Week Seven defensive rankings

Updated Friday, Oct. 19 at 9:20 p.m. ET

Byes: Atlanta, Denver, Kansas City, Miami, Philadelphia, San Diego

Here are PFW's Week Seven defensive rankings:

1. Minnesota Vikings vs. Cardinals
2. San Francisco 49ers vs. Seahawks
3. Dallas Cowboys at Panthers
4. Green Bay Packers at Rams
5. New England Patriots vs. Jets
6. Chicago Bears vs. Lions
7. Oakland Raiders vs. Jaguars
8. Seattle Seahawks at 49ers
9. Pittsburgh Steelers at Bengals
10. Houston Texans vs. Ravens
11. Jacksonville Jaguars at Raiders
12. Arizona Cardinals at Vikings
13. New York Giants vs. Redskins
14. Buffalo Bills vs. Titans
15. Baltimore Ravens at Texans
16. Tennessee Titans at Bills
17. Indianapolis Colts vs. Browns
18. Cincinnati Bengals vs. Steelers
19. Cleveland Browns at Colts
20. Detroit Lions at Bears
21. Carolina Panthers vs. Cowboys
22. St. Louis Rams vs. Packers
23. New York Jets at Patriots
24. New Orleans Saints at Buccaneers
25. Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Saints
26. Washington Redskins at Giants

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.