Top 12 Fantasy Football Defense Rankings for Week 8

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are coming off the best fantasy defense performance of Week 7 after putting up 23 points against the Chicago Bears. Tampa now draws a matchup with Jameis Winston and the volatile New Orleans Saints, making the Bucs a compelling start yet again.

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 8

12. Los Angeles Chargers (vs NE)

The Los Angeles Chargers' defense hasn't been great this season, but this looks like a nice spot for that unit. LA is forcing turnovers at the 10th-highest rate in the league. Mac Jones, meanwhile, has turned the ball over 7 times in his last five games. He has also taken 10 sacks in that five game span. That should be a problem against the Joey Bosa-led Chargers, who have the league's fifth-highest pressure rate (27.8%).

11. Carolina Panthers (at ATL)

10. Indianapolis Colts (vs TEN)

9. Chicago Bears (vs SF)

8. Denver Broncos (vs WAS)

7. Los Angeles Rams (at HOU)

6. Cleveland Browns (vs PIT)

5. San Francisco 49ers (at CHI)

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (at NO)

3. Pittsburgh Steelers (at CLE)

This ranking depends on the health of the Cleveland Browns' offense. But right now, that unit looks absolutely decimated. It's still not confirmed, but Case Keenum will likely be starting for the injured Baker Mayfield, and Cleveland also has injuries all over its offensive line and skill-position group. Look for the Pittsburgh D to get back on track this week.

2. Cincinnati Bengals (at NYJ)

It's hard to imagine a better spot for the Cincinnati Bengals to be in. Cincy is currently the league's fifth-best scoring defense and now draws a matchup with the Zach Wilson-less New York Jets. Mike White will be starting in place of Wilson and this one should turn into a rout sooner rather than later.

1. Buffalo Bills (vs MIA)

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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.