Fantasy Football Week 8 Rankings: Five Defenses You Should Trust

by abournenesn

Oct 26, 2016

Defense wins championships, but it also can destroy your chances of winning them. The same is true in real-life football and fantasy football, which makes it very important to pick the right defense for your matchup each week.

Here are five defenses you can trust for Week 8.

Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings allow an NFL-low 14 points and 279.5 total yards per game, and they will face a Chicago Bears offense that’s scoring a league-low 15.9 points per game and is led by a third-string quarterback. The NFL’s best defense should provide fantasy owners with another stellar performance.

New England Patriots
The Patriots rank fourth in points allowed and are among 12 teams that’ve given up fewer than 100 rushing yards per game. They have a good matchup against a Buffalo Bills offense that’s dealing with an injury to No. 1 running back LeSean McCoy and is without top receiver Sammy Watkins. The Bills scored just 16 points with a healthy McCoy against the Patriots in Week 4.

Denver Broncos
Sure, the Broncos’ matchup against the Chargers isn’t amazing, but San Diego’s strength is its passing attack, and Denver has two elite cornerbacks in Aqib Talib and Chris Harris Jr., as well as the league’s best pass defense in terms of yards allowed per game. The Broncos also allow 16.7 points per game, sixth-fewest in the league.

Cleveland Browns
This is a bit of a risky play, but the New York Jets’ offense is terrible, with a league-high 17 turnovers, including 12 interceptions. Starting quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick has thrown three touchdown passes and 10 interceptions over the last five games, and New York also scores the third-fewest points per game. The Browns have struggled, but this is the best matchup for them to earn their first win of the season.

Tennessee Titans
The Titans are playing a Jacksonville Jaguars team that averages just 19.5 points per game and has thrown nine total interceptions, third-most in the league. Tennessee’s defense ranks 10th in total yards allowed per game, sixth in rushing yards allowed per game and second in defensive touchdowns.

Thumbnail photo via Greg M. Cooper/USA TODAY Sports Images

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