Top 12 Fantasy Football Defense Rankings for Week 10

Defensive scoring in fantasy football has been huge in the 2019 season, and there have already been 14 instances of a defense eclipsing 20 fantasy points. Additionally, both the New England Patriots and San Francisco 49ers' defenses are among the 45 players across all positions to score at least 100 standard scoring fantasy points so far in 2019.

Defensive production can be volatile though, and the top unit for a given week can depend heavily on the matchups each defense draws. With that in mind, here are our top 12 fantasy football defenses for Week 10 of the 2019 NFL season.

If you're looking for rankings at other positions, be sure to also check out our full Week 10 PPR fantasy football rankings.

12. Minnesota Vikings at Dallas Cowboys

Underdog defenses are often worth avoiding, but the Minnesota Vikings are only 2.5-point dogs against the Dallas Cowboys on FanDuel Sportsbook. The Vikings also rank ninth among all defenses with an average of 8.0 fantasy points per game. That is thanks in part to a 7.9 percent sack rate (No. 8 in the NFL) and 14.0 percent takeaway rate (No. 7 in the NFL), which gives Minnesota a ton of fantasy upside on a weekly basis.

11. Dallas Cowboys vs Minnesota Vikings

10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals are one of only six teams to have allowed at least 30 sacks in 2019, giving up the seventh-highest sack rate (8.6 percent) in the league. They're averaging a reasonable 21.7 points per game (No. 19 in the NFL), but the struggles in pass protection still have them allowing top-12 fantasy production to opposing defenses. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' defense averages just 6.4 fantasy points per game, but the unit has plenty of upside, with at least nine QB hits in three of eight games, including 11 in Week 9.

9. New York Giants at New York Jets

8. Cleveland Browns vs Buffalo Bills

7. Los Angeles Rams at Pittsburgh Steelers

6. Chicago Bears vs Detroit Lions

5. Green Bay Packers vs Carolina Panthers

4. New Orleans Saints vs Atlanta Falcons

The New Orleans Saints have held opponents to the 10th-fewest points (19.5) and fifth-fewest yards (316.5) per game in 2019. They also have the ninth-highest sack rate (7.8 percent) and second-most hurries (49), boasting fantasy upside with a dangerous pass rush. They should have plenty of opportunities to show off that pass rush as 12-point favorites against the Atlanta Falcons.

3. Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals

2. Indianapolis Colts vs Miami Dolphins

1. San Francisco 49ers vs Seattle Seahawks

With the New England Patriots on bye, the San Francisco 49ers' 13.1 fantasy points per game are the most for any of the defenses in action. San Francisco is recording a hurry, knockdown or sack on 31.8 percent of its opponents' dropbacks, which is the highest rate in the NFL and 2.7 percentage points higher than any other team. The Seattle Seahawks offense is a solid one, but they just let Russell Willson get hit 11 times in Week 9, and the 49ers' pass rush should have little trouble getting home this week.

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Jason Schandl is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Jason Schandl also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Jaymun. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.