In fantasy football, defenses don’t just score points; they can also lose them. A defense loses points primarily through allowing their opponent to score, both by points allowed and by giving up big plays like first downs allowed. The more points and positive yardage a defense surrenders, the lower its fantasy score will be.
Fantasy football defenses (often called D/ST or Defense/Special Teams) are unique roster spots. Unlike individual players who rack up yards or touchdowns, defenses operate as a unit. Their scoring is a reflection of their performance against the opposing offense. While positive plays like sacks, turnovers, and defensive touchdowns boost a defense’s score, negative outcomes significantly penalize them. This guide will deep dive into all the ways your fantasy defense can see its score dwindle, helping you to better roster and strategize.
Fathoming Penalties: The Silent Point Drainers
Penalties are a major cause of point deductions for fantasy defenses. When a defensive player commits a penalty, it often results in a loss of yardage for the opposing team and an automatic first down. In fantasy football, this translates directly into negative points for your defense. These infractions can range from minor holding calls to more egregious personal fouls.
Types of Defensive Penalties and Their Fantasy Impact
- Defensive Holding: This penalty occurs when a defensive player illegally impedes an offensive player’s ability to run a route. It typically results in a 5-yard penalty and an automatic first down. For your fantasy defense, this means points lost.
- Pass Interference (Defensive): A more severe infraction than holding, defensive pass interference occurs when a defender makes illegal contact with a receiver before the ball arrives. This usually results in a 15-yard penalty and an automatic first down, leading to a significant point deduction for your defense.
- Roughing the Passer/Kicker: These are costly penalties. Roughing the passer involves hitting the quarterback after he has thrown the ball or in a way that is deemed unnecessary. Roughing the kicker is similar, but targets the punter or placekicker. Both typically carry a 15-yard penalty and an automatic first down, hitting your fantasy defense’s score hard.
- Unnecessary Roughness: This is a broad category covering overly aggressive or unsportsmanlike conduct. It can result in a 15-yard penalty and an automatic first down, directly reducing your defense’s fantasy points.
- Facemask (Defensive): Grabbing an opponent’s facemask is illegal and results in a 15-yard penalty and an automatic first down. This is another common penalty that can chip away at your defense’s score.
- Offsides/Encroachment: While often resulting in shorter penalties (5 yards) and sometimes not an automatic first down, these can still contribute to point deductions for your defense, especially if they occur on critical downs.
The cumulative effect of multiple penalties can be devastating for a fantasy defense’s score. A unit that consistently commits infractions will find itself bleeding fantasy points, even if they are otherwise playing well.
Gauging Points Allowed: The Core of Defensive Scoring
The most fundamental way a defense loses points in fantasy football is by points allowed. Most scoring systems award fantasy points for preventing the opponent from scoring and deduct points for each score allowed.
The Point Deduction Scale
Scoring systems vary, but a typical setup might look like this:
| Points Allowed | Fantasy Points |
|---|---|
| 0 | +10 |
| 1-6 | +7 |
| 7-13 | +4 |
| 14-20 | +1 |
| 21-27 | 0 |
| 28-34 | -1 |
| 35+ | -4 |
As you can see, allowing 14 points or fewer is generally good for your defense. However, once the opponent reaches 21 points, the defense starts losing fantasy points. Allowing 35 or more points is a significant penalty.
Defensive Touchdowns: A Double-Edged Sword
While defensive touchdowns are fantastic for individual player fantasy scores, they are usually not awarded to the D/ST unit in most common scoring formats. Instead, the player who scores the touchdown gets the points. This means your D/ST unit doesn’t gain points for scoring themselves. However, this is more relevant to how offenses score against defenses. The key takeaway for D/ST is that if the opposing team scores a defensive or special teams touchdown, your defense doesn’t lose points for that specific score. They only lose points when the opponent’s offense scores.
Interpreting Yards Allowed: The Yardage Hurdle
Beyond just points, many fantasy football scoring systems penalize defenses for the amount of yardage they surrender to the opponent. Yards allowed often come in two categories: passing yards and rushing yards.
Yardage Deduction Thresholds
Similar to points, there are typical thresholds for yardage deductions. Again, scoring systems vary, but here’s a common example:
| Yards Allowed (Total) | Fantasy Points |
|---|---|
| 0-99 | +3 |
| 100-199 | +1 |
| 200-299 | 0 |
| 300-349 | -1 |
| 350-399 | -2 |
| 400-499 | -3 |
| 500+ | -5 |
Note: Some leagues may break this down into passing yards and rushing yards allowed, with separate deductions for each.
First Downs Allowed: The Momentum Killer
A critical statistic that contributes to losing points for your defense is first downs allowed. Granting the opponent multiple first downs means they maintain possession of the ball, have more opportunities to score, and the clock keeps running. Fantasy leagues often penalize defenses for each first down surrendered.
A typical deduction might be -0.5 points for every first down allowed. If a defense consistently gives up first downs, it can significantly eat into any positive points they might earn from sacks or turnovers. This stat is often closely tied to yards allowed; more yards often equate to more first downs.
Deciphering Turnovers: The Defensive Playmaker’s Reward
While this section focuses on how defenses lose points, it’s crucial to mention turnovers in the context of positive scoring. Turnovers are a primary way defenses gain fantasy points. However, the act of turning the ball over by the opponent is a positive for your D/ST.
The Mechanics of Turnovers
- Interceptions: When a defensive player catches a pass thrown by the opposing quarterback.
- Fumbles: When an offensive player loses control of the ball before being down by contact or scoring. This can be a muffed handoff, a dropped pass, or a fumble on a run.
Most leagues award points for interceptions and fumble recoveries. Common scoring:
- Interception: +2 points
- Fumble Recovery: +2 points
- Strip-sack (forcing a fumble on a sack): +2 points
So, while you want your defense to force turnovers, the opponent committing turnovers doesn’t directly cause your defense to lose points. The indirect effect is that turnovers end the opponent’s drives, preventing them from scoring.
Comprehending Sacks: The Quarterback Harassment
Sacks are another fundamental way defenses earn fantasy points. A sack occurs when a defensive player tackles the opposing quarterback behind the line of scrimmage. Sacks disrupt offensive drives and often lead to longer yardage situations.
A typical scoring for sacks might be:
- Sack: +1 point
When a defense records multiple sacks, it contributes positively to their fantasy score. However, sacks themselves don’t cause a defense to lose points. The critical point is that the absence of sacks, combined with the opponent moving the ball effectively, contributes to the opponent gaining yards and potentially first downs, which do lead to point deductions.
Special Teams Touchdowns: A Nuance to Consider
Special teams touchdowns are an interesting aspect of D/ST scoring. These are touchdowns scored by the defense or special teams unit on plays like punt returns, kickoff returns, blocked field goals returned for a touchdown, or blocked punts returned for a touchdown.
In most fantasy leagues, a special teams touchdown scored by your D/ST unit results in points for your D/ST. This is a positive scoring event.
However, if the opposing team scores a special teams touchdown (e.g., they return a kickoff or punt against your defense, or return a blocked punt/field goal), your defense does not lose points for that score. This is because the score wasn’t generated by the opponent’s offense moving the ball against your defense. It’s important to differentiate between points scored by the opposing offense versus points scored via special teams plays.
The Cumulative Impact: Putting It All Together
To illustrate how a defense can lose points, let’s consider a hypothetical game scenario:
Team A’s Defense vs. Team B’s Offense
- Points Allowed: Team B scores 24 points. Based on a typical scale, this would be -1 fantasy point.
- Yards Allowed: Team B gains 360 total yards. This might result in a -1 fantasy point deduction.
- First Downs Allowed: Team B converts 20 first downs. At -0.5 points per first down, this is a -10 fantasy point deduction.
- Penalties: Team A’s defense commits three defensive holding penalties (5 yards each) and one pass interference penalty (15 yards). While the yardage is taken off the field, the penalty itself can result in an automatic first down for Team B, contributing to the first down deduction. Some leagues also have a small penalty deduction per penalty flag.
- Sacks: Team A’s defense records 2 sacks (+2 points).
- Turnovers: Team A’s defense forces 1 interception (+2 points) and 1 fumble recovery (+2 points).
Calculating the Score:
- Points Allowed: -1
- Yards Allowed: -1
- First Downs Allowed: -10
- Sacks: +2
- Turnovers: +4
Total Score = -1 – 1 – 10 + 2 + 4 = -6 Fantasy Points
In this example, even with positive contributions from sacks and turnovers, the significant deductions from points allowed, yards allowed, and especially first downs allowed and penalties, lead to a negative fantasy score for the defense.
Strategies for Rostering Defenses
When selecting a defense for your fantasy team, consider the following:
- Matchup: Target defenses playing against weak offenses, particularly those with poor offensive line play (leading to more sacks) and turnover-prone quarterbacks.
- Home vs. Away: Defenses generally perform better at home, where they have crowd support and are playing in familiar conditions.
- Vegas Lines: Look at the over/under for the game. Lower-scoring games are generally better for defenses. Also, consider the point spread; a large spread often means the favored team’s defense is facing a weaker offense.
- Injury Situations: Are key offensive players for the opposing team injured? This can significantly impact their offense’s effectiveness.
- Defensive Strengths: Does your defense excel at generating pressure (sacks) or forcing turnovers? Prioritize units that show these tendencies.
Conversely, avoid defenses playing against high-powered offenses, especially on the road, or teams that are very good at protecting the football and limiting penalties.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q1: What are the most common ways a fantasy defense loses points?
A1: A fantasy defense loses points primarily by allowing the opposing team to score points (points allowed), giving up a lot of yardage (yards allowed), surrendering numerous first downs allowed, and committing penalties.
Q2: Do defensive touchdowns hurt my fantasy defense’s score?
A2: No, a defensive touchdown scored by your D/ST unit is typically a positive score. However, the opponent scoring a defensive or special teams touchdown doesn’t directly cause your D/ST to lose points for that score. Your D/ST loses points when the opponent’s offense scores.
Q3: How do sacks and turnovers affect a defense’s score?
A3: Sacks and turnovers (like fumbles and interceptions) are ways your defense earns fantasy points, not loses them. They are positive contributions.
Q4: If a team is penalized for offsides, does my defense lose points?
A4: Yes, defensive penalties generally result in point deductions for your fantasy defense, especially if they lead to an automatic first down. Even smaller penalties can chip away at the score.
Q5: How many points do defenses typically lose for yards allowed?
A5: This varies by league, but generally, allowing over 300-350 yards starts to incur deductions, with larger penalties for 400+ yards.
Q6: What is the penalty for allowing first downs?
A6: Most leagues penalize defenses for first downs allowed, often at a rate of -0.5 points per first down. This can be a significant point drain.