NFL DFS Week 18 D/ST Coach: Broncos, Texans, Vikings
It’s the final week of the 2025 NFL season. Hopefully, throughout the season, you’ve had some highly profitable weeks with some big wins. Or perhaps you steadily built your bankroll through a combination of NFL DFS wins or successful betting tickets. Or maybe you won your season-long fantasy football league and want to dabble with some contests on DraftKings and FanDuel.
Either way, this is always one of the worst weeks for DFS simply because several teams have nothing to play for. We have a huge 13-game main slate on Sunday, and the most meaningful games for division titles are off the NFL DFS main slate on DraftKings and FanDuel. As teams rest starters, it becomes a little more challenging to find the best options available, but some players are chasing incentives. Let’s take a look at the NFL DFS Week 18 D/ST Coach for the final week of the regular season!
NFL DFS Week 18 D/ST Coach for FanDuel & DraftKings Fantasy
A week after being subjected to an awful two-game afternoon slate for an NFL Sunday, we get six games in the early window, followed by seven games in the afternoon slot. We have 26 D/ST’s to work with, and the D/ST’s are presenting themselves to us with ease for Week 18.
The are six games with implied game totals at or below 38.5 points, and four of the favorites in those games are favored by at least a touchdown. So there are some heavily obvious plays on the slate this week, and while I’ll highly some of those teams, I’ll try and help you get a bit contrarian this week. Let’s dig into the top defenses and special teams as we close out the season with the NFL DFS Week 18 D/ST Coach!
NFL DFS D/ST Top Tier Picks for Week 18
Denver Broncos – DraftKings: $3,800 | FanDuel: $4,600
The Broncos are probably the most expensive D/ST I’d consider on DraftKings for this loaded slate. The Los Angeles Chargers have already announced they’ll be resting Justin Herbert, so Trey Lance will get the start. Moreover, this is a home game at elevation for Denver. And Denver does need to win this game to secure the top seed in the AFC and the Bye week.
Los Angeles will likely rest other starters as well, so we’ll probably learn more over the weekend. But the Broncos are 12.5-point favorites for this game, and the over/under is currently at 37.5 points as of Thursday morning, which gives L.A. an implied team total of 12.5 points.
Per Sam Hoppen (@SamHoppen on X/Twitter), the Chargers' offensive line ranks 31st in pressure rate allowed (37.9%), and they’re dead last in pass block win rate (54.0%). The Broncos' vicious pass rush ranks top three in blitz rate (31.9%), pressure rate (36.4%), and sack rate (10.0%). Denver is a tough place to play, especially this time of year, so this is a D/ST viable in cash games and tournaments on both sites.
Houston Texans – DraftKings: $3,700 | FanDuel: $4,900
The Texans are pricey on FanDuel, but they’re still worth playing on both sites. This is still a meaningful game for Houston because Jacksonville hasn’t officially cinched the AFC South crown. I can’t tell if Philip Rivers not starting for Indianapolis is an upgrade or a downgrade, but the Colts will start Riley Leonard at quarterback, and he hasn’t looked like a world beater when he’s stepped on the field.
The Texans are at home for this matchup, and they’re 10.5-point favorites while Indianapolis has an implied team total of 14 points, which may seem like a generous line by the time this game wraps up.
The Colts' offensive line ranks 28th in pass block win rate (56%) on the year, and we know the pass rush is elite for Houston. Despite ranking just 22nd in blitz rate (22.8%), the Texans are 2nd in pressure rate (36.7%) and 6th in sack rate (7.9%). They’re a very similar play to the Denver Broncos, so if playing multiple lineups, it may be best to get exposure to both if you have the salary to afford them.
NFL Week 18 DFS D/ST Value Picks
Atlanta Falcons – DraftKings: $2,800 | FanDuel: $3,400
I have some concerns over this matchup. The first being that the Falcons just played on Monday Night Football, so this is somewhat of a short week for this squad. Additionally, they got a huge win over the Los Angeles Rams in that game, so I’m worried they might be riding a little too high coming off that game and experience a bit of a hangover.
But this is a nice GPP play because, despite the short week, they won’t have to travel for this matchup. The Falcons have a great pass rush, but it is rather inconsistent. But last week, they sacked Matthew Stafford three times and forced three interceptions after Stafford entered Week 17 with just five total picks on the year. But Atlanta’s D/ST now enters Week 18 with 53 total sacks, and they rank top five in pass rush win rate (41%), blitz rate (35.2%), and sack rate (9.1%) according to Sam Hoppen.
The New Orleans Saints also will not have Chris Olave for this game. It was announced on Thursday that he would miss this game due to blood clots found in his lungs, which sounds terrifying, and everybody wishes him a full recovery after he had an outstanding season. So the Saints are limping into the offseason with uncertainty in Week 18 regarding the running back and wide receiver positions. I wouldn’t go here in cash games if looking to save salary. I’d rather punt to the Washington Commanders, who we’ll get to shortly. But I do like the upside for Atlanta in tournaments despite the impressive play from Tyler Shough.
Cleveland Browns – DraftKings: $2,400 | FanDuel: $3,600
This is another D/ST that might be better for tournaments rather than cash games. This defense is good. However, they’re pretty underwhelming for fantasy football. They’ve held five of their last six opponents to under 300 yards of total offense. But in their last four games, they’ve still allowed four straight opponents to run for 130+ yards on them.
On top of that, this is a divisional matchup on the road against the Cincinnati Bengals, who are really trying to end the season on a high note after failing to reach the playoffs. Joe Burrow has a dozen touchdown passes in the five games he’s played since returning from injury, and he’s thrown for 300+ yards in back-to-back games.
But the Bengals' offensive line still ranks 27th on the season in pass block win rate (57%), and the Browns' pass rush ranks top two in pass rush win rate (47.0%) and sack rate (9.8%). And let’s not forget, Myles Garrett is still chasing the sack record. There is upside here, but I’d limit exposure to strictly tournaments and use the next D/ST in cash games.
Washington Commanders – DraftKings: $2,300 | FanDuel: $3,200
There are several affordable options for the NFL DFS Week 18 main slate, and we really need to monitor who may start and who might start for several of these games. But the Philadelphia Eagles opened as 7.5-point favorites against the Washington Commanders. But on Wednesday, the Eagles announced they would rest several starters for this matchup, and now the Birds are only 4.5-point favorites.
We don’t yet know who will rest, but we can likely assume the team wants to preserve the health of Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley. The Eagles are still home favorites but have an implied team total of just 21.5 points as of Thursday. I can’t say the Commanders are an elite play, but the players want to show out, whether it’s due to impending free agency, contract incentives, or they want to show the coaching staff why they should remain on the roster next season.
This is a defense that just collected six sacks in Week 17 against the Dallas Cowboys. Against some backups, we could see this D/ST provide a nice floor as a cheap paydown option on DraftKings and FanDuel.
NFL DFS D/ST Fade for Week 18
Jacksonville Jaguars – DraftKings: $4,000 | FanDuel: $5,000
This might surprise some people, but I just don’t see the point in paying for the most expensive D/ST on both DraftKings and FanDuel. A week ago, this team was my Play of the Week, but for the NFL DFS Week 18 D/ST Coach, I just don’t think we need to pay up for this D/ST when you can save salary with Houston/Denver or go down to the value options we just discussed.
Cam Ward was a player several of us targeted in Week 17 when Jon Impemba recommended the over on Ward’s 1.5 passing touchdown prop. Ward hit it, and for the fourth straight game, he threw for multiple touchdown passes. In fact, over their last three games, the Titans are averaging 25.3 points per game, which is 12th in the NFL, and Ward has been better at limiting the turnovers.
The Jaguars are big 12.5-point favorites, and the Titans carry an implied team total of 17.5 points. But Tennessee hasn’t been turning it over very much of late, and the Jaguars may pull their starters if they sense they’ve locked up the division with a big lead. And again, when you look at the landscape of this slate, there are D/ST’s in great spots that help us save salary. I’ll be excited to play the Jaguars D/ST again in the playoffs, but for Week 18, I’m going to lay off.
NFL DFS Week 18 D/ST Play of the Week
Minnesota Vikings – DraftKings: $3,000 | FanDuel: $3,500
This is an interesting matchup for Minnesota because they play the Vikings, and you can argue that neither team has anything to play for. The Vikings, despite the rough season, are riding a four-game winning streak as wild as that sounds. But they won’t make the playoffs this season. The Packers, on the other hand, are going to be in the playoffs as the seven-seed (once again).
The Vikings are mostly looking to build momentum heading into the offseason. This Vikings defense is still as deadly as ever. Per Sam Hoppen, they rank 1st in blitz rate (47.6%) and pressure rate (37.6%), and they’re 4th in sack rate (8.9%). Over Green Bay’s last four games, they rank 30th in pressure rate allowed (40.0%).
Matt LaFleur and the Packers are likely going to rest some starters. Who will they rest? We don’t quite know the full extent as of Thursday morning. However, despite clearing concussion protocol, the Packers are going to rest Jordan Love, and even backup Malik Willis will sit this game out. So Green Bay will start Clayton Tune and have Desmond Ridder serve as the backup. This game has the lowest implied total on the entire slate (35.5 points), and the Vikings are 7.5-point favorites. I expected both those lines to shift even more toward Minnesota’s favor, given the recent QB announcement by Green Bay.
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