The bye week brigade is expanding in Week 5, with Jacksonville, Kansas City, New Orleans, and Seattle having the week off. That comes after three of those were a top-12 defense in Week 4 (do I really need to say which team didn’t make the top 12?).
Fantasy football rankings, 2016: Defense/special teams for Week 5
The SB Nation fantasy team reveals which defense/special teams rank in the top 25 heading into Week 5.
Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images
The NFL’s No. 1 fantasy defense this season, Minnesota, are among the likely candidates at the top of our list, joining Denver, Carolina, Arizona, and New England, who will surely be playing with a chip on it’s shoulder in Tom Brady’s 2016 debut.
I’m not so sure I’d consider the Philadelphia Eagles as a “streamer” at this point, as it’s not exactly the best kept secret among fantasy defenses, but the Eagles have a nice matchup this week against Detroit. It’s possible that Eagles owners in your league dropped Philadelphia in Week 4 during their bye week. I like them as an option for the remainder of the season in addition to this week’s matchup.
If you’re looking at streaming options, I personally like the Pittsburgh Steelers the best this week. The Steelers are hosting a Jets team that has scored 20 points combined over the last two weeks.
Defense/special teams, Week 5
(ZS: Zach Senvisky, JM: Jason Marcum, AP: Adam Patrick, SK: Scott Kaliska, JG: Jeff Goldberg, KB: Kyle Bennett)
| Rk | Consensus | Opp. | ZS | JM | AP | SK | JG | KB |
| 1 | New England Patriots | @ CLE | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 2 | Minnesota Vikings | vs. HOU | 2 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 3 | Carolina Panthers | vs. TB | 6 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 2 |
| 4 | Denver Broncos | vs. ATL | 4 | 2 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| 5 | Arizona Cardinals | @ SF | 3 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 7 |
| 6 | Philadelphia Eagles | @ DET | 7 | 7 | 11 | 8 | 8 | 5 |
| 7 | Pittsburgh Steelers | vs. NYJ | 8 | 10 | 3 | 9 | 6 | 12 |
| 8 | Buffalo Bills | @ LA | 5 | 12 | 12 | 6 | 9 | 9 |
| 9 | Green Bay Packers | vs. NYG | 11 | 9 | 17 | 11 | 7 | 8 |
| 10 | Los Angeles Rams | vs. BUF | 9 | 11 | 19 | 7 | 11 | 6 |
| 11 | Houston Texans | @ MIN | 12 | 4 | 20 | 12 | 12 | 13 |
| 12 | Cincinnati Bengals | @ DAL | 10 | 14 | 23 | 10 | 10 | 14 |
| 13 | Miami Dolphins | vs. TEN | 15 | 17 | 7 | 13 | 16 | 16 |
| 14 | Indianapolis Colts | vs. CHI | 13 | 18 | 6 | 19 | 15 | 17 |
| 15 | San Francisco 49ers | vs. ARI | 18 | 21 | 8 | 16 | 17 | 10 |
| 16 | Baltimore Ravens | vs. WAS | 14 | 13 | 18 | 14 | 21 | 11 |
| 17 | New York Jets | @ PIT | 16 | 8 | 24 | 15 | 13 | 15 |
| 18 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | @ CAR | 22 | 15 | 9 | 25 | 14 | 18 |
| 19 | Tennessee Titans | @ MIA | 20 | 24 | 16 | 20 | 18 | 19 |
| 19 | Washington | @ BAL | 19 | 23 | 14 | 22 | 20 | 20 |
| 21 | Oakland Raiders | vs. SD | 17 | -- | 15 | 18 | 24 | 24 |
| 22 | Detroit Lions | vs. PHI | 23 | 19 | 21 | 23 | 19 | 21 |
| 23 | Chicago Bears | @ IND | -- | 25 | 13 | 24 | 22 | 22 |
| 24 | Dallas Cowboys | vs. CIN | 25 | 22 | 25 | 17 | 23 | 23 |
| 25 | New York Giants | @ GB | 24 | 16 | -- | 21 | -- | 25 |
| 25 | San Diego Chargers | @ OAK | 21 | 20 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | Atlanta Falcons | @ DEN | -- | -- | 22 | -- | 25 | -- |
