Fantasy Football 2014 Defense/Special Teams Rankings: Week 3
Chandler Jones
Seattle’s coming off of a loss and gets Denver at home in a Super Bowl rematch, so, for at least one week, there’s a new team leading off Athlon Sports’ Fantasy Football Defense/Special Teams Rankings for Week 3. After struggling with Miami’s running game in Week 1, New England’s defense rebounded in a big way on the road against Minnesota. The Patriots collected six sacks, picked off Matt Cassel four times and scored as many points as the Vikings’ offense (six) thanks to a blocked field goal that Chandler Jones returned 58 yards for a touchdown. The good times should continue this week with 0-2 Oakland and rookie quarterback Derek Carr set to visit Gillette Stadium.
Each week during the NFL season, we will rank enough players at each position to appease everyone from those in 8-team leagues to 16-team leagues, those that can start two QBs, two TEs, three RBs and four WRs. We cut out the rest, because if you're looking at who the 50th-best running back or the 17th-best kicker is for that week, you need more help than any Web site can give you.
Positional Rankings: QB I RB I WR I TE I DST I K
2014 NFL Week 3 Fantasy Football Rankings — Defense/Special Teams
Rank | Player | Opp | Comments |
1 | New England Patriots | vs. OAK | Pats rack up 6 sacks, 4 INTs and block FG for TD. |
2 | Carolina Panthers | vs. PIT | Panthers' D has been stout thus far. |
3 | Cincinnati Bengals | vs. TEN | Bengals picked off Ryan 3 times last week. |
4 | Houston Texans | at NYG | After feasting on Raiders, TO-prone G-Men next. |
5 | San Francisco 49ers | at ARI | 49ers struggled to stop Bears after 1st Q. |
6 | Seattle Seahawks | vs. DEN | Champs struggled vs. SD, get Manning and co. next. |
7 | Arizona Cardinals | vs. SF | Cards' D getting job done early. |
8 | Baltimore Ravens | at CLE | Ravens' D manhandled Steelers last week. |
9 | Denver Broncos | at SEA | Barometer game for Broncos' new-look D. |
10 | Buffalo Bills | vs. SD | 6 sacks, 5 takeaways in 2 games. |
11 | St. Louis Rams | vs. DAL | Rams gave up 144 rushing yards to Rainey. |
12 | New Orleans Saints | vs. MIN | Saints' D usually tougher at home. |
13 | Chicago Bears | at NYJ (Mon.) | Revamped D came up big (4 sacks, 4 TAs) vs. SF. |
14 | Cleveland Browns | vs. BAL | Pick-six helps fuel Browns' W over Saints. |
15 | Kansas City Chiefs | at MIA | Shorthanded D kept Broncos in check. |
16 | Tennessee Titans | at CIN | Titans got run over by Murray last week. |
Rankings are based upon Athlon Sports' standard scoring system:
DEFENSIVE SCORING
0 points allowed = 12 points
1-6 points allowed = 10 points
7-13 points allowed = 8 pts
14-20 points allowed = 6 points
21-27 points allowed = 2 pts
28+ points allowed = 0 points
Safeties = 2 points
Fumbles recovered = 2 points
Interceptions = 2 points
Sacks = 1 point
Defensive/Special Teams TDs = 6 points
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