Top 12 Fantasy Football Defense Rankings for Week 5

Last week, we had the Buffalo Bills as our top-ranked unit of the slate. They delivered with a stellar 23.0-point performance over the Houston Texans. But more than almost any other position in fantasy, starting the right defense is about finding the right matchups. And Buffalo won't be our top-ranked unit this week, as the Bills have a date with the explosive Kansas City Chiefs.

If you need help sorting through this week's slate, The Duel is here to help. Here are our top-12 defenses for Week 5.

Fantasy Football Defense Rankings Week 5

12. Tennessee Titans (at JAX)

11. Minnesota Vikings (vs DET)

10. Green Bay Packers (at CIN)

9. Arizona Cardinals (vs SF)

8. Carolina Panthers (vs PHI)

The Carolina Panthers' defense got exposed in Week 4, but they'll get a chance to bounce back here. The Philadelphia Eagles are dealing with a ton of injuries to their offensive line, and that should be a huge problem against this front seven. Carolina is second in the league in sacks (14) and first in pressures (46). That kind of pressure could lead to a ton of sacks and turnovers for Jalen Hurts.

7. New Orleans Saints (at WAS)

6. Las Vegas Raiders (vs CHI)

5. Baltimore Ravens (vs IND)

4. New England Patriots (at HOU)

The New England Patriots draw the best matchup of the week. Davis Mills was held under 90 yards on 21 attempts while throwing 4 interceptions and taking 3 sacks. We just saw what this Patriots' defense can do, limiting Tom Brady to a season-low 269 yards with 0 touchdowns. Bill Belichick will have Mills seeing ghosts on Sunday.

3. Denver Broncos (at PIT)

2. Pittsburgh Steelers (vs DEN)

1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (vs MIA)

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are our top-ranked defense of the week. They haven't been quite up to par lately, but that should change against the Miami Dolphins' dreadful offensive line. Miami owns the league's second-worst pass-blocking grade from ProFootballFocus. Tampa Bay hasn't generated pressure the way we'd expect, but the Bucs' stars should have a field day in this one. The injured secondary could be a problem, but Jacoby Brissett isn't exactly positioned to take advantage of that.

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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.