Top 12 Fantasy Football Defense Rankings for Week 2

In Week 1, we saw two defenses record over 20 fantasy points, while on the other side of things, scores got as low as -4 points for two teams (according to Yahoo! default scoring). Defenses may sometimes be an afterthought when you're setting your fantasy lineup, but they can also be the difference between a win and a loss in any given week.

With that in mind, here are our fantasy football defense rankings for Week 2.

12. Denver Broncos (vs Chicago Bears)

11. Seattle Seahawks (@ Pittsburgh Steelers)

10. Green Bay Packers (vs Minnesota Vikings)

9. Kansas City Chiefs (@ Oakland Raiders)

The Kansas City Chiefs look just as deadly on offense as they were in 2018, and that gives their defense a big boost for fantasy purposes. Playing with big leads (they're Week 2's fourth biggest favorite on FanDuel Sportsbook) creates plenty of favorable situations in which their opponents are forced to pass, as we saw when they recorded a league-best 52 sacks last season. The Raiders also allowed the fifth most sacks in the NFL in 2018, so the KC pass rush should get plenty of chances to get to Derek Carr.

8. Los Angeles Chargers (@ Detroit Lions)

7. Tennessee Titans (vs Indianapolis Colts)

Finishing second in the NFL in both sacks (five) and fantasy points (23), the Tennessee Titans' defense looked terrific in a tough matchup against the Cleveland Browns. The Indianapolis Colts looked surprisingly good in Week 1, but the Titans are at home this week and are still favored by three points in a game with a low 44.5-point over/under. Their scoring was inflated some by a defensive touchdown (unpredictable and rarely sustainable) last week, but if we remove TDs from everyone's fantasy scores the Titans actually would have been the highest-scoring defense.

6. Dallas Cowboys (@ Washington Redskins)

5. Buffalo Bills (@ New York Giants)

4. Houston Texans (vs Jacksonville Jaguars)

3. Chicago Bears (@ Denver Broncos)

Holding the Green Bay Packers to 10 points is no joke (they only scored fewer than 17 once in 2018), and the Chicago Bears' defense still looks like the best in the NFL. They also get an improved matchup in Week 2 against a Denver Broncos team that only managed to score 16 against a weak Oakland Raiders defense in Week 1.

2. New England Patriots (@ Miami Dolphins)

1. Baltimore Ravens (vs Arizona Cardinals)

The Baltimore Ravens dropped 13 fantasy points while recording three sacks and two interceptions in a Week 1 blowout against the Miami Dolphins. Things don't get much tougher for them in Week 2, and they're favored by 13 against the Arizona Cardinals. The break-neck pace Kliff Kingsbury's Cards played at in Week 1 means there are plenty of snaps for opposing defenses to score fantasy points on, and we saw that when the Detroit Lions got to Kyler Murray for five sacks last week. Expect more of the same against the Ravens, who led the league with 12 quarterback hits to start the year.

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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.