Week 8 Fantasy Football Start 'Em, Sit 'Em: Defenses You Must Play

Ah, defenses. What would fantasy football be like without them?

Probably be more fun. Defenses take up a roster spot, but they rarely pan out to be significant contributors on a week-to-week basis. You take what you can get from your defense, and they don't tend to give much.

But you never know. It's not unheard of for a defense to rack up fantasy points, and this is something that could very well happen in Week 8.

If I had to guess, the five defenses listed below are good candidates to do the honors. Make sure you have them in your starting lineup.

Dallas Cowboys

I'm going out on a bit of a limb with this one because the Cowboys are playing at the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles have a lot of problems, but scoring points is not one of them.

However, the one thing the Eagles will do is turn the football over. They're good for at least a couple turnovers every week, and these typically come from Michael Vick. Because the Cowboys have an above-average pass rush, they could very well force Vick into committing a few more turnovers.

Also, the Cowboys' No. 1 rush defense should at least be able to limit LeSean McCoy. The Eagles' offense might just be held in check as a result.

Cincinnati Bengals

Very quietly, the Bengals have been one of the best defensive teams in the league this year. They rank in the top five against both the run and the pass, and have allowed just 105 points in six games.

On Sunday, the Bengals will put their defense to the test against the Seattle Seahawks, and it shouldn't be much of a test. The Seahawks are one of the worst offensive teams in the NFL, and they are coming off a game against the Cleveland Browns in which they managed just 137 total yards and three points.

As such, I don't think the Seahawks will pose much of a problem for the Bengals.

New York Giants

Defensively, I would describe the Giants as being just OK. That's really not a surprise given how many injuries they've been forced to cope with.

On the flip side, the Giants are facing an opponent in the Miami Dolphins on Sunday that might just be the worst offensive team in the league. The Dolphins struggle to run the football and to pass it, and points are going to be hard to come by for them.

So at the very least, I expect the Giants to keep the Dolphins in check from a points allowed perspective.

San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers are, hands down, the best defensive team in the NFC. They're allowing just 16.2 points per game, and they can get after the quarterback and take the ball away as well as anyone.

On Sunday, the 49ers will be facing a team in the Cleveland Browns that is on the bad side of mediocre offensively. The Browns have struggled running the ball all season, and Colt McCoy simply hasn't been able to pick up the slack.

Against the 49ers, the Browns are going to be even harder-pressed to run the ball than usual, as the 49ers boast the league's second-best rush defense. Unless McCoy can step it up, the Browns could be headed for a repeat of their Week 7 performance against the Seahawks.

That's not a good thing, for the record.

Baltimore Ravens

Monday night was not a good night for the Ravens' offense. But on the bright side (and one must always look on the bright side of life), the Ravens' defense was just fine, limiting the Jacksonville Jaguars to 205 total yards and four field goals.

Performances like these are a big reason why the Ravens are leading the NFL in both points and total yards allowed per game. On Sunday, they'll get a chance to add to these totals against the Arizona Cardinals.

Put bluntly, the Cardinals' offense has not been good this year. This is largely thanks to Kevin Kolb, who has not panned out as Arizona's new quarterback. He's just as likely to throw a pick as he is to throw a touchdown pass, which of course bodes well for the Ravens.

The other thing that bodes well for the Ravens is that the Arizona Republic reported on Wednesday that Cardinals leading rusher Beanie Wells is "not likely" to play on Sunday.

Things could be too easy for the Ravens.