Week 1 wasn’t the best week for fantasy defenses. Twenty teams allowed 21 points or more, and five teams allowed 31 or more points.
Of the defenses that allowed 27 or more points, five of them were owned in at least 80 percent of Yahoo! fantasy leagues. Some of the preseason favorites for defenses really disappointed in Week 1, including the Baltimore Ravens who let Peyton Manning put up seven passing touchdowns on them and the San Francisco 49ers only earned owners five fantasy points in standard Yahoo! leagues.
In Week 2, owners are hoping the big-name defenses turn it around, but are the biggest names necessarily the best options this week?
These are eDraft’s top five fantasy defenses for Week 2.
1. Houston Texans
The Texans were one of those disappointing defenses in Week 1, giving up 28 points to the San Diego Chargers. Houston managed to salvage its fantasy value by scoring a touchdown, but they won’t need the free six points this week against the Tennessee Titans. After Week 1, the Titans are the third-worst offense in the NFL in terms of yardage, while quarterback Jake Locker only completed 55 percent of his passes.
Against the Chargers, the Texans were also without safety Ed Reed, a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Reed could play against the Titans, and is taking more reps in practice this week, according to Houston Texans.com. If Reed plays, that will give a huge boost to the Texans already strong passing defense.
Houston will have a big rebound game against Tennessee, and between the potential for defensive scoring and the ineptitude of the Titans offense, Houston is this week’s No. 1 fantasy defense.
Projected Statistics: Seven points allowed, one interception, three sacks, one touchdown
2. Chicago Bears
Although many questioned what Chicago’s defense would be like with the loss of Brian Urlacher to retirement, it proved that it is still one of the dominant defenses in the NFL. The Bears held the Cincinnati Bengals to just 63 rushing yards and forced two interceptions out of Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton.
Most owners will be afraid to play the Bears because of Adrian Peterson, which is perfectly understandable, and Peterson made it into eDraft’s top five fantasy running back rankings for Week 2. But even if Peterson scrounges two touchdowns and 100 yards, the Minnesota Vikings passing attack is nothing to be concerned about. Jerome Simpson isn’t going to pick up 140 yards every game, and quarterback Christian Ponder threw three interceptions against the Detroit Lions last week.
The Bears may give up some points just because of the Peterson factor, but they’ll still be at the top of the defensive rankings this week.
Projected Statistics: 17 points allowed, two interceptions, three sacks
3. Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals quietly had a quality defensive outing against the Chicago Bears in Week 1, only allowing 323 total yards, which was 12th best in the NFL. They also held the traditionally explosive Matt Forte to just 2.6 yards per carry. In a loss, the Bengals gave up 24 total points, obviously not great.
But their high Week 2 ranking says more about their opponent, the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers have virtually no running game with LeVeon Bell out for at least another month, and Pittsburgh is having to rely on LaRod Stephens-Howling to carry the majority of the load. In Week 1, the Steelers only mustered seven points on offense against the Tennessee Titans, who gave up the most points per game to opposing teams last season.
Because it’s a rivalry game, Ben Roethlisberger will step up his game and will end up scoring more than seven points, but the Bengals will make Pittsburgh one-dimensional and force a few turnovers especially with the loss of Pro Bowl center Maurkice Pouncey for the season.
Projected Statistics: 17 points, four sacks, one interception
4. Baltimore Ravens
This ranking will probably catch quite a few people off-guard, after Baltimore gave up 49 points to the Denver Broncos in the opening game of the 2013 NFL season. But this will be a big bounce-back game for the Ravens, who will not only be looking to redeem themselves but they’ll be facing the Cleveland Browns.
Despite the gaudy numbers Peyton Manning put up against Baltimore’s defense, the Ravens did manage to hold the Broncos’ to 65 rushing yards. Going up against the Browns, the Ravens will have the menial task of holding Brandon Weeden in check, who completed less than 50 percent of his passes against the Miami Dolphins and threw three interceptions. The Browns have historically played poorly against the Ravens, and haven’t beaten the since 2009, so the Ravens will pick up the win and the fantasy points this week.
Projected Statistics: 20 points allowed, two sacks, two interceptions
5. New England Patriots
The Patriots barely pulled out a win in Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills, and this week will look to prove that they can crush the teams they’re supposed to crush when they face off against the New York Jets on Thursday night. Although the Bills scored 21 points against the Patriots, E.J. Manuel was only able to pick up 150 yards in the air and Manuel is a better quarterback at this point than Geno Smith who will start again against New England after giving the Jets a win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Linebacker Jerod Mayo looked incredibly impressive on Sunday, recording 15 total tackles, 12 of them solo, and cornerback Kyle Arrington forced two fumbles. The Jets are a much younger team than the Patriots, and likely won’t deal well with only having three days to prepare for a game compared to the more experience Pats.
Projected Statistics: 20 points allowed, two sacks, one fumble recovered, one interception