Week 9 sees a different face atop our rankings, with the Kansas City Chiefs slotting in at No. 1 before it’s home matchup against Jacksonville. After putting up a 20-point performance last week against Indianapolis, coupled with the Jaguars’ woeful performance on Thursday Night Football in Week 8, it’s tough to see what could go wrong here.
Fantasy football rankings, 2016: Defense/special teams for Week 9
The SB Nation fantasy team reveals which defense/special teams rank in the top 25 heading into Week 9.
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Don’t worry, Minnesota — who is hosting Detroit — hasn’t fallen too far.
Others near the top include Seattle (vs. Buffalo), Carolina (at Los Angeles) and Green Bay (vs. the Colts).
On the surface, the Dallas Cowboys like a great play this week in Cleveland — but the Browns are likely getting Corey Coleman back and Dallas is looking at multi-week injuries to Morris Claiborne and Barry Church.
As you can see, my colleagues are higher on Denver’s defense than I this week, and understandably so. It has recorded double-digit point totals in every week except Weeks 1 (Carolina) and 5 (Atlanta). And even in those games, it picked up eight and seven points, respectively. On the flip side, the Oakland offense has been a nightmare to fantasy defenses, allowing just as many negative point total performances as positive point total performances. Take into consideration that the game will be played in Oakland.
In addition to the Cowboys, other decent streaming options include Miami (at home vs. the Jets) and Oakland (hosting Denver).
Defense/special teams, Week 9
(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 | Kansas City Chiefs | vs. JAC | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 2 | Seattle Seahawks | vs. BUF | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 3 | Minnesota Vikings | vs. DET | 6 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 2 |
| 4 | Carolina Panthers | @ LA | 3 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| 5 | Denver Broncos | @ OAK | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 17 | 3 |
| 6 | Dallas Cowboys | @ CLE | 4 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 7 |
| 7 | Green Bay Packers | vs. IND | 9 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 6 |
| 8 | Philadelphia Eagles | @ NYG | 8 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 |
| 9 | New York Jets | @ MIA | 10 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 10 |
| 10 | Los Angeles Rams | vs. CAR | 11 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 13 | 9 |
| 11 | Buffalo Bills | @ SEA | 13 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
| 12 | Pittsburgh Steelers | @ BAL | 7 | 13 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 13 |
| 13 | Baltimore Ravens | vs. PIT | 16 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 12 |
| 14 | Miami Dolphins | vs. NYJ | 12 | 19 | 10 | 14 | 7 | 19 |
| 15 | New York Giants | vs. PHI | 15 | 10 | 19 | 16 | 14 | 14 |
| 16 | Oakland Raiders | vs. DEN | 14 | 16 | 15 | 17 | 15 | 15 |
| 17 | Detroit Lions | @ MIN | 22 | 18 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 18 |
| 18 | Tennessee Titans | @ SD | 19 | 15 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 21 |
| 19 | San Diego Chargers | vs. TEN | 18 | 17 | 21 | 19 | 18 | 22 |
| 20 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | vs. ATL | 20 | 22 | 22 | 20 | 20 | 20 |
| 21 | Jacksonville Jaguars | @ KC | 25 | 21 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 16 |
| 22 | New Orleans Saints | @ SF | 24 | 20 | 25 | 21 | 21 | 17 |
| 23 | Atlanta Falcons | @ TB | 17 | 24 | 18 | 23 | 23 | 24 |
| 24 | Cleveland Browns | vs. DAL | 21 | -- | 23 | 24 | 24 | -- |
| 25 | Indianapolis Colts | @ GB | 23 | 23 | -- | 25 | -- | 25 |
| 26 | San Francisco 49ers | vs. NO | -- | 25 | 24 | -- | 25 | 23 |
