to the Chargers, which makes him a good target in Week 11. Start the Saints’ defense against a low-scoring offense with an unpredictable QB.
#3, New York Jets (vs. Colts) – 42.7% rostered
Last year, Joe Flacco came in and pushed the Browns to another level, showing that age was just a number and likely making several retired QBs ponder a comeback. This year, we have seen a slight shift in that narrative and since coming in for Anthony Richardson, Flacco has looked very wobbly.
Flacco has thrown 9 TDs to 5 INTs on the year but has only 2 TDs to 4 INTs in the past two games. The Bills defense feasted against the Colts in Week 10, registering 4 sacks, 3 INTs, 1 fumble recovery and a defensive touchdown for 19 fantasy points.
The Jets are a very talented defense that hasn’t been playing up to their ability, much like the offense in recent times, but expect them to go after Flacco in Week 11.