Top 12 Fantasy Football Defense Rankings for Week 5

Defenses are sometimes left as an afterthought in fantasy football, but Week 3 served as a reminder as to just how important they can be. Anyone who got 18 points from the Philadelphia Eagles defense in Week 4 can attest to that.

With that in mind, here are our fantasy football defense rankings for Week 5.

Best Fantasy Defenses for Week 5

12. Buffalo Bills (at TEN)

11. Kansas City Chiefs (vs LV)

10. Houston Texans (vs JAX)

9. Seattle Seahawks (vs MIN)

8. Dallas Cowboys (vs NYG)

The Dallas Cowboys' defense hasn't exactly been a strength this season, giving up at least 38 points in three straight games. Matchups are so disproportionately important for a fantasy defense, however, that they're still an interesting option this week against the New York Giants. FanDuel Sportsbook has the Cowboys as big 9.5-point favorites, meaning they're likely to force Daniel Jones into a ton of obvious passing situations. Considering Jones' propensity for taking sacks (14 through four games this season) and throwing picks (5 on the season), that should mean plenty of opportunities for fantasy scoring.

7. New Orleans Saints (vs LAC)

6. Arizona Cardinals (at NYJ)

5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (at CHI)

4. Los Angeles Rams (at WAS)

3. Baltimore Ravens (vs CIN)

The young Cincinnati Bengals offense is showing plenty of promise this season, but the Baltimore Ravens are still in a great spot here. They have forced turnovers on 19.4 percent of their opponents' drives (No. 5 in the NFL), averaging 10.8 fantasy points per game (No. 2). Pro Football Focus grade the Bengals' offensive line as a bottom-five pass blocking group in the NFL, so expect the Ravens to force Joe Burrow into some mistakes in Week 5.

2. San Francisco 49ers (vs MIA)

1. Pittsburgh Steelers (vs PHI)

Despite the high expectations they carried into the season, the Philadelphia Eagles have been a dreamy fantasy matchup for opposing defenses. They've allowed at least 6 points in all four games, with an average of 8.8 per game. The Pittsburgh Steelers defense has averaged 9.3 points per game (No. 3 in the NFL), and their 39 QB hits rank No. 2 in the NFL even though they've only played three games. They've got to be salivating about a matchup with an Eagles team that has given up 3.5 sacks per game.

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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 his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.