Week 4 Rankings (2016): Top 15 Defenses

by Ray Kuhn

Sometimes, you never can truly know what will transpire with a Defense. While the general consensus is that the Chiefs are a defense worthy of starting just about every week, could anyone have seen their six interceptions coming last week? Eight teams recorded a touchdown in Week 3, Kansas City led the way with two, and while they are the best source of scoring, they are unpredictable. Let’s take a look at how the defenses rank entering this week:

1. Arizona Cardinals – vs. Los Angeles Rams
2. Houston Texans – vs. Tennessee
3. Denver Broncos – at Tampa Bay
4. Cincinnati Bengals – vs. Miami
5. New England Patriots – vs. Buffalo
6. Carolina Panthers – at Atlanta
7. Washington Redskins – vs. Cleveland
8. Minnesota Vikings – vs. New York Giants
9. Seattle Seahawks – at New York Jets
10. New York Jets – vs. Seattle
11. Baltimore Ravens – vs. Oakland
12. Dallas Cowboys – at San Francisco
13. Kansas City Chiefs – at Pittsburgh
14. New York Giants – at Minnesota
15. Los Angeles Rams – at Arizona

Notes:

• Last week, the Falcons had the benefit of facing the New Orleans defense, and it is unlikely they repeat their 38 point offensive performance this week. This week, Atlanta returns home against a tough Carolina team and things figure to be a lot more difficult. After two interceptions in each of their first two games, the Panthers didn’t cause a turnover last week, but they have two sacks in each of their first three games. Last season, Matt Ryan managed just one touchdown against the Panthers, and I would expect a similar result this week.
• While it might too early to fully judge the Cardinals and their outlook for this season, we can chalk last week up as a disaster. Carson Palmer threw four interceptions and the Cardinals lost a fumble as it just was not their week. The Rams entered this season as a top defense, but the results have yet to meet the expectations. In two games they have allowed a combined 60 points to San Francisco and Tampa bay, while they have also held the Seahawks to just a field goal. Resist the urge to overrate the Rams’ talent and Arizona’s struggles this week as the Cardinals on the road is a tough task. But they should at least be a serviceable option if you don’t want to let them go or have the roster space to carry two defenses.
• The Giants defense received a lot of hype this off-season following their spending spree, but so far the results have not jumped off the page. Yes, they did limit Drew Brees and the Saints to just one touchdown, but they also allowed 29 points at home to the Redskins last week. New York has yet to record an interception this season, and with Eli Apple and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie both potentially sidelined this week, they might have to wait another week. However, the Vikings aren’t an especially explosive offense, and the Giants should be able to get enough pressure on Sam Bradford to make a difference.
• Houston is entering uncharted waters this week as they take the field without J.J Watt. However, Watt has not been at full strength so far this season, and the Texans have shown the ability to get after the quarterback this season. On almost a third of opposing quarterbacks drop backs, they have been pressured by the Texans, and 10.1% of those pressures have resulted in a sack. That combined with an opportunistic secondary and a mistake prone Tennessee option, means the Texans should have success this week. They have also had 10 days to put last Thursday’s miserable effort in New England out of their minds.