As the fantasy playoffs continue, let’s start off by looking at the top five fantasy defenses to start this week:
Fantasy Football Rankings, Week 15: Defense/Special Teams
Check out our Week 15 Defense rankings


1. Seattle Seahawks - The Seahawks had one of the greatest fantasy performances of all time last week and probably won the matchup for most, if not, all of their owners. The good times should keep on rolling as they take on the Bills this week. Ryan Fitzpatrick has fallen into his late season slump once again and Fred Jackson is out for the rest of the season, so the Seahawks defense will roll once again.
2. Cincinnati Bengals - Cincinnati has to be careful with the young skill position players of the Eagles but should be able to take care of business. The Bengals are playing with a lot on the line and the Eagles are still playing with not much of an offensive line. I think the Bengals will turn be sacking Foles quite a few times.
3. Detroit Lions - The Lions have the good fortune to play the lowly Cardinals this week. While I don't think they'll post a shut out, Detroit will be able to pressure the quarterback and cause a few turnovers. The rookie Ryan Lindley will be starting for Arizona and his accuracy is very poor.
4. Denver Broncos - Denver faces off against a fellow playoff contender in the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens are going through some turmoil on the offensive side of the ball and I expect some growing pains as they switch to a new offensive coordinator. I really like the Broncos chances here.
5. Pittsburgh Steelers - The Steelers haven't been at the top of their game this season but this should be one of their better games of the season. At this time of year, they usually flip the switch and I believe Romo and the Cowboys will pay the price. Dallas has not played very well at home and Romo will probably throw a couple picks.
Let’s take a look at the leaders in defensive touchdowns and fantasy scoring through Week 14:
| Player | INT | Safety | Sack | DFR | TD | PA | FPTS |
| Bears | 21 | 0 | 33 | 14 | 8 | 219 | 225 |
| Seahawks | 14 | 0 | 32 | 11 | 4 | 202 | 192 |
| Texans | 15 | 1 | 38 | 12 | 4 | 263 | 188 |
| Broncos | 15 | 2 | 39 | 6 | 7 | 257 | 185 |
| 49ers | 10 | 1 | 32 | 8 | 3 | 184 | 184 |
| Patriots | 15 | 1 | 27 | 19 | 7 | 274 | 183 |
| Chargers | 12 | 1 | 25 | 12 | 7 | 281 | 165 |
| Giants | 20 | 0 | 31 | 14 | 3 | 270 | 159 |
| Ravens | 13 | 0 | 30 | 12 | 5 | 273 | 156 |
| Browns | 15 | 0 | 34 | 12 | 3 | 272 | 154 |
| Rams | 13 | 1 | 39 | 3 | 4 | 279 | 153 |
| Bengals | 10 | 0 | 43 | 11 | 1 | 280 | 151 |
| Jets | 11 | 1 | 22 | 11 | 5 | 306 | 150 |
| Packers | 15 | 0 | 35 | 5 | 4 | 279 | 147 |
| Cardinals | 19 | 0 | 34 | 9 | 1 | 292 | 146 |
| Falcons | 16 | 0 | 28 | 8 | 2 | 259 | 140 |
| Steelers | 7 | 0 | 26 | 5 | 1 | 264 | 138 |
| Bills | 11 | 1 | 31 | 8 | 3 | 352 | 135 |
| Vikings | 9 | 0 | 31 | 8 | 4 | 286 | 131 |
| Buccaneers | 17 | 0 | 24 | 7 | 4 | 308 | 130 |
| Panthers | 9 | 1 | 30 | 10 | 3 | 312 | 126 |
| Dolphins | 9 | 0 | 37 | 3 | 3 | 276 | 125 |
| Cowboys | 6 | 0 | 29 | 8 | 4 | 314 | 121 |
| Redskins | 15 | 0 | 23 | 8 | 4 | 329 | 119 |
| Titans | 12 | 1 | 27 | 4 | 5 | 386 | 117 |
| Saints | 10 | 0 | 25 | 9 | 4 | 379 | 107 |
| Colts | 8 | 0 | 24 | 2 | 4 | 329 | 106 |
| Lions | 10 | 0 | 30 | 6 | 0 | 342 | 100 |
| Jaguars | 10 | 0 | 14 | 10 | 0 | 359 | 84 |
| Chiefs | 7 | 1 | 24 | 4 | 1 | 352 | 84 |
| Eagles | 7 | 0 | 22 | 3 | 1 | 341 | 76 |
| Raiders | 9 | 0 | 17 | 7 | 0 | 402 | 75 |
The Jets should continue to roll on defense, as their matchup is very favorable against the Titans. They’re not a bad choice if you’re in a bind. Playing the matchups again, the Dolphins get to face Jacksonville, a team that is still fighting with injuries to their skill position players. Chicago will be looking to get revenge for their early season loss. They held the Packers in check for most of that game. Houston hasn’t been playing that well of late, so you may want to look for a better matchup to play this week. The Titans face the Jets and they have been very favorable to fantasy defenses lately.
Here are the defenses that have been sacking the quarterback over the last three weeks:
Cincinnati, Baltimore, Tennessee - 11
Dallas, Miami, St. Louis, Houston - 10
San Francisco, Buffalo - 9
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. Cleveland - 38
2. Seattle - 41
3. St. Louis - 42
4. Cincinnati - 43
5. Denver - 45
Here are my rankings for Week 15:
| Ranking | Team | Opponent |
| 1 | Seattle | Buffalo |
| 2 | Cincinnati | Philadelphia |
| 3 | Detroit | Arizona |
| 4 | Denver | Baltimore |
| 5 | Pittsburgh | Dallas |
| 6 | NY Jets | Tennessee |
| 7 | Miami | Jacksonville |
| 8 | Chicago | Green Bay |
| 9 | Houston | Indianapolis |
| 10 | Tennessee | NY Jets |
| 11 | Green Bay | Chicago |
| 12 | St. Louis | Minnesota |
| 13 | New England | San Francisco |
| 14 | San Francisco | New England |
| 15 | Arizona | Detroit |
| 16 | Washington | Cleveland |
| 17 | Carolina | San Diego |
| 18 | Minnesota | St. Louis |
| 19 | Dallas | Pittsburgh |
| 20 | Baltimore | Denver |
| 21 | NY Giants | Atlanta |
| 22 | Jacksonville | Miami |
| 23 | Oakland | Kansas City |
| 24 | San Diego | Carolina |
| 25 | Kansas City | Oakland |
| 26 | Tampa Bay | New Orleans |
| 27 | Cleveland | Washington |
| 28 | Buffalo | Seattle |
| 29 | Atlanta | NY Giants |
| 30 | Indianapolis | Houston |
| 31 | New Orleans | Tampa Bay |
| 32 | Philadelphia | Cincinnati |











