As Week 17 approaches, most leagues have wrapped up their fantasy season. However, several leagues will hold their championship on the final day of the regular season.
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That could be bad news for your team, as some NFL clubs will be resting or limiting snaps for key players in games that have little or no impact on their postseason fate. As of now, the Philadelphia Eagles are the only team to be locked into a top-two seed in either conference, so playing their defense would be a very big risk on Sunday.
However, teams like the New England Patriots, Minnesota Vikings, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Los Angeles Rams still could earn better playoff positioning with wins on Sunday, so they should be playing hard for four quarters.
With that in mind, here is a look at the top-25 fantasy football defenses and special teams for Week 17.
Defense/Special Teams rankings, Week 17
(SK: Scott Kaliska; JG Jeff Goldberg; DG: Derek Gordon; KB: Kyle Bennett; ZS: Zach Senvisky; JM: Jason Marcum)
D/ST rankings, Week 17
Rk | Consensus | Opp | SK | JG | DG | JM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pittsburgh Steelers | vs. CLE | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Minnesota Vikings | vs. CHI | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Baltimore Ravens | vs. CIN | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| 4 | Jacksonville Jaguars | @ TEN | 8 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 5 | Los Angeles Chargers | vs. OAK | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| 6 | Washington | @ NYG | 9 | 6 | 6 | 7 |
| 7 | Denver Broncos | vs. KC | 7 | 9 | 7 | 9 |
| 8 | Detroit Lions | vs. GB | 11 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| 9 | New England Patriots | vs. NYJ | 6 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
| 10 | Los Angeles Rams | vs. SF | 17 | 7 | 10 | 6 |
| 11 | New Orleans Saints | @ TB | 13 | 12 | 12 | 12 |
| 12 | Houston Texans | @ IND | 21 | 10 | 9 | 10 |
| 13 | Seattle Seahawks | vs. ARI | 5 | 15 | 15 | 16 |
| 14 | Philadelphia Eagles | vs. DAL | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 |
| 15 | Carolina Panthers | @ ATL | 10 | 16 | 16 | 14 |
| 16 | Tennessee Titans | vs. JAC | 23 | 14 | 14 | 15 |
| 17 | Arizona Cardinals | @ SEA | 16 | 17 | 17 | 19 |
| 18 | Chicago Bears | @ MIN | 22 | 18 | 18 | 17 |
| 19 | Kansas City Chiefs | @ DEN | 12 | 22 | 22 | 22 |
| 20 | Cincinnati Bengals | @ BAL | 25 | 19 | 19 | 18 |
| 21 | San Francisco 49ers | @ LAR | 19 | 21 | 20 | 21 |
| 22 | Buffalo Bills | @ MIA | 15 | 23 | 23 | 23 |
| 23 | Miami Dolphins | vs. BUF | -- | 20 | 21 | 20 |
| 24 | Dallas Cowboys | @ PHI | 20 | 24 | 24 | 24 |
| 25 | Atlanta Falcons | vs. CAR | 18 | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | vs. NO | -- | 25 | 25 | 25 |
| -- | Indianapolis Colts | vs. HOU | 24 | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | Cleveland Browns | @ PIT | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | Green Bay Packers | @ DET | -- | -- | -- | -- |
