Week Five defensive rankings

Updated 11:20 a.m. ET, Saturday, Oct. 5

Byes: Dallas, Detroit, Oakland, Tampa Bay

Here are PFW's Week Five defensive rankings:

1. San Francisco 49ers vs. Bills
2. Houston Texans at Jets
3. Baltimore Ravens at Chiefs
4. Minnesota Vikings vs. Titans
5. New York Giants vs. Browns
6. Chicago Bears at Jaguars
7. St. Louis Rams vs. Cardinals
8. Arizona Cardinals at Rams
9. Seattle Seahawks at Panthers
10. Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Eagles
11. Green Bay Packers at Colts
12. New England Patriots vs. Broncos
13. New York Jets vs. Texans
14. Cincinnati Bengals vs. Dolphins
15. Atlanta Falcons at Redskins
16. Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Bears
17. Philadelphia Eagles at Steelers
18. Miami Dolphins at Bengals
19. Denver Broncos at Patriots
20. Cleveland Browns at Giants
21. Carolina Panthers vs. Seahawks
22. San Diego Chargers at Saints
23. New Orleans Saints vs. Chargers
24. Buffalo Bills at 49ers
25. Tennessee Titans at Vikings
26. Indianapolis Colts vs. Packers
27. Kansas City Chiefs vs. Ravens
28. Washington Redskins vs. Falcons

The above rankings are based on expectations for this week only, not for the entire season, taking into account this week's specific matchups and injuries. The initial rankings are compiled before the release of the NFL's early injury report and are updated Thursday to reflect the status of each player.

We base our rankings on the following scoring system: For skill-position players, one point for every 10 rushing/receiving yards, one point for every 30 passing yards, six points for a TD run or catch, four points for a TD pass, two points for a two-point conversion run or catch, two points for a two-point conversion pass. For kickers, three points for FGs of 18-39 yards, four points for FGs of 40-49 yards, and five points for FGs of 50-plus yards. Defensive rankings are based primarily on points allowed, yardage allowed and sack potential.

Glossary of notations

INJ — player has an injury that may affect productivity or availability.
ILL — player has an illness that may affect productivity or availability.
UP — player was moved up on draft board after original posting.
DOWN — player was moved down on draft board after original posting.
Not listed — player is temporarily sidelined due to injury or suspension but otherwise would be ranked.
ACTIVE — on game day, player has been designated active (posted shortly before kickoff, when available).
INACTIVE — on game day, player has been designated inactive (posted shortly before kickoff, when available).

Players and/or notations added after the original posting are shown in boldface.

Note: Remember to check back for late-week and weekend updates, as well as game inactives (when available) in the 90 minutes preceding the 1 p.m. Sunday kickoffs. You'll also find regular updates in our live fantasy injury reports on Sundays.