I'm a big proponent of streaming defenses. If you draft a defense early, even if it doesn't disappoint, it seems like one or two regularly show up undrafted that perform even better on a weekly basis. That's not as common at quarterback, running back and receiver positions. Rare that one of those players isn't drafted and winds up among the league's best at a particular position.

So as we enter the home stretch of the fantasy season and the important playoff matchups, we can say with some degree of confidence which teams you want to match a defense up against in the remaining weeks, and which you want to avoid, based on how they've performed so far.

It's not surprising that Cleveland, Denver and Indianapolis are the best offenses to match a defense up against. Cleveland frequently has benched quarterbacks mid-game; that's how disappointing those players have been. Denver has benched Trevor Siemian and will soon bench Brock Osweiler for Paxton Lynch (and might eventually return to Siemian). If you'd known at the beginning of the season that Andrew Luck wouldn't play a snap, you'd have been confident that putting up a defense against the Colts would be the way to go.

In a scoring system that awards 2 points for turnovers, 1 point for sacks and 6 points for all touchdowns and safeties given up to the defense/special teams (shown in table as Pts), here's how NFL offenses have fared so far this season.

FF PTS ALLOWED TO OPPONENTS, 2017
OffenseG Int FL TO Sk PtsFFPts/G
Denver Broncos913821282410.4
Cleveland Browns918523272010.3
Indianapolis Colts107512383810.0
Houston Texans91071731249.9
Detroit Lions9561130248.4
Chicago Bears9791624188.2
Washington 95101523208.1
Arizona Cardinals9951426147.6
Cincinnati Bengals989172567.2
Tennessee Titans9851320187.1
New York Jets1088163267.0
San Francisco 49ers1097163267.0
Carolina Panthers101151623126.7
Green Bay Packers972930126.7
Philadelphia Eagles9551024126.2
Baltimore Ravens9104141965.9
Miami Dolphins91021217125.9
Oakland Raiders9851314125.8
Tampa Bay Buccaneers995141865.8
Dallas Cowboys9461018125.6
New York Giants965112265.6
Atlanta Falcons9831115125.4
Pittsburgh Steelers91031311125.4
Jacksonville Jaguars9741114125.3
Seattle Seahawks97292324.8
Buffalo Bills93472804.7
New Orleans Saints946108124.4
New England Patriots92352264.2
Los Angeles Rams948121304.1
Los Angeles Chargers973101143.9
Kansas City 92242423.8
Minnesota Vikings955101023.6

There's some uncertainty here. The Bills just benched their quarterback, so although they've been great so far in terms of FF Pts allowed, they might not be with Nathan Peterman (part of why I'm high on the Chargers defense this week). Minnesota will eventually switch out Case Keenum for Teddy Bridgewater, so who's to say if they'll still be as unfriendly for fantasy defenses the rest of the way.

But based on what we know, the best defenses the rest of the way should include Jacksonville (which plays three of the top 4 teams on this list the rest of the way: Browns, Colts and Texans) and Baltimore (which plays those same three teams, including the Browns and Colts in Week 15 and 16).

But as for defenses that are actually available in many leagues, for those who prefer the streaming route, if you're looking to get a head start on Week 15 and 16, make sure the Bears (who play the Lions and Browns) are on a roster. Washington also might be a nice pickup those two weeks: they're at home against the Cardinals and Broncos.

And if you've got critical matchups earlier than those weeks, check out the Packers (who play Cleveland in Week 14) and Chargers (who play Cleveland and Washington in Week 13 and 14).

As far as offenses that should be avoided, pretty clearly if your regular defense is scheduled to face the Patriots, Saints or Kansas City in a key playoff week, you should be scouring the waiver wire for better options.

--Andy Richardson