Fantasy Football Week 2: Top 10 Defenses

The Dolphins looked stout against a powerful New England Patriots' offense, as did their Week 2 opponent's offense against the Chicago Bears. Both could be anomalies, but the Dolphins' defense had an edge that can't be ignored and should be able to capitalize against the Bills' inexperienced offense. Look for about 10 points from their D/ST.

Like the previous team, the Titans' previous performance could be an outlier, and they're going against a Dallas Cowboys team that had three turnovers and could hardly get the ball rolling. The Cowboys should be able to get more movement, but the interceptions seem imminent. The Titans could be completely dominant and be a top five defense like last week, but it could be flipped. I'd expect about 11 points from the Titans' D/ST.

The Minnesota Vikings surprised the St. Louis Rams' defense last week, but I doubt they can move past the Patriots this week. It should be a game where both teams are under 20 points respectively, and the Patriots should be able to stop the Vikings pass game relatively well with Darrelle Revis. They'll need to worry about the rushing game, though. I have faith; 12 points from the Pats.

Though they don't have Greg Hardy playing, the Panthers continued to show their impressiveness as a defense against the newly-vamped Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense. Maybe the Bucs' offense isn't as advertised, but I think it's more about the Panthers being as advertised—a stout defense that should put up 13 points for the second-straight week.

The Kansas City Chiefs have a potentially potent offense, but they didn't show that against the Titans last week; whereas the Broncos defense was able to shutdown the Indianapolis Colts for the majority of their first matchup. They have quite a few strong additions on defense, and they should capitalize on the weak morale of the Chiefs, putting up 14 points this week.

Maybe the Texans will surprise us all this week and be the top defense for a second straight week. While I don't think that'll be the case, they'll certainly be valuable in their matchup versus the Oakland Raiders. Houston should be able to rattle rookie QB Derek Carr a bit, and force some turnovers. The Texans will be in the range of 14 points this week.

The Chicago Bears' offense may be a difficult team for the 49ers to defend this week. But looking at how they man-handled the Dallas Cowboys in Week 1, I think the 49ers will still show up with A-grade output and plenty of interceptions from Jay Cutler. They'll post about 15 points this week for fantasy owners.

I don't especially like their away matchup versus the San Diego Chargers, but you have to start the Seahawks if you have them. They scored 11 points on the high-octane Green Bay Packers. There could be an increase this week, even though they're away this week. They'll score around 16 points in Week 2.

Though the Giants' offense seemed to improve from their preseason outings, their point total against the Detroit Lions seemed to be inflated due to them trying to get back. That may happen again, but the Cardinals' defense is quite a bit better than the Lions'. They really could be the best defense this week, but I'm expecting 19 points from them in all.

Even though Sam Bradford was out, no one really expected the Vikings to dominant their offense the way the Vikings' defense did last week. I'd expect the Rams are going to continue their early-season offensive woes, and the new Lovie Smith defense will produce some high numbers this week against them. They'll compile the turnovers and get great pass rush, and I expect a touchdown too; 23 points for the Bucs D/ST.