It's said that defense wins championships, but with the NFL game more offense-friendly than ever before, it's more an expression than an actual rule. But there's a link between the two in fantasy football. The best fantasy defenses come from winning teams.
Logically it makes sense. Playing with a lead provides more opportunities to rush the passer and force mistakes. Teams that are losing can't patiently run the ball and punt; they have to air it out, often resulting in sacks and interceptions.
Last year was a particularly good year in supporting the idea. In a scoring system that awards 1 point for sacks, 2 for takeaways and 6 for touchdowns, all but one of the top 14 fantasy defenses in 2021 had winning records. Seven of the top 11 won at least 10 games.
Twelve NFL teams won double-digit games last year, and only two of them -- the Bengals, and the Raiders -- had below-average fantasy defenses.
Table is ordered by fantasy performance last year, in the above-mentioned scoring system. "Pts" column shows points on defensive or special teams touchdowns and safeties. Teams that won double-digit games are in bold.
| FANTASY DEFENSIVE PERFORMANCE, 2021 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Defense | Pts | Fum | Int | Sack | Take | ZPG | Wins |
| Dallas | 54 | 8 | 26 | 41 | 34 | 9.6 | 12 |
| Miami | 36 | 12 | 14 | 48 | 26 | 8.0 | 9 |
| Minnesota | 24 | 8 | 16 | 51 | 24 | 7.2 | 8 |
| Indianapolis | 20 | 14 | 19 | 33 | 33 | 7.0 | 9 |
| Tampa Bay | 12 | 12 | 17 | 47 | 29 | 6.9 | 13 |
| New England | 18 | 7 | 23 | 36 | 30 | 6.7 | 10 |
| Kansas City | 24 | 14 | 15 | 31 | 29 | 6.6 | 12 |
| New Orleans | 12 | 7 | 18 | 46 | 25 | 6.4 | 9 |
| Buffalo | 6 | 11 | 19 | 42 | 30 | 6.4 | 11 |
| Arizona | 12 | 14 | 13 | 41 | 27 | 6.3 | 11 |
| LA Rams | 6 | 6 | 19 | 50 | 25 | 6.2 | 12 |
| Pittsburgh | 6 | 9 | 13 | 55 | 22 | 6.2 | 9.5 |
| Tennessee | 18 | 6 | 16 | 43 | 22 | 6.2 | 12 |
| Green Bay | 12 | 8 | 18 | 39 | 26 | 6.1 | 13 |
| Chicago | 20 | 8 | 8 | 49 | 16 | 5.9 | 6 |
| San Francisco | 12 | 11 | 9 | 48 | 20 | 5.9 | 10 |
| Houston | 14 | 8 | 17 | 32 | 25 | 5.6 | 4 |
| Cincinnati | 12 | 8 | 13 | 42 | 21 | 5.6 | 10 |
| Washington | 18 | 8 | 11 | 38 | 19 | 5.5 | 7 |
| Cleveland | 12 | 6 | 13 | 43 | 19 | 5.5 | 8 |
| Philadelphia | 30 | 4 | 12 | 29 | 16 | 5.4 | 9 |
| LA Chargers | 12 | 10 | 11 | 35 | 21 | 5.2 | 9 |
| NY Giants | 8 | 7 | 15 | 34 | 22 | 5.1 | 4 |
| Seattle | 10 | 7 | 11 | 34 | 18 | 4.7 | 7 |
| Denver | 6 | 6 | 13 | 36 | 19 | 4.7 | 7 |
| Carolina | 8 | 7 | 9 | 39 | 16 | 4.6 | 5 |
| NY Jets | 12 | 7 | 7 | 33 | 14 | 4.3 | 4 |
| Atlanta | 14 | 8 | 12 | 18 | 20 | 4.2 | 7 |
| Baltimore | 6 | 6 | 9 | 34 | 15 | 4.1 | 8 |
| Detroit | 0 | 8 | 11 | 30 | 19 | 4.0 | 3.5 |
| Las Vegas | 2 | 9 | 6 | 35 | 15 | 3.9 | 10 |
| Jacksonville | 12 | 2 | 7 | 32 | 9 | 3.6 | 3 |
We don't actually know which teams are going to finish with winning records next year, although educated guesses can be made. When comparing two similar defenses, give the edge to the team you think will win more games. Odds are good it will work out.
--Andy Richardson