Super Bowl XLV Features Two Premier Fantasy Defenses

When it comes to fantasy football, most people focus on the quarterbacks and running backs that are the so-called franchise players of your team. But as we do our deliberating, analyzing, examining and picking of the NFL spread for Super Bowl XLV, fantasy players might take notice that the big game will feature two of the premier fantasy defenses from the 2010-11 season.


As they say, defense wins championships and this year’s Super Bowl champ will definitely be led by a stellar unit.

For starters, these two defense were ranked first and second in scoring defense in the NFL. The Steelers allowed just 14.5 points per game while the Packers allowed a mere half-point more at 15 points per game. From week to week – in fantasy or reality – these were the two most reliable units in the sense that you knew you could start them and you probably weren’t going to see a negative number next to their scoring total.

As far as sacks are concerned, once again, both of these teams ranked first and second in the NFL. The Steelers led the NFL with 48 sacks while the Packers finished up 47. In leagues where defense was tag-teamed with special teams, which admittedly is most of them, these two teams still ranked top 10. Combined, they had just one special teams return for a touchdown, which was notched by the Steelers back in Week 2.

But when it comes to defensive touchdowns, that’s another story. The Packers finished with four defensive touchdowns, which was the third-most in the NFL. The Steelers were just one behind as they totaled three.

As Super Bowl XLV approaches, most of the focus is on the two quarterbacks in Ben Roethlisberger and Aaron Rodgers – and the two offenses – but clearly, we are going to see two premier units on the field on Sunday, February 6th.