Week 5 Defense/Special Teams Rankings: Broncos Charge To No. 1 Spot
If there’s anything we’ve learned through the first quarter of the NFL season, it’s that parody reigns supreme.
There’s a lot of teams that only muster up a response of “meh” when we think of them, which means more fantasy football defenses stand a decent shot at giving you points.
A friendly reminder: You should be playing the matchups on a weekly basis when it comes to fantasy defenses unless you have a consensus top-five team.
Here’s who we like in our Week 5 fantasy football defense/special teams rankings.
1. Denver Broncos
Week 5 Opponent: Oakland Raiders
2015 Stats: 11 takeaways (6 INTs, 5 fumbles), 2 defensive touchdowns
The Oakland Raiders have shown a lot of promise on offense, and Derek Carr and Amari Cooper likely still will get their share. But the Broncos arguably have the best defense in football.
2. Arizona Cardinals
Week 5 Opponent: Detroit Lions
2015 Stats: 7 takeaways (7 INTs), 3 defensive touchdowns, 1 kick-return touchdown
The birds were grounded in Week 4 in a trap game against a sneaky-good St. Louis Rams team. But the Lions really can’t do anything well, so enjoy this matchup.
3. New England Patriots
Week 5 Opponent: Dallas Cowboys
2015 Stats: 5 takeaways (5 INTs)
Too many Dallas injuries, not enough talent. This should’ve been the game of the week, but Bill Belichick’s defense should be salivating at the thought of playing this Cowboys team — especially coming out of the early bye.
4. Seattle Seahawks
Week 5 Opponent: Cincinnati Bengals
2015 Stats: 5 takeaways (5 fumbles), 1 punt-return touchdown, 1 kick-return touchdown
Seattle hasn’t allowed a touchdown since Kam Chancellor returned. That streak likely ends this week against a good Bengals offense, but that stat alone should be enough to convince you to play the Seahawks D.
5. Buffalo Bills
Week 5 Opponent: Tennessee Titans
2015 Stats: 9 takeaways (6 INTs, 3 fumbles), 1 defensive touchdown
OK, you could make an argument that the Bills are heading toward an implosion just four games into the Rex Ryan era. That said, there’s nothing like feasting on a rookie quarterback to bring a defense — and entire team — together. Marcus Mariota’s been great, but this is a good gamble to take.
6. New York Giants
Week 5 Opponent: San Francisco 49ers
2015 Stats: 8 takeaways (5 INTs, 3 fumbles), 1 defensive touchdown
San Francisco already was scoring the fewest points in the NFL (15 per game) heading into Week 4, where they managed just three against the Green Bay Packers. The Giants are among the league leaders in takeaways, and they’ll likely be available if your defense is on bye.
7. Atlanta Falcons
Week 5 Opponent: Washington Redskins
2015 Stats: 8 takeaways (4 INTs, 4 fumbles), 2 defensive touchdowns
No Falcons opponent has scored fewer than 20 points this season, but this is still the Washington Redskins we’re talking about. Atlanta also ranks near the top in takeaways, while the Redskins are near the top in giveaways (7).
8. Houston Texans
Week 5 Opponent: Indianapolis Colts
2015 Stats: 2 takeaways (2 INTs)
Andrew Luck says he doesn’t have a shoulder subluxation and he’s starting, but why would anyone risk that? If your franchise quarterback, who has stunk all season, couldn’t play Sunday, why play Thursday in a short week? For what it’s worth, injury news of that nature doesn’t appear out of thin air, either. Whether it’s an injured Luck or Matt Hasselbeck, this is a decent opportunistic play.
9. Kansas City Chiefs
Week 5 Opponent: Chicago Bears
2015 Stats: 3 takeaways (2 INTs, 1 fumble), 1 defensive touchdown
Good for Jay Cutler gutting his way into last week’s game and finding a way to win. But he’s still Jay Cutler, and this Chiefs secondary is too good to get lit up every week. This has bounce-back game written all over it.
10. Baltimore Ravens
Week 5 Opponent: Cleveland Browns
2015 Stats: 4 takeaways (3 INTs, 1 fumble), 2 defensive touchdowns.
The Browns are fourth in the league in giveaways with eight.
Bonus: The Green Bay Packers are worth a look. The St. Louis Rams scored most of their points off takeaways last Sunday, and the chances of quarterback Aaron Rodgers turning the ball over at home are miniscule.
Most Giveaways: Colts (12) vs. Texans; Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10) vs. Jacksonville Jaguars; Lions (9) vs. Cardinals.
Teams With Special-Team TDs: Punt Return: Seahawks, Dolphins, Rams, Browns, Eagles, Saints; Kick Return: Seahawks, Cardinals, Redskins.
Thumbnail photo via Ron Chenoy/USA TODAY Sports Images
