Defenses (DEF) to Start in Week 9: Fantasy Tiers & Rankings

Matt Lib analyzes which defenses (DEF) to sit or start, and provides his Week 9 rankings and tiers for all of the NFL defenses. Starting the right defense in fantasy football can be a game changer.

For those of you fantasy football owners out there who are streaming defenses, RotoBaller has got you covered with around-the-league analysis of the Week  NFL matchups. Week 9 has some enticing defensive matchups from teams that aren’t widely owned, and a few top fantasy defenses on bye, so be sure to stay on top of your league’s waiver wire options.

Just like every other week of the fantasy football season, we’re here to give you the insight to help make your defense streaming decisions and Week 9 lineup decisions a bit easier. Some of these defenses may have good matchups, and be sleepers available on your league’s waiver wire, so make sure to take a look at your waiver wire options as well. Good luck in Week 9 RotoBallers!

Teams that have bye weeks in Week 9: Atlanta Falcons, Buffalo Bills, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers & Tennessee Titans

Week 9 Defenses: Tiers & Rankings

Tier 1: Seattle Seahawks, Cincinnati Bengals, Kansas City Chiefs, San Francisco 49ers

This week's first tier is all teams owned in at least 60% of Fleaflicker leagues. The Seattle Seahawks are at home against the 0-7 Raiders who are putting up just 15 points per game. Seattle is coming off a defensive battle against Carolina last week, and will look to build on that momentum as their defense hasn't looked anything like it did last year. Derek Carr, Darren McFadden, Andre Holmes and the Raiders may be in for a long day.

In a similar story, the Bengals host the Jacksonville Jaguars, who share the title of the league's worst offense with Oakland at just 15 PPG. Cincinnati is also coming off of a good defensive performance against the red hot Ravens, and will look to take care of business at home against Blake Bortles, Denard Robinson, Allen Robinson and company.

Kansas City takes on the New York Jets at home who are averaging just 18 PPG. Their offense is in flux at QB, and they've given up 16 turnovers in their first eight games. Geno Smith is out, Michael Vick is in, and while there is talent between Eric Decker, Percy Harvin and Chris Ivory, the offense just isn't very good. Wrapping up the tier 1 defenses is San Francisco hosting St. Louis, who is averaging 20 PPG offensively with 10 turnovers given up. Brian Quick is out for the year, and the running back committee of Tre Mason, Benny Cunningham and Zac Stacy won't be enough for Austin Davis to move the offense.

All of these team defenses should be owned in all formats, and are solid starts this week. If they are somehow sitting out there on your league's waiver wire, be sure to target them this week.

Tier 2: San Diego Chargers, Cleveland Browns, Indianapolis Colts

The Chargers travel to Miami to take on Ryan Tannehill, Lamar Miller, Mike Wallace and the Dolphins. The Chargers have been one of the league's better defenses, only giving up 19 PPG even after letting up 35 against the Broncos this past week. Even though a few of their wins may have come against much weaker opponents, they've held offenses that are much better than the Dolphins in check. The Bolts also have 15 sacks, and are up against a Dolphin's O-Line that has let up 17 sacks halfway through the season. The Fins have also given the ball up 10 times already, while the Chargers have 9 takeaways. Running the ball has been Miami's bread and butter, but Lamar Miller and Daniel Thomas may be in for a long day against a San Diego defense only allowing 111 YPG on the ground.

Cleveland hosts Tampa Bay who's right there with Jacksonville and Oakland as one of the worst offenses in all of football. While the Browns haven't exactly lived up to expectations defensively so far, this is a great matchup, and that's only emphasized when we look at the turnover differential and the sack numbers. Cleveland has forced 11 turnovers while the Buccs have given up 12, and the Browns have totaled 15 sacks in the same time that Tampa has let up 14. An ineffective Doug Martin is dealing with an injury, so Bobby Rainey and rookie Charles Sims may be running the ball. Joe Haden and Karlos Dansby have the advantage against Vincent Jackson, Mike Evans and Mike Glennon who are averaging under 300 total YPG.

Wrapping up the 2nd tier of defenses is a team that had a poor defensive showing last week in the Indianapolis Colts. They take on the New York Giants in the Meadowlands on Monday night. The Giants have averaged 22 points per game offensively, and Indy is allowing up 23 PPG even after giving up 51 to Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, Le'Veon Bell and the Steelers. The Colts will look to take advantage of the turnover battle as the Giants have given up 10 at this point and the Colts have taken away 14. The Colts also have 21 sacks so far, and the G-Men have allowed 15. Without Victor Cruz, this offense isn't nearly as scary with only Rueben Randle, Larry Donnell, Odell Beckham Jr. and possibly Rashad Jennings for Eli Manning to work with. All of these defenses are worth a start in 10+ team leagues and may be worth holding onto for future weeks. If they are sitting out there on your Week 9 waiver wire, feel free to pick them up and start them.

Tier 3: Houston Texans, Philadelphia Eagles, Arizona Cardinals, Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers

Tier 3 starts off with some heavyweight matchups featuring a few of the better defenses in the league. Houston travels to Philadelphia to take on LeSean McCoy, Nick Foles, Jeremy Maclin and Zach Ertz who are putting up 29 points per game. Jadaveon Clowney's return should be a boost to the Texans run defense and pass rush that has 15 sacks to date. They've accrued 17 takeaways while the Eagles have given up 17 turnovers and haven't looked like the same offensive powerhouse over their last four games, relying on defensive touchdowns to keep pace with their scoring average. Speaking of those defensive touchdowns, Philly will look to add to their 10 takeaways and the Texans 13 giveaways at home against Arian Foster, DeAndre Hopkins, Andre Johnson and Ryan Fitzpatrick. The Texans are averaging 23 PPG and have given up 16 sacks to opponents, while Philadelphia's pass rush has been dominant with 19 sacks.

The Arizona Cardinals host the Cowboys in another big game. Arizona has been holding opponents to just under 20 PPG and has racked up 14 turnovers thus far. The Cowboys have been clicking offensively all season, but Arizona has a stout run defense and we haven't seen what happens if and when DeMarco Murray is contained. Dez Bryant, Terrance Williams, Jason Witten and Tony Romo are one of the best skill position groups in the league along with Murray, but the Cardinals have the personnel to matchup with the best of them. The Cowboys defense has been better than anyone expected and will be matched up against Larry Fitzgerald, Michael Floyd, Andre Ellington, John Brown, and Carson Palmer leading an offense that's starting to click. Dallas has generated 12 turnovers but Arizona has only turned it over 5 times on the year. And the Cowboys can't seem to find a pass-rush with only 6 sacks against a pretty good offensive line.

The Ravens continue their divisional road trip coming off a tough loss to Cincinnati as they head to Pittsburgh this week. Ben Roethlisberger had a historical game in which Antonio Brown, Le'Veon Bell, Heath Miller and Marcus Wheaton flourished, while Martavis Bryant emerged. Baltimore has only been giving up 16 PPG, but the Steelers just put up 51 against a pretty good Colts defense. Pittsburgh has allowed 23 sacks on Big Ben, and the Ravens have generated 17. The turnover battle is pretty even here as the Ravens have 12 takeaways and 9 giveaways while the Steelers have 11 and 10 respectively. Overall Pittsburgh's defense has improved in recent weeks though, and this should be a good classic AFC North divisional battle. Torrey Smith has been a disappointment for many weeks so far, and while Joe Flacco has been solid along with Justin Forsett, Steve Smith and an emerging Lorenzo Taliaferro, Dick LeBeau certainly knows how to plan for the Ravens. Most of these third tier defensive matchups are boom-or-bust plays, but these are the matchups that we've been given this week, and these are the teams that I feel have the higher floors. If you are in a bind, you may need to grab one of these defenses off the Week 9 waiver wire.

Tier 4: Denver Broncos, New England Patriots, Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, St. Louis Rams, New York Jets, Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings, Washington Redskins

The fourth tier is where we get into some dicey/desperation plays, starting off with the heavyweight matchup of Denver heading to New England. Both of these teams are widely owned, and rightfully so, but this week fantasy managers are probably considering sitting them in this clash of potent offenses. Neither team is turning the ball over often, but both teams are creating turnovers fairly well. Neither team is allowing many sacks, but each has more than 20 on the year. This will more than likely be a high-scoring affair that may not have all that many highlights defensively. What else would you expect from a game featuring Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Demaryius Thomas, Ronnie Hillman, Shane Vereen, Rob Gronkowski, Julius Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders, Brandon LaFell and Wes Welker. Wow. I'm steering clear of this one where possible.

Thursday night's matchup is Carolina heading to their divisional opponent in New Orleans. You all know by now how I feel about Thursday night games, and the fact that both of these defenses have looked much worse than most people expected doesn't give any reason to instill any faith in either this week. While the Panthers are coming off an impressive defensive battle against the Seahawks, Jimmy Graham is looking much healthier which should help Drew Brees have a similar performance to what he had Sunday night against the Packers. Mark Ingram, Marques Colston, Travaris Cadet, Kenny Stills and Brandin Cooks will also prove to make things difficult for a Panthers defense that's giving up 26 PPG. On the other side of the ball, the Saints are giving up 27 PPG and haven't been able to generate many turnovers with 7 in as many games. Carolina may only be averaging 21 PPG offensively, but they also average a healthy 240 YPG passing which is the Saints weakest area, giving up 290 YPG. Even though DeAngelo Williams is expected to return, look for Greg Olsen, Kelvin Benjamin, and Cam Newton to air it out against their offensively potent divisional rivals.

The Rams head to San Francisco to take on Colin Kaepernick, Anquan Boldin, Michael Crabtree, Vernon Davis and Frank Gore at their new stadium. St. Louis is letting up 30 PPG, and while the Niners may not be lighting defenses up averaging 23 PPG, they have the star-power to go off any given week. This coupled with the fact that San Fran has only turned the ball over 7 times so far doesn't make for all that enticing of a defensive matchup. San Francisco's offensive line has let up 19 sacks, but the Rams' pass rush has been one of the worst in the league only generating 6 sacks to this point.

The Jets head to Kansas City to take on the streaking Chiefs. New York's defense hasn't been as good as I expected them to be to start the year, and even though they're sixth in the league with total yardage given up per game at 321, they're also letting up 29 PPG. While the Jets schedule thus far has been one of the toughest in the league, facing the three tough NFC North teams, Denver, New England, San Diego, and Buffalo which accounts for all of their 7 losses, Kansas City's offense can't be discounted either. The Chiefs wide receivers have zero touchdowns so far this season, that's right, zero. But they're still putting up 25 PPG with their dink and dunk passing game to go along with their 140 YPG rushing attack. As usual, they will lean on Jamaal Charles and Knile Davis, while Alex Smith looks to utilize Travis Kelce and Dwayne Bowe to move the ball through the air.

The Miami Dolphins host the San Diego Chargers who have lost their last two games in a row. Phillip Rivers, Keenan Allen, Brendan Oliver and Antonio Gates will be looking to put up more than the 26 PPG they've been averaging thus far against a somewhat stingy Miami defense that's only been giving up 22 PPG. The Dolphin's pass rush has been great so far with 21 sacks, but the Chargers O-Line has only let up 12 sacks through their first 8 games. San Diego has also been taking care of the football with only 5 giveaways so far, all five of which are interceptions which Miami only has 6 INT's through seven games.

Washington travels to Minnesota for a game against Teddy Bridgewater, Jerick McKinnon, Cordarrelle Patterson and Greg Jennings. The Vikings are only averaging 17 PPG but seem to be starting to figure things out with Bridgewater at the helm, and the Redskins have been allowing 26 PPG. Washington does have 16 sacks while the Vikings have allowed 28, but there's not much else that carries any weight. The Redskins can't seem to generate many turnovers, generating 6 takeaways prior to their Monday night game, and can't seem to make a stop when needed. The Redskins may also get Robert Griffin III back for this game, and while there would be some rust to shake off, it may be the big boost their offense needs. Even if it's not, I'm not looking to instill any faith in a Vikings defense that's been Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde all season against DeSean Jackson, Pierre Garcon, Jordan Reed and Alfred Morris. All of these tier four teams are less than desirable plays for this week and should be avoided on the waiver wire as well.

Tier 5: Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Oakland Raiders, New York Giants

As we reach down in to the bottom of the barrel, we find some teams with just flat out terrible defenses on the road, and one with a terrible matchup. Jacksonville travels to Cincinnati against a Hue Jackson led offense averaging 23 PPG, and who may finally be getting their star receiver back in A.J. Green. The one bright-spot for the Jaguars is their pass rush, but they find themselves up against one of the best offensive lines in the league that has only given up 8 sacks. Andy Dalton will continue to feed the rock to Giovani Bernard, Jeremy Hill and Mohamed Sanu creating issues for the Jaguards.

Tampa Bay finds themselves in Ohio as well against the Browns, and while Cleveland didn't look all that great offensively last week, the Buccaneers are still giving up 32 PPG. Even if Jordan Cameron misses the game with an injury, Brian Hoyer has looked comfortable throwing to Andrew Hawking while feeding the ball often to Ben Tate, Isaiah Crowell and Terrance West.

Oakland ends up in Seattle to take on Russell Wilson, Marshawn Lynch and Doug Baldwin. It will be interesting to see how Seattle progresses without Percy Harvin, but this isn't the week to bet against the reigning champs. We round out the list with the New York Giants at home against the Colts. The Giants defense has been mediocre at best, and with Andrew Luck, T.Y. Hilton, Ahmad Bradshaw, Trent Richardson and Dwayne Allen coming to town, I'm steering clear of Big Blue. Avoid all of these tier 5 defenses in Week 9, and don't even think about grabbing any of them off the waiver wire.