Fantasy Football Rankings: Five Must-Start Defenses For Week 5 Of Season

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Oct 4, 2017

Nothing boosts morale quite like picking the right streaming defense.

A rash of injuries in Week 4 had many fantasy football owners scrambling entering this week’s slate of NFL games. But here’s the good news: There always will be quality defenses on the waiver wire that can save your team with a big performance.

So, which club to choose this week? Here are our top five fantasy defense plays for Week 5.

Philadelphia Eagles (vs. Arizona Cardinals)
The Cardinals can’t keep Carson Palmer upright, allowing a whopping 12 sacks in their last two games. Now, they travel cross-country to face an opportunistic Eagles D that strip-sacked Philip Rivers last Sunday and ranks tied for second in the NFC with seven takeaways.

Pittsburgh Steelers (vs. Jacksonville Jaguars)
This isn’t exactly the Steel Curtain, but Pittsburgh’s defense has been surprisingly effective this season, tallying the third-most fantasy points among D/ST units. With a juicy home matchup against Blake Bortles and the inconsistent Jaguars, the Steelers should continue that trend in Week 5.

Minnesota Vikings (at Chicago Bears)
A good rule of thumb: Always start a fantasy defense facing a rookie quarterback making his NFL debut — especially when that defense is the Minnesota Vikings, who boast one of the league’s strongest pass rushes. Mitchell Trubisky might be a solid QB one day, but there will be growing pains, so you might as well exploit them.

Baltimore Ravens (at Oakland Raiders)
Wait, you mean the same Ravens defense that’s allowed 70 points over the last two weeks? Yes, we do, because of two words: EJ Manuel. Derek Carr’s quarterback replacement has committed 27 turnovers (16 interceptions, 11 fumbles) in 29 career games, and the Raiders’ offensive line has all sorts of protection issues right now. It’s time for a Baltimore bounce-back.

Detroit Lions (vs. Carolina Panthers)
Sorry — we’re not sold on the Panthers’ offense after they shredded the New England Patriots’ defense. Detroit leads the NFL in takeaways, while Carolina still coughed up the ball twice last weekend and scored 22 points combined in Weeks 2 and 3. Roll the Lions out with confidence.

Click for our top Week 5 waiver wire pickups at each position >>

Thumbnail photo via Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports Images

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