Week 10 was a little bit of a rough one for defense/special teams units, so let’s hope we can do a little better this week.
Fantasy football rankings, 2016: Defense/special teams for Week 11
The SB Nation fantasy team reveals which defense/special teams rank in the top 25 heading into Week 11.
Many of the teams at the top, including my personal top four, are pretty interchangeable — Arizona, Kansas City, Minnesota, and Seattle.
Arizona and Minnesota square off against each others’ stagnant offenses. The Cardinals have been a top defense, while the Vikings are on a bit of a skid, losing four games in a row. Overall, their defense has been too good to drop — so far.
Meanwhile in Kansas City, the Chiefs await the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Justin Houston’s return to a Chiefs defense that has averaged 12 points throughout the season — one of two teams to do so in 2016. Oh, and Kansas City has also been the No. 1 defense since Week 5.
Regardless of opponent, Seattle’s D/ST potential goes without saying. The Seahawks will host the Eagles this week.
From there, things start to get interesting and jumbled. New England has been mediocre at best, but their matchup with San Francisco is too good to ignore. Miami is an interesting rest-of-season matchup, but they should finish near the top in fantasy D/ST’s over the next two weeks at least (at Los Angeles this week, vs. San Francisco next). Speaking of the Rams, they’re a decent play this week against a Miami offense that, while it has found it’s footing as of late, are still a slightly-above-mediocre offense.
Rounding out that tier, and some decent streaming options, are Pittsburgh (at Cleveland), Oakland (vs. Houston), Detroit (vs. Jacksonville), Dallas (vs. Baltimore) and New York Giants (vs. Chicago).
Defense/special teams, Week 11
(ZS: Zach Senvisky, JM: Jason Marcum, SK: Scott Kaliska, JG: Jeff Goldberg, KB: Kyle Bennett, DG: Derek Gordon)
| Rk | Consensus | Opp. | ZS | JM | SK | JG | KB | DG |
| 1 | Arizona Cardinals | @ MIN | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Seattle Seahawks | vs. PHI | 2 | 4 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| 3 | Minnesota Vikings | vs. ARI | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 5 |
| 4 | Kansas City Chiefs | vs. TB | 16 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 2 | 3 |
| 5 | New England Patriots | @ SF | 3 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 11 |
| 6 | Miami Dolphins | @ LA | 4 | 14 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 14 |
| 7 | Buffalo Bills | @ CIN | 11 | 7 | 13 | 7 | 13 | 7 |
| 8 | Pittsburgh Steelers | @ CLE | 7 | 13 | 4 | 14 | 8 | 15 |
| 9 | Detroit Lions | vs. JAC | 8 | 18 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 20 |
| 10 | Los Angeles Rams | vs. MIA | 6 | 16 | 8 | 11 | 10 | 13 |
| 11 | Carolina Panthers | vs. NO | 12 | 8 | 14 | 9 | 14 | 8 |
| 12 | Houston Texans | @ OAK | 17 | 6 | 19 | 8 | 16 | 6 |
| 13 | Baltimore Ravens | @ DAL | 10 | 2 | 22 | 17 | 20 | 2 |
| 14 | New York Giants | vs. CHI | 9 | 17 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 17 |
| 15 | Dallas Cowboys | vs. BAL | 14 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 11 | 12 |
| 16 | Tennessee Titans | @ IND | 20 | 9 | 17 | 13 | 18 | 9 |
| 17 | Green Bay Packers | @ WAS | 15 | 10 | 23 | 18 | 19 | 10 |
| 18 | Cincinnati Bengals | vs. BUF | 13 | 23 | 12 | 16 | 15 | 18 |
| 19 | Oakland Raiders | vs. HOU | 18 | 20 | 10 | 20 | 12 | 25 |
| 20 | Philadelphia Eagles | @ SEA | 19 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 21 | 16 |
| 21 | Washington | vs. GB | 21 | 19 | 16 | 19 | 17 | 19 |
| 22 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | @ KC | 22 | 25 | 20 | 23 | 22 | 23 |
| 23 | Indianapolis Colts | vs. TEN | 23 | 21 | 25 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
| 24 | Jacksonville Jaguars | @ DET | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 21 |
| 25 | New Orleans Saints | @ CAR | 25 | 22 | -- | 25 | 25 | 22 |
| -- | Chicago Bears | @ NYG | -- | -- | 21 | -- | -- | -- |
