Fantasy playoffs are right around the corner. For the next week or two, every decision feels heavier. Every detail in your lineup goes under the microscope. If you’ve taken your D/ST position for granted, odds are you aren’t doing that as we wrap up the regular season. As usual, we’re here to help.
Fantasy football rankings 2015: Defense/special teams, Week 13
Here are our consensus Week 13 defense/special teams rankings.
Not surprisingly, the teams in the top tier of our rankings are good or great defenses against struggling offenses. The Arizona Cardinals will face a St. Louis Rams offense that hasn't scored more than 13 points over the past three weeks. The Cincinnati Bengals will either be facing quarterback Austin Davis or Johnny Manziel in Week 12. They held the Cleveland Browns to 10 points in Week 9. Since that game, the Bengals have totaled six sacks and six interceptions through three weeks. They're a must-start D/ST for Week 13. Lastly, the New England Patriots are taking on the Philadelphia Eagles, who have been a mess on offense. The Eagles have scored 19 points or less and totaled five turnovers through the past three weeks. They'll be facing a New England defense looking to bounce back from their first loss of the season to the Denver Broncos.
Some good teams are dropping down the rankings a bit for the week.The Seattle Seahawks are difficult to trust on the road, and the Minnesota Vikings are a good enough offense to keep them well out of our top five. If they can find a way to limit Adrian Peterson's production, there's no reason Seattle can't come away with top-ten numbers for fantasy owners. The Kansas City Chiefs came back down to earth against the Buffalo Bills in Week 12, but so have the Oakland Raiders for most of November. If you own the Chiefs, it may be worth hanging onto them. Their upcoming schedule includes the San Diego Chargers, Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns.
Here are the rest of our Week 13 rankings.
Defense/Special teams, Week 13
(DK: Daniel Kelley; AM: Andrew Miller; JD: John Daigle; SK: Scott Kaliska. Dan Ciarrocchi has the week off.)
| Rk | Consensus | Opp. | DK | AM | JD | SK |
| 1 | New England Patriots | PHI | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 2 | Arizona Cardinals | @STL | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 3 | Cincinnati Bengals | @CLE | 2 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| 4 | Carolina Panthers | @NO | 6 | 1 | 5 | 7 |
| 4 | Denver Broncos | @SD | 7 | 5 | 4 | 3 |
| 6 | Houston Texans | @BUF | 4 | 6 | 8 | 12 |
| 7 | Seattle Seahawks | @MIN | 8 | 10 | 6 | 10 |
| 8 | Kansas City Chiefs | @OAK | 5 | 15 | 7 | 14 |
| 9 | Buffalo Bills | HOU | 14 | 14 | 11 | 6 |
| 10 | Green Bay Packers | @DET | -- | 8 | 9 | 5 |
| 11 | New York Jets | @NYG | 13 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| 12 | Chicago Bears | SF | 17 | 18 | 10 | 8 |
| 13 | Washington | DAL | 15 | 7 | 20 | 16 |
| 13 | Minnesota Vikings | SEA | 12 | 16 | 13 | 17 |
| 15 | St. Louis Rams | ARI | 11 | 9 | 19 | 23 |
| 16 | Tennessee Titans | JAC | 20 | 22 | 14 | 9 |
| 16 | Pittsburgh Steelers | IND | 25 | 12 | 17 | 11 |
| 18 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | ATL | 18 | 13 | 16 | 19 |
| 19 | Baltimore Ravens | @MIA | 10 | 23 | 18 | 20 |
| 19 | Miami Dolphins | BAL | 19 | 19 | 15 | 18 |
| 21 | Jacksonville Jaguars | @TEN | 9 | 17 | 22 | 24 |
| 22 | Atlanta Falcons | @TB | 16 | 25 | 25 | 21 |
| 23 | New York Giants | NYJ | 24 | -- | 23 | 15 |
| 24 | Cleveland Browns | CIN | 21 | -- | 21 | -- |
| 25 | Detroit Lions | GB | -- | 20 | 24 | -- |
| -- | Dallas Cowboys | @WAS | 23 | -- | -- | 22 |
| -- | San Diego Chargers | DEN | -- | 21 | -- | -- |
| -- | Indianapolis Colts | @PIT | 22 | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | Oakland Raiders | KC | -- | 24 | -- | -- |
| -- | San Francisco 49ers | @CHI | -- | -- | -- | 25 |
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SB Nation presents: A lateral play by the Raiders went very wrong last week
