Week 4 Fantasy Football Rankings: 49ers and 3 Top Defenses in for Rough Weekend

What if I told you that the San Francisco 49ers defense had scored more fantasy points than Chris Johnson in the first three weeks of the NFL season?

Well, you probably wouldn't be inspired to go make a 30 for 30 film, but no doubt you'd agree that's pretty amazing. The idea of a defense scoring more points than CJ2K borders on blasphemy.

The sad part is that this hasn't even been a good year for defenses so far. A lot of scoring has gone on in this young season, and I fully expect that trend to continue in Week 4.

If I had to guess, even the best defenses in the league won't be safe. Below are three that I think are going to officially be in trouble.

3. Houston Texans

Just as I expected, the Texans' defense got a bit of a wake-up call in New Orleans in Week 3, as the Saints torched Houston for 450 yards of offense and 40 points.

The Texans might revert back to the form they showed in the first two weeks of the season, but that's not going to be easy with the Pittsburgh Steelers coming to town.

Say what you will about the Steelers, but one thing we can agree on is that they definitely have plenty of weapons on offense. If you don't agree with that, you clearly haven't been paying attention to Mike Wallace.

I don't expect the Texans to limit the Steelers offense all that much. If they're lucky, they'll induce a few turnovers, which will help them balance out an otherwise subpar performance.

2. Detroit Lions

The Lions are not necessarily a top-scoring fantasy defense, but they are tied for the league lead with just 40 points allowed through three games. They also have eight sacks and eight turnovers, which makes them pretty solid on just about every scoring front.

However, I worry about the Lions going up against the Dallas Cowboys in Cowboys Stadium. The Cowboys are a better offensive team than they showed against the Washington Redskins on Monday night, a game in which their offense was hindered by some unforgivable mental mistakes.

If the Cowboys (i.e. Phil Costa) can correct those mistakes, they'll give the Lions a hard time on offense. I'm not expecting a banner day for Detroit's defense.

1. San Francisco 49ers

And then there's our friends from San Francisco. They have been a very reliable defense, providing points off of low point totals, sacks and turnovers.

The tricky part is that the Niners have their opponents to thank for that. Dominating performances over the Seattle Seahawks and Cincinnati Bengals are nothing to write home about.

A dominating performance over the Philadelphia Eagles would be, but I don't expect the 49ers to pull one off. If Michael Vick plays, the Eagles are going to score. Simple as that.

True enough, there is Vick's turnover problem to consider.

Maybe it's just me, but I think he's committing them at a rate that is way too high. It's bound to level out, and I trust that he has learned his lesson this season about what not to do with the football.

Besides, Chris Johnson will be glad to hear that San Francisco's defense is overrated.