David Banks
Check out our Week 9 Defense/Special Teams rankings before setting your rosters this week.
The Minnesota Vikings and Seattle Seahawks have been struggling on offense, specifically their passing offenses, and that should lead to a defensive struggle this week. Christian Ponder has been struggling with his accuracy over the last two weeks and that has led to interceptions. Russell Wilson has also had his ups and downs. He has thrown more interceptions than touchdowns over his last five games.
I think the Vikings will allow 21 points and cause two turnovers. Minnesota should be able to sack Wilson three times. The Seahawks will have the home crowd behind them and that has certainly aided their defense. Seattle will hold the Vikings to seventeen points and intercept Ponder at least once, and they should be able to get a pair of sacks this week. I think they'll allow more yards than Minnesota but hold them to fewer points.
Let's take a look at the leaders in defensive touchdowns and fantasy scoring through Week 8:
| Player | INT | Safety | Sack | DFR | TD | PA | FPTS |
| Bears | 16 | 0 | 23 | 7 | 6 | 100 | 149 |
| Texans | 9 | 1 | 22 | 4 | 4 | 128 | 120 |
| 49ers | 6 | 0 | 15 | 6 | 1 | 103 | 105 |
| Cardinals | 8 | 0 | 26 | 7 | 1 | 142 | 102 |
| Giants | 16 | 0 | 21 | 8 | 1 | 161 | 101 |
| Patriots | 9 | 1 | 16 | 11 | 2 | 170 | 98 |
| Seahawks | 7 | 0 | 21 | 4 | 1 | 134 | 97 |
| Vikings | 4 | 0 | 23 | 6 | 3 | 167 | 93 |
| Broncos | 7 | 1 | 19 | 4 | 3 | 152 | 91 |
| Packers | 9 | 0 | 26 | 1 | 2 | 170 | 90 |
| Falcons | 10 | 0 | 19 | 7 | 1 | 130 | 87 |
| Browns | 10 | 0 | 19 | 6 | 2 | 186 | 87 |
| Dolphins | 8 | 0 | 22 | 3 | 2 | 126 | 86 |
| Jets | 7 | 0 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 200 | 82 |
| Redskins | 10 | 0 | 14 | 5 | 4 | 227 | 78 |
| Chargers | 7 | 0 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 144 | 78 |
| Rams | 8 | 0 | 21 | 1 | 1 | 186 | 77 |
| Buccaneers | 10 | 0 |
11 |
4 | 2 |
153 |
77 |
| Panthers | 6 | 1 | 20 | 4 | 2 | 167 | 76 |
| Ravens | 7 | 0 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 161 | 76 |
| Bills | 6 | 1 | 17 | 5 | 2 | 227 | 69 |
| Bengals | 3 | 0 | 24 | 6 | 1 | 187 | 68 |
| Steelers | 3 | 0 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 144 | 64 |
| Lions | 3 | 0 | 17 | 5 | 0 | 174 | 59 |
| Cowboys | 3 | 0 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 162 | 55 |
| Titans | 6 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 257 | 53 |
| Raiders | 5 | 0 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 187 | 52 |
| Chiefs | 5 | 1 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 209 | 51 |
| Eagles | 7 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 155 | 49 |
| Colts | 2 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 171 | 47 |
| Jaguars | 4 | 0 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 188 | 43 |
| Saints | 3 | 0 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 216 | 41 |
The Bears should dominate the Titans this week and will probably get four or five sacks against the immobile Matt Hasselbeck. The Houston Texans after a week off, will be ready to take it to the Bills. Buffalo will have a difficult time putting points on the board. I would probably avoid starting the Cardinals defense, as they take on the Green Bay offense. The Eagles, Cowboys and Steelers are poor starts this week. If you have any other options, it would be best to go in that direction.
Here are the defenses that have been sacking the quarterback over the last three weeks:
New York Giants - 13
Arizona, Minnesota - 9
Detroit, Green Bay, New England - 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. Miami - 23
2. Chicago - 29
3. San Francisco - 35
4. Atlanta - 37
5. Denver - 38
Here are my rankings for Week 9:
| Ranking | Team | Opponent |
| 1 | Chicago | Tennessee |
| 2 | Green Bay | Arizona |
| 3 | Houston | Buffalo |
| 4 | Seattle | Minnesota |
| 5 | Atlanta | Dallas |
| 6 | Detroit | Jacksonville |
| 7 | San Diego | Kansas City |
| 8 | Denver | Cincinnati |
| 9 | Minnesota | Seattle |
| 10 | Miami | Indianapolis |
| 11 | NY Giants | Pittsburgh |
| 12 | Baltimore | Cleveland |
| 13 | Washington | Carolina |
| 14 | Kansas City | San Diego |
| 15 | Cleveland | Baltimore |
| 16 | Oakland | Tampa Bay |
| 17 | New Orleans | Philadelphia |
| 18 | Tampa Bay | Oakland |
| 19 | Arizona | Green Bay |
| 20 | Pittsburgh | NY Giants |
| 21 | Cincinnati | Denver |
| 22 | Tennessee | Chicago |
| 23 | Dallas | Atlanta |
| 24 | Carolina | Washington |
| 25 | Indianapolis | Miami |
| 26 | Jacksonville | Detroit |
| 27 | Philadelphia | New Orleans |
| 28 | Buffalo | Houston |
For more fantasy info, head over to the SB Nation Fantasy War Room 4-8:30 p.m. ET Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET on Sunday. Check out SB Nation's own Fantasy Football game, Pick 6!
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