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Week 3 was a heck of a week for a lot of solid defenses. Sir Blake Bortles made a solid Ravens D look like they never got off the plane in London. The real Seattle defense, I swear, is going to show up at some point so don’t give up on them. There are also a few surprises for fantasy purposes in Jacksonville and Detroit. Let’s dive into Week 4:
Defense rankings Week 4
RANK | TEAM |
---|---|
RANK | TEAM |
1 | Philadelphia Eagles |
2 | Seattle Seahawks |
3 | Jacksonville Jaguars |
4 | Detroit Lions |
5 | Pittsburgh Steelers |
6 | Baltimore Ravens |
7 | Denver Broncos |
8 | Los Angeles Rams |
9 | Washington Redskins |
10 | Kansas City Chiefs |
11 | Arizona Cardinals |
12 | Buffalo Bills |
13 | Minnesota Vikings |
14 | Washington Redskins |
15 | Houston Texans |
16 | Chicago Bears |
17 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
18 | New York Giants |
19 | Cincinnati Bengals |
20 | Los Angeles Chargers |
21 | Dallas Cowboys |
22 | Tennessee Titans |
23 | Atlanta Falcons |
24 | Oakland Raiders |
25 | Green Bay Packers |
26 | Miami Dolphins |
27 | New England Patriots |
28 | Cleveland Browns |
29 | San Francisco 49ers |
30 | Indianapolis Colts |
31 | New York Jets |
32 | New Orleans Saints |
Best Bets: Eagles, Seahawks, Jaguars, Lions and Steelers
The Eagles get a shot at the Chargers this week against a Chargers team that is reeling after a horrendous Philip Rivers performance. The Chargers will either bounce back offensively, or continue to slide in a stadium that will be 65% filled with Philly transplants out in L.A.
As I said before, Seattle’s defense is going to start getting you points at some point. The Seahawks always start slow, but this week, they get a good crack at the Indianapolis Colts. With Andrew Luck still out, Indy’s offense is 29th in total yards at this point in the season.
Jacksonville leads the league in sacks (13), tied for 3rd in picks (4), and tied for 4th in forced fumbles (4) with one of those resulting in a touchdown. They’re also only allowing 10 PPG. These guys might be a sure thing all season.
Detroit is a sneaky good defense/special teams. Combined, the 2 units have scored 3 touchdowns and have also brought in 7 interceptions. They’ve let up 19 PPG, but they make up for it by putting up some points of their own. Sam Bradford may still be injured when the Lions play the Vikings and despite Case Keenum looking like Fran Tarkenton last week, play the Lions.
These Steelers are far from their Steel Curtain days, but they’ve done enough to earn a higher ranking this week. What helps is a matchup against the Ravens and Joe Flacco coming off a 28 yard performance against the Jags (in case you need more evidence that the Jags defense is real good). The Steelers are tied for second in sacks (11) and are one of three teams with a special teams block.