The Chicago Bears have been on one heckuva roll the last few weeks providing fantasy owners with quarterback-like scoring. In many fantasy leagues, they have already scored around 100 fantasy points on the heels of five defensive touchdowns, a league leading 13 interceptions and 18 sacks (2nd in the NFL). They have outscored two of the top defensive teams in the NFL to date, the San Francisco 49ers and the Houston Texans, by 40-50 points. In my fantasy league, they have outscored all but eight players thus far, including Tom Brady, Jamaal Charles and Arian Foster. I don't see this lasting all season, but they have been impressive nonetheless.
Let's take a look at the leaders in defensive touchdowns and fantasy scoring through Week 5:
Player |
Int |
STY |
SACK |
DFR |
DTD |
PA |
FPTS |
Bears DST CHI |
13 |
0 |
18 |
4 |
5 |
71 |
101 |
Jets DST NYJ |
5 |
0 |
5 |
2 |
4 |
132 |
47 |
Redskins DST WAS |
6 |
0 |
8 |
4 |
3 |
147 |
49 |
Titans DST TEN |
3 |
0 |
7 |
1 |
3 |
181 |
36 |
Panthers DST CAR |
5 |
1 |
14 |
1 |
2 |
125 |
45 |
Ravens DST BAL |
6 |
0 |
9 |
6 |
2 |
89 |
54 |
Texans DST HOU |
7 |
0 |
16 |
4 |
2 |
73 |
62 |
Vikings DST MIN |
2 |
0 |
14 |
5 |
2 |
79 |
49 |
Cardinals DST ARI |
5 |
0 |
17 |
6 |
1 |
78 |
53 |
Broncos DST DEN |
2 |
1 |
14 |
2 |
1 |
114 |
41 |
Saints DST NO |
3 |
0 |
11 |
5 |
1 |
154 |
34 |
Colts DST IND |
2 |
0 |
12 |
1 |
1 |
110 |
25 |
Seahawks DST SEA |
3 |
0 |
16 |
4 |
1 |
70 |
44 |
Browns DST CLE |
7 |
0 |
13 |
3 |
1 |
139 |
40 |
Bengals DST CIN |
1 |
0 |
19 |
5 |
1 |
129 |
41 |
Patriots DST NE |
6 |
0 |
8 |
8 |
1 |
113 |
43 |
Buccaneers DST TB |
6 |
0 |
8 |
2 |
1 |
91 |
34 |
Packers DST GB |
5 |
0 |
18 |
0 |
1 |
111 |
38 |
Chargers DST SD |
6 |
0 |
10 |
4 |
1 |
102 |
40 |
Bills DST BUF |
4 |
0 |
10 |
5 |
1 |
176 |
35 |
Rams DST STL |
8 |
0 |
15 |
1 |
1 |
94 |
47 |
49ers DST SF |
4 |
0 |
9 |
6 |
1 |
68 |
53 |
Dolphins DST MIA |
7 |
0 |
15 |
1 |
1 |
103 |
38 |
Falcons DST ATL |
9 |
0 |
13 |
5 |
0 |
93 |
48 |
Cowboys DST DAL |
1 |
0 |
9 |
3 |
0 |
88 |
20 |
Steelers DST PIT |
1 |
0 |
8 |
4 |
0 |
89 |
21 |
Jaguars DST JAC |
3 |
0 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
138 |
13 |
Chiefs DST KC |
3 |
1 |
12 |
1 |
0 |
145 |
28 |
Raiders DST OAK |
0 |
0 |
3 |
3 |
0 |
125 |
9 |
Lions DST DET |
0 |
0 |
9 |
3 |
0 |
114 |
15 |
Giants DST NYG |
8 |
0 |
8 |
3 |
0 |
111 |
37 |
Eagles DST PHI |
6 |
0 |
7 |
1 |
0 |
99 |
21 |
The Bears certainly won't score a defensive touchdown each week, but should continue to provide solid sack and turnover totals. The Arizona Cardinal defense continues to impress as they are tied for fourth in fantasy scoring among DSTs due to their 17 sacks and 11 forced turnovers.
A couple defenses that have disappointed thus far are the Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys, as they have scored just 20-21 points for fantasy owners through the first 5 weeks. The Eagles, tied for the NFL lead in sacks in 2011 with 50, have just seven sacks through five games this season; while the Giants have just eight sacks after getting to the quarterback 48 times last season.
Speaking of sacks, here are the sack leaders over the last three weeks that bare watching by fantasy owners:
Seattle, Cincinnati - 14
Miami, St.Louis - 14
Kansas CIty, Carolina - 11
For those of you who earn points for least points allowed, here are the top five defenses in points allowed over the last three weeks:
1. Chicago - 27
2. San Francisco - 27
3. Minnesota - 33
4. St. Louis - 39
5. Tampa Bay - 40
Other than San Francisco and Chicago, the other three teams on this list are a bit of a surprise.
Here are my rankings for Week 6:
Ranking |
Team |
Opponent |
1 |
New England |
Seattle |
2 |
San Francisco |
NY Giants |
3 |
Seattle |
New England |
4 |
Arizona |
Buffalo |
5 |
Pittsburgh |
Tennessee |
6 |
Baltimore |
Dallas |
7 |
Atlanta |
Oakland |
8 |
Miami |
St. Louis |
9 |
Houston |
Green Bay |
10 |
Green Bay |
Houston |
11 |
NY Jets |
Indianapolis |
12 |
St. Louis |
Miami |
13 |
Philadelphia |
Detroit |
14 |
Dallas |
Baltimore |
15 |
NY Giants |
San Francisco |
16 |
San Diego |
Denver |
17 |
Denver |
San Diego |
18 |
Minnesota |
Washington |
19 |
Cincinnati |
Cleveland |
20 |
Kansas City |
Tampa Bay |
21 |
Cleveland |
Cincinnati |
22 |
Tampa Bay |
Kansas City |
23 |
Tennessee |
Pittsburgh |
24 |
Detroit |
Philadelphia |
25 |
Indianapolis |
NY Jets |
26 |
Washington |
Minnesota |
27 |
Buffalo |
Arizona |
28 |
Oakland |
Atlanta |