Washington Commanders and Pittsburgh Steelers Best Defenses to Sit in Week 16
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The song remains kind of the same for Week 16. Plenty of defenses could be under siege. Also, there are two Saturday games added into the mix. As a bonus for fantasy football fans, those are divisional rivalry contests.
So last week, a total of 10 teams scored 0 or fewer points defensively. That is no misprint. Almost 1/3 of the NFL teams were useless for fantasy football owners. Some of those teams were surprising. Green Bay and San Francisco were in that group. The Los Angeles Rams were in there too.
While the Rams or Seahawks may be worthy of a seat, they do play on Thursday night. Going into the weekend games is far more ideal. Now is the magic time to find at least three defenses to sit for Week 16.
Washington Commanders (@Philadelphia Eagles)
Washington has zero to play for other than pride. Philadelphia shut the Las Vegas Raiders down and out in Week 15 allowing 75 net yards. We had to do the math several times to believe this one. Anyway, the Commanders will be starting Marcus Mariota. Jayden Daniels is shut down for the season.
The Commanders play Philadelphia twice and Dallas to close out the season. Washington's defense does not cause many turnovers (eight in 14 games). That gives the Eagles a little bit of cushion. Also, Washington is 29th in passing yards allowed and 28th in rushing yards yielded. Combine that with giving up 54 red zone trips and a recipe for benching is there.
Philadelphia can also clinch the NFC East with a win and will want to do that as soon as possible. Playing at home certainly helps. The only risk is here is that Jalen Hurts might not be 100%. Oh wait, scratch that! No, he's fine!
Jalen Hurts became the first Eagles QB ever with two games in a season completing 80 percent of his passes with three or more TDs and no interceptions.
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) December 17, 2025
That and so much more in the latest edition of Roob's Stats! https://t.co/n7A9xRhwkG
Sorry Washington, it could be a long Saturday night.
Pittsburgh Steelers (@Detroit Lions)
It is time to get a bit more dangerous. The Detroit Lions play much better at home but did score 34 points in Los Angeles last week. Pittsburgh is not facing Tua Tagovailoa here. It is an offense led by Jared Goff, Jahmyr Gibbs, and Amon-Ra St. Brown. These weapons can strike quickly. On the turf, Pittsburgh might look a little slow on Sunday.
This is not like Miami who looked frozen in time for most of Monday night. Detroit has averaged 34 points a contest in their past three home games. Pittsburgh has not been awful on the road but are just 1-3 against NFC teams. That includes losses to Chicago and Green Bay where their defense looked very ordinary.
Expecting more of the same Sunday evening would not be a surprise. Detroit's fast tempo figures to tire Pittsburgh out.
Kansas City Chiefs (@Tennessee Titans)
This would have been insane to type even a couple of weeks ago. However, we are in the strange "No Playoff Era" for Kansas City. The Chiefs were eliminated in more ways than one last week by the Los Angeles Chargers. Without Patrick Mahomes (Torn ACL, LCL), things could get a little more weird in Tennessee on Sunday.
For a team that had made the playoffs 11 straight seasons, what is the mindset? The Titans have been playing better of late even if the record does not show it. Since the bye week, Tennessee has been mostly competitive aside from that stinker against Jacksonville. The Chiefs defense managed nine points in a loss against the Chargers but again go on the road without their leader.
Highest graded NFL QBs under pressure since week 7..
— Adam Carter (@impactfbdata) December 17, 2025
🔘 Jaxson Dart, Giants (67.7)
🔘 Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs (65.7)
🔘 Josh Allen, Bills (65.1)
🔘 Dak Prescott, Cowboys (63.7)
🔘 Justin Herbert, Chargers (60.2) pic.twitter.com/gr8F1RkOeM
This is part of what Kansas City will be missing. Tennessee's defense can play inspired football and Gardner Minshew is not the 2023 version anymore. If the Titans strike early, they can score some points and avoid those "falling behind" mistakes.
