Fantasy Football Week 15 Rankings: D/ST

The defensive start probably represents your toughest decision this weekend and the matchups do not make it any easier. Do you take a stab at a favorable matchup by starting a lesser defense or stick to your big gun? If you've been paying attention this year, you know I lean towards the former, so this week's top start goes to Arizona. The Cards face an already awful Detroit offense who will definitely be playing sans Kevin Smith and possibly without Matt Stafford.

The second best start this week looks like a similar story with Houston facing the Rams. St. Louis just got decimated by the Titans defense last week, so it's hard to ignore another possible pie to the face courtesy of the Texans. The Rams rank dead last in points scored and have a lousy 32 percent third-down conversion percentage. This team simply needs the season to end ASAP.

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Rounding out our top-five starts, the Ravens (at home) should continue where they left off last weekend, allowing just three points to Detroit. The Eagles at home with their 20 interceptions and 36 sacks should disrupt Alex Smith's offense, and the Seahawks should rebound from a beating this week against the 1-12 Bucs.

1. Cardinals, ARI @ DET
2. Texans, HOU @ STL
3. Ravens, BAL vs. CHI
4. Eagles, PHI vs. SF
5. Seahawks, SEA vs. TB
6. Giants, NYG @ WAS
7. Packers, GB @ PIT
8. Broncos, DEN vs. OAK
9. Vikings, MIN @ CAR
10. Patriots, NE @ BUF
11. Jets, NYJ vs. ATL
12. Steelers, PIT vs. GB
13. Colts, IND @ JAX
14. Browns, CLE @ KC
15. Chargers, SD vs. CIN
16. Falcons, ATL @ NYJ
17. Chiefs, KC vs. CLE
18. Saints, NO vs. DAL
19. Panthers, CAR vs. MIN
20. 49ers, SF @ PHI
21. Titans, TEN vs. MIA
22. Bengals, CIN @ SD
23. Bears, CHI @ BAL
24. Bills, BUF vs. NE
25. Raiders, OAK @ DEN
26. Dolphins, MIA @ TEN
27. Redskins, WAS vs. NYG
28. Cowboys, DAL @ NO
29. Buccaneers, TB @ SEA
30. Rams, STL vs. HOU
31. Jaguars, JAX vs. IND
32. Lions, DET vs. ARI

Notes

• The coin-flip game this week goes to the Chiefs versus the Browns. As you well know, both of these teams suck, but coming off their impressive Thursday night David vs. Goliath victory, the Browns make a great gutsy spot start.

• Our other spot start for the week goes to the Giants at Washington. The Giants defense simply folded last week against the Eagles, but I don't think the Redskins are anything to worry about. Quinton Ganther has folks excited, but two garbage time one-yard scampers don't raise my eyebrows, nor does Jason Campbell. The Giants' secondary needs to play well against Devin Thomas and Fred Davis, but the pass rush should cause some disruptions and the 'Skins will let this one go.

• Finally, in perusing some other D/ST rankings, the matchup I seem to like significantly better than my fantasy peers would be the Colts against the Jaguars. Maybe it's all the speculation about the starters sitting, but the Colts tend to own the Jags on both sides of the ball. I think you can start the Colts defense confidently this week.