The playoffs are here, and that means we're going to do things a little differently. I want to take a look at the playoffs as a whole (and in this case we are considering Weeks 14-16) and determine which DSTs you can ride all the way through and which ones you should stream this week. Those streamers will be likely options in multiple weeks of the playoffs.

Below are RotoBaller's Week 14-16 playoff defense tiers and rankings, or which defenses to stream, start and target off the waiver wire for Week 14 of the NFL and fantasy football season. In case you missed it, this is our seventh year now writing this weekly column.

Our weekly tiered defense rankings are a guide to making waiver wire pickups to improve your lineups, and to decide which defenses to start, sit, target, avoid or stream for Week 14 and beyond. Starting the right defense every week can be a difference-maker. Below we have broken out our defense rankings into tiers with analysis on each matchup. Some of these Week 14 defenses have good matchups and are not widely-owned, representing fantasy scoring opportunities if they are available on your league's waiver wire for a Week 14 pickup or add. Good luck in Week 14 RotoBallers!

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Playoff Defenses To Start & Stream: Tiers & Rankings

Breakdowns don't make a ton of sense here since my analysis will be different for each team each week, so I've gone with pure rankings in order of confidence in that team over the ENTIRE three-week playoff schedule.

Tier 1 Defenses

Rank Tier DST Week 14 Opponent Week 15 Opponent Week 16 Opponent 1 1 Pittsburgh Steelers Defense @ ARI vs. BUF @ NYJ 2 1 Baltimore Ravens Defense @ BUF vs. NYJ @ CLE

Tier 2 Defenses

Rank Tier DST Week 14 Opponent Week 15 Opponent Week 16 Opponent 3 2 Jacksonville Jaguars Defense vs. LAC @ OAK @ ATL 4 2 New England Patriots Defense vs. KC @ CIN vs. BUF 5 2 Philadelphia Eagles Defense vs. NYG @ WAS vs. DAL 6 2 New York Jets Defense vs. MIA @ BAL vs. PIT

Middle and Lower Tier Defenses

Tier 3 Defenses

Rank Tier DST Week 14 Opponent Week 15 Opponent Week 16 Opponent 7 3 Seattle Seahawks Defense @ LAR @ CAR vs. ARI 8 3 Green Bay Packers Defense vs. WAS vs. CHI @ MIN 9 3 Dallas Cowboys Defense @ CHI vs. LAR @ PHI 10 3 Houston Texans Defense vs. DEN @ TEN @ TB 11 3 San Francisco 49ers Defense @ NO vs. ATL vs. LAR 12 3 Buffalo Bills Defense vs. BAL @ PIT @ NE 13 3 Cleveland Browns Defense vs. CIN @ ARI vs. BAL

Tier 4 Defenses

Rank Tier DST Week 14 Opponent Week 15 Opponent Week 16 Opponent 14 4 New Orleans Saints Defense vs. SF vs. IND @ TEN 15 4 Washington Redskins Defense @ GB vs. PHI vs. NYG 16 4 Kansas City Chiefs Defense @ NE vs. DEN @ CHI 17 4 Minnesota Vikings Defense vs. DET @ LAC vs. GB 18 4 Tennessee Titans Defense @ OAK vs. HOU vs. NO 19 4 Los Angeles Chargers Defense @ JAC vs. MIN @ OAK 20 4 Indianapolis Colts Defense @ TB @ NO vs. CAR

Tier 5 Defenses

Rank Tier DST Week 14 Opponent Week 15 Opponent Week 16 Opponent 21 5 Carolina Panthers Defense @ ATL vs. SEA @ IND 22 5 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Defense vs. IND @ DET vs. HOU 23 5 Denver Broncos Defense @ HOU @ KC vs. DET 24 5 New York Giants Defense @ PHI vs. MIA @ WAS 25 5 Miami Dolphins Defense @ NYJ @ NYG vs. CIN 26 5 Los Angeles Rams Defense vs. SEA @ DAL @ SF

Week 14 Streaming Defenses: Rankings

These are all DSTs who are owned in 50% or fewer of ESPN leagues (the ownership percentages are typically pretty similar regardless of platform).

Rank DST Week 14 Opponent Week 15 Opponent Week 16 Opponent 1 Seattle Seahawks Defense @ LAR @ CAR vs. ARI 2 Green Bay Packers Defense vs. WAS vs. CHI @ MIN 3 Dallas Cowboys Defense @ CHI vs. LAR @ PHI 4 Houston Texans Defense vs. DEN @ TEN @ TB 5 Washington Redskins Defense @ GB vs. PHI vs. NYG 6 Kansas City Chiefs Defense @ NE vs. DEN @ CHI 7 Tennessee Titans Defense @ OAK vs. HOU vs. NO 8 Los Angeles Chargers Defense @ JAC vs. MIN @ OAK 9 Indianapolis Colts Defense @ TB @ NO vs. CAR 10 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Defense vs. IND @ DET vs. HOU 11 Denver Broncos Defense @ HOU @ KC vs. DET 12 New York Giants Defense @ PHI vs. MIA @ WAS 13 Miami Dolphins Defense @ NYJ @ NYG vs. CIN

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