Top 12 Fantasy Football Defense Rankings for Week 9

More than any other position in fantasy, finding the right defense is about playing the matchups. For example, the Philadelphia Eagles are coming off the best defensive performance of the week against the Detroit Lions (21 points). But now that they're facing the Justin Herbert-led Los Angeles Chargers, Philadelphia does not look like a good start in Week 9.

If you need help breaking down the rest of the week's matchups, here are our top-12 fantasy football defense rankings.

Fantasy Football Defense Rankings Week 9

12. Cincinnati Bengals (vs CLE)

The Cincinnati Bengals are coming off a brutal loss to the New York Jets, but this defense has been really impressive otherwise. The Bengals are the league's sixth-best scoring defense, allowing just 20.3 points per game. They owe a good deal of that success to their pass-rush, which has generated a whopping 83 pressures thus far (No. 3 in the NFL). With Baker Mayfield battling injuries, look for the Bengals' pass-rush to tee off against the Browns' underwhelming aerial attack.

11. Los Angeles Rams (vs TEN)

10. Los Angeles Chargers (at PHI)

9. Las Vegas Raiders (at NYG)

8. New Orleans Saints (vs ATL)

The New Orleans Saints have been one of the most impressive defenses in the league this season. That's especially true from a fantasy perspective, where New Orleans is currently the league's third-best fantasy defense. They'll matchup with the Atlanta Falcons, who could only muster 13 points against the Carolina Panthers last week without Calvin Ridley. New Orleans looks like a strong play again in Week 9.

7. Carolina Panthers (vs NE)

6. Arizona Cardinals (at SF)

5. Pittsburgh Steelers (vs CHI)

4. Dallas Cowboys (vs DEN)

3. New England Patriots (at CAR)

2. Indianapolis Colts (vs NYJ)

1. Buffalo Bills (at JAX)

The Buffalo Bills have been the best defense in fantasy, and now they get one of the best matchups available. The Jacksonville Jaguars turn the ball over at the third-highest rate in the league (17.1%). That should be a problem against a Bills' defense that generates turnovers more often than anyone else in the league (20.3%).

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Max Staley is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Max Staley also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username mstaley1212. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.