This game may not be the lowest scoring matchup of the week but its the defensive matchup that I’m looking forward to watching. The game I’m talking about is the Houston Texans against the Detroit Lions. According to statistics, they’re both top ten defenses but in fantasy points, Houston is far ahead of Detroit. I have a feeling that Houston is going to jump out to an early lead and that Detroit is going to pile up some passing yards in garbage time.
Fantasy Football Rankings, Week 12: Defense/Special Teams
Thanksgiving Weekend will provide a feast for some fantasy football defenses, so check out our Week 12 rankings.
Doug Pensinger
The Houston team that we see this week is not going to give up thirty-seven points to the Lions. They will be focused and prepared to stop Detroit’s passing attack. They’ll allow twenty-three points but only two touchdowns. I believe they’ll sack Stafford four times and pick him off twice, returning one for a touchdown. I think Houston is a good start this week.
Detroit, on the other hand, will have a long Thanksgiving Day having to deal with the Houston offense. I think they’ll allow thirty points and have difficulty stopping the pass and the run. They should be able to get at least a couple sacks and an interception. Not a bad day but you can do much better this week.
Let’s take a look at the leaders in defensive touchdowns and fantasy scoring through Week 11:
| Player | INT | Safety | Sack | DFR | TD | PA | FPTS |
| Bears | 19 | 0 | 28 | 11 | 8 | 165 | 194 |
| Texans | 11 | 1 | 28 | 8 | 4 | 180 | 156 |
| Broncos | 12 | 2 | 35 | 5 | 6 | 212 | 151 |
| 49ers | 8 | 1 | 23 | 7 | 1 | 134 | 137 |
| Patriots | 13 | 1 | 20 | 14 | 5 | 225 | 136 |
| Seahawks | 9 | 0 | 28 | 7 | 1 | 161 | 132 |
| Ravens | 11 | 0 | 19 | 10 | 5 | 206 | 127 |
| Chargers | 9 | 1 | 17 | 10 | 5 | 221 | 125 |
| Packers | 12 | 0 | 33 | 4 | 3 | 207 | 123 |
| Giants | 17 | 0 | 25 | 10 | 2 | 216 | 121 |
| Cardinals | 14 | 0 | 28 | 8 | 1 | 196 | 120 |
| Falcons | 11 | 0 | 24 | 8 | 2 | 193 | 118 |
| Jets | 8 | 0 | 17 | 10 | 5 | 241 | 111 |
| Buccaneers | 15 | 0 | 17 | 5 | 4 | 230 | 111 |
| Dolphins | 8 | 0 | 27 | 3 | 3 | 205 | 107 |
| Panthers | 8 | 1 | 26 | 7 | 3 | 243 | 106 |
| Bengals | 7 | 0 | 32 | 9 | 1 | 237 | 106 |
| Browns | 10 | 0 | 27 | 7 | 2 | 234 | 103 |
| Steelers | 5 | 0 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 190 | 102 |
| Vikings | 5 | 0 | 26 | 7 | 3 | 221 | 102 |
| Redskins | 12 | 0 | 18 | 6 | 4 | 254 | 100 |
| Bills | 8 | 1 | 23 | 6 | 3 | 299 | 99 |
| Cowboys | 4 | 0 | 20 | 7 | 3 | 224 | 96 |
| Rams | 8 | 0 | 29 | 1 | 1 | 237 | 91 |
| Saints | 7 | 0 | 24 | 7 | 3 | 273 | 86 |
| Titans | 9 | 1 | 16 | 4 | 4 | 311 | 86 |
| Lions | 6 | 0 | 23 | 5 | 0 | 246 | 79 |
| Colts | 4 | 0 | 21 | 2 | 2 | 260 | 75 |
| Chiefs | 6 | 1 | 17 | 4 | 1 | 284 | 69 |
| Eagles | 7 | 0 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 252 | 62 |
| Jaguars | 7 | 0 | 12 | 7 | 0 | 289 | 60 |
| Raiders | 6 | 0 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 322 | 57 |
As long as the Bears control Adrian Peterson, they should be able to control the Vikings offense easily. I could see them scoring a pair of defensive touchdowns off Minnesota turnovers. The Bears defense is a must start this week. The Broncos are also a must start and I think they'll put up the most points for a defense this week. The Chiefs offense is such a disaster and Denver will certainly take advantage. I wouldn't risk it with the 49ers this week when they take on the powerful Saints offense. Although I think they'll sack Brees a number of times and probably get a return touchdown on special teams. One last defense of note is the Patriots. They face the Jets and I would think they will have there way with them on Thursday night.
Here are the defenses that have been sacking the quarterback over the last three weeks:
Denver - 16
New Orleans - 11
San Francisco, Cleveland, St. Louis - 8
If you play in a league that rewards teams that allow the least amount of points, here are the top five defenses in points allowed over the last three weeks:
1. Seattle - 27
2. Washington - 27
3. San Francisco - 31
4. Green Bay - 37
5. NY Jets - 41
Here are my rankings for week 12:
| Ranking | Team | Opponent |
| 1 | Denver | Kansas City |
| 2 | Chicago | Minnesota |
| 3 | Seattle | Miami |
| 4 | Houston | Detroit |
| 5 | Baltimore | San Diego |
| 6 | Carolina | Philadelphia |
| 7 | New England | NY Jets |
| 8 | Arizona | St. Louis |
| 9 | St. Louis | Arizona |
| 10 | Cincinnati | Oakland |
| 11 | Minnesota | Chicago |
| 12 | San Francisco | New Orleans |
| 13 | Cleveland | Pittsburgh |
| 14 | Green Bay | NY Giants |
| 15 | Washington | Dallas |
| 16 | Pittsburgh | Cleveland |
| 17 | San Diego | Baltimore |
| 18 | NY Giants | Green Bay |
| 19 | Dallas | Washington |
| 20 | Indianapolis | Buffalo |
| 21 | Tennessee | Jacksonville |
| 22 | Miami | Seattle |
| 23 | Buffalo | Indianapolis |
| 24 | Tampa Bay | Atlanta |
| 25 | Atlanta | Tampa Bay |
| 26 | New Orleans | San Francisco |
| 27 | Jacksonville | Tennessee |
| 28 | Detroit | Houston |
| 29 | NY Jets | New England |
| 30 | Philadelphia | Carolina |
| 31 | Oakland | Cincinnati |
| 32 | Kansas City | Denver |
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