Fantasy Football Week 12 Defense/Special Teams Rankings

Defenses to start: Pittsburgh Steelers - We were all able to see what New England was able to accomplish against Kansas City on Monday night. Pittsburgh must be ecstatic to face them this week. Pittsburgh is coming off a bye and Dick LeBeau will have prepared an excellent game plan to dominate the Chiefs. With Kansas City starting Tyler Palko again and facing a short week, it will get ugly.

Houston Texans - What an improvement that Wade Phillips has made to this defense. The Texans are holding teams to 16.6 points a game, while Jacksonville is only scoring 12.5 points a game. I think Houston holds Jacksonville under 10 points, while getting 3 sacks, 4 turnovers and a return touchdown.

All 32 defenses ranked following the jump.

Defenses to avoid: Kansas City Chiefs - The Chiefs defense is probably going to be on the field quite a lot. Like their defense, Pittsburgh's offense will have had plenty of time to game plan. The Steelers will run and pass at will.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Tampa Bay has not given up less than 20 points since Week 4. They are second last in sacks and are giving up almost 400 yards a game.

New York Giants - The Giants are facing the high powered offense of New Orleans. With an extra week to prepare, New Orleans will no doubt have some offensive wrinkles thrown in. I normally like the Giants defense but this will be a difficult game for them.