Fantasy Football Week 16 Rankings: D/ST

Hopefully, the folks who made it to the championship game this week had enough foresight to do a bit of advance planning, because it's a tricky week for picking a starting defense outside of the few blatantly obvious stalwart choices. As usual, folks who own the Steelers are in good hands. In fact, I don't think we have seen a top pick for a defensive start that is this obvious perhaps all season. You know all too well how hard we've been milking the "anyone who plays Carolina" strategy, and this week arguably the NFL's toughest defense, the Steelers, gets the honors.

Second, the Eagles host the crumbling Vikings. Minnesota is in the midst of such a heroic collapse that it actually runs the risk of falling into last place in the NFC North, below the Lions. That's right, you heard correctly: the Lions might not finish last this season. Anyway, back to the point at hand. Brett Favre is likely to be out this week, which pits Joe Webb against one of the league's best defenses. Webb is athletic, but he already threw two interceptions last week in Favre's absence. Plus, Adrian Peterson is reportedly feeling a lot of pain. This season truly can't end soon enough for the Vikings.

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The third-best option goes to the Patriots who continue to ride the wave of a six-game win streak, thanks in large part to an absolute barrage of turnovers. The Pats now rank second in the NFL in interceptions with 21, and have returned a league-best four of those for touchdowns. While Buffalo's offense has been overachieving as of late, facing the league's best team will prove too much for them. Expect a big day for the Patriots defense.

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

• As I mentioned before, this is a tough week for spot starts, but for those absolutely in need of one, I like Dallas. The Cowboys face Arizona, who have lost eight of their last nine games. Furthermore, the Cards have only topped 13 points once in their past five games, and that came against another poster child of the collapse, the Broncos. You can expect John Skelton to take his fair share of sacks, and if the Cowboys open up an early lead, look out, as we should plenty of opportunities for turnovers.

• If the Cowboys don't suit your fancy, another option would be either side of the Detroit versus Miami game. Neither one of these teams is in particularly great shape offensively, and both have strong defenses. I like the Lions a tad bit more on account of their recent improvement in play, but alternatively, Drew Stanton separated his shoulder last week, which means yet another shift at the quarterback position (likely back to Shaun Hill) for Detroit. I expect this to be a pretty snoozy game in terms of total offense, so you can expect serviceable defensive play from both sides.

• The toss-up game which has gotten a lot of attention is the Giants heading to Lambeau to face the Packers. I know both defenses are typically considered juggernauts this season, but I'd steer clear of this one altogether. The Packers come off two losses -- one of which was to Detroit and in the other they gave up 31 points to New England. Meanwhile, the Giants come off the single most embarrassing loss of the season. If Aaron Rodgers were to sit out again this week, I would say the Giants make a fine play, but with his return likely, there are too many moving parts involved here.