Fantasy Football Week 7 Rankings: Defense/Special Teams

With two of the top defenses playing each other on Thursday night, Week 7 will kick off with a defensive extravaganza. San Francisco held the Giants passing game in check last week, allowing only 193 yards passing and one touchdown. But they were unable to sack Eli Manning or cause any turnovers, which severely limited their fantasy points.

The 49ers also allowed Ahmad Bradshaw to rush for 116 yards and one touchdown. I think they will do a much better job against Seattle on Thursday night and will hold Seahawks to thirteen points and cause three turnovers. I think their pressure on Russell Wilson will be intense and they will sack him at least three times.

Seattle did a very good job against the New England offense in Week 6. In the second half alone, they limited the Patriots to six points. They did an especially good job limiting the Patriots ground game to 87 yards on 26 rushing attempts. The Seahawks defense also intercepted Tom Brady twice and sacked him once. In this matchup, the Seahawks should allow only sixteen points and cause two turnovers. I expect them to get some pressure but probably only resulting in one sack of Alex Smith.

Let's take a look at the leaders in defensive touchdowns and fantasy scoring through Week 6:

The Bears are coming off a week of rest and will face a very pass heavy offense in the Detroit Lions. I really like their chances of intercepting some passes and returning one for a touchdown. I think the Texans will bounce back strong against Baltimore and will be looking to prove that they are the real thing. Flacco might be in for a long game with the pressure that will be coming his way. As mentioned above, the Niners and Seahawks should be locked up in a defensive struggle in the Thursday night game.

As Ray pointed out last week, the Dallas Cowboys, Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles continue to disappoint fantasy owners. I don't think we'll see them turn it around this week but hopefully we'll be able to see at least some glimpses of progress.

Here are the defenses that have been sacking the quarterback over the last three weeks:

Miami - 14

St. Louis - 13

Denver - 11

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. Chicago - 21

2. San Francisco - 29

3. St. Louis - 33

4. Tampa Bay - 34

5. Pittsburgh - 40

Here are my rankings for Week 7:

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