If you need individual game help for fantasy football on Thursday night, check here. For a week’s worth of info, ClutchPoints has you covered for running backs. But this is the place for start ‘em and sit ‘em advice for defense and special teams for Week 11 of the 2025 NFL season.
It’s getting down to the important games for fantasy football managers. And that’s why you need to make the right calls. Plus, it’s top to bottom for your fantasy lineup, so here are places you should and shouldn’t go for Week 11.
Start ‘em: Baltimore Ravens at Browns
Yes, it wasn’t long ago that the Ravens were a defense to avoid. They were almost historically awful early in the season. But things have changed, and this is a good matchup, even though it’s a division game on the road.
The Ravens have come away with six turnovers in their last three contests. It is an ascending defense. Plus, they get the Browns, who rank No. 31 with 265.1 yards per contest.
Furthermore, the Browns have a rookie quarterback. Dillon Gabriel has basically shown he’s not quite ready to soar in the NFL. So this is a great spot for the Ravens to get down to business on defense.
And the Ravens’ defenders are gaining confidence, according to ESPN.
“That's been a big key — the mindset shift of, even though we have Lamar Jackson, let's give him a smoke break, let's give him an off day,” said cornerback Marlon Humphrey. “He's bailed it out so many times. How about we do it?”
Safety Kyle Hamilton said the Ravens still have to get much better, in a tongue-in-cheek kind of way.
“We got work to do and stuff to be done, but we got to work on our celebrations if we're going to say that we have a swagger back,” Hamilton said. “Some of our celebrations are bad, but at least we have stuff to celebrate now.”
Start ‘em: Houston Texans at Titans
The Texans are capable of slowing down good offenses. Imagine what they can do against a bad one. The Titans are arguably the NFL’s least-effective offense as they average just 244 yards per game. Also, they are last in scoring offense with just 14.4 points per game.
This is a chance for the Texans to score points when they don’t have the football. A safety or a pick-six might be in the mix for this matchup.
One reason the Texans are tough is that they keep after it. If one play doesn’t go well, they fight back on the next one, according to houstonchronicle.com.
“We just stayed at it, stayed on their neck,” Texans safety Calen Bullock said about the Jaguars game, where the Texans’ defense came up big late. “Get off the field and give the offense the ball.”
It was another example of the Texans finishing their business.
“If we’re the best, then close it up,” Azeez Al-Shaair said. “As soon as the offense scored … we all looked at each other on the defense and were like this is exactly what we wanted, exactly what we asked for, so let’s go show them.
“The message to us was just keep swinging. So all day that’s just what we just kept thinking about, like bro, our shoulder was dislocated early, first quarter come out the gate, they’re up 10-0 and feeling good about themselves, 17-0 at one point. Yeah, they’re feeling good about themselves and rightfully so, you made plays, but you’ve got to finish the game.”
Sit ‘em: Green Bay Packers at Giants
Yes, the Packers seem to have a good matchup this week. They will be facing a backup quarterback against the Giants.
However, the Giants will use Jameis Winston as their starter, according to ESPN. And he's not a typical backup. He's capable of having a good game, even though he does have a penchant for throwing interceptions.
Plus, the Packers haven’t been as advertised on defense this year. Here are their finishes week by week, according to Fantasy Pros: 7, 15, 16, 30, 19, 13, 14, 19, and 15.
They aren’t getting turnovers with only three interceptions and three fumble recoveries on the season. They haven’t scored a touchdown. Worst of all, their sack total has been miserably disappointing.
Maybe the conservative approach is what Matt LaFleur wants. But that strategy looked a lot better when the Packers were 5-1-1. Now they’re 5-3-1 and looking shaky.
Steer clear of the Packers, who don’t have a great schedule remaining in terms of fantasy defense for the remainder of the season. They have the Vikings twice, the Bears twice, along with the Lions and Ravens.
If you've suffered all season with the Packers, now's the time to give up. Even with Micah Parsons, this defense simply doesn't have a nasty bite.
