Fantasy Football Week 4 Rankings: D/ST

Week 4 presents an excellent opportunity to work the waiver wire and play the matchups, as the top plays this week do not come from the usual suspects. Furthermore, with the first big bye week upon us, many players, particularly Eagles owners, will need to find a replacement.

The top spot belongs to the Bears, which is due in large part to them playing the not-quite-winless Lions at home. Despite the strangely impressive 1-2 record, the Lions need a lot of help and the offense does not get any better with an injured Kevin Smith.

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Other key matchup plays include the steaming hot 49ers defense against the lowly Rams, who are now without their most reliable receiver in Laurent Robinson, also at home. Finally, the New Orleans Saints play the New York Jets, who despite the 3-0 start are overdue for a wake-up call game. No discredit to Mark Sanchez's phenomenal start, but the passing offense is not there yet, so I expect the Saints to score some decent fantasy points this week. The stalwart New York Giants and San Diego Chargers round out the top five.

1. Chicago, CHI vs. DET
2. Giants, NYG @ KC
3. 49ers, SF vs. STL
4. Chargers, SD @ PIT
5. Saints, NO vs. NYJ
6. Vikings, MIN vs. GB
7. Packers, GB @ MIN
8. Ravens, BAL @ NE
9. Bills, BUF @ MIA
10. Texans, HOU vs. OAK
11. Redskins, WAS vs. TB
12. Dolphins, MIA vs. BUF
13. Patriots, NE vs. BAL
14. Titans, TEN @ JAX
15. Steelers, PIT vs. SD
16. Raiders, OAK @ HOU
17. Colts, IND vs. SEA
18. Cowboys, DAL @ DEN
19. Bengals, CIN @ CLE
20. Rams, STL @ SF
21. Jets, NYJ @ NO
22. Broncos, DEN vs. DAL
23. Browns, CLE vs. CIN
24. Seahawks, SEA @ IND
25. Buccaneers, TB @ WAS
26. Lions, DET @ CHI
27. Jaguars, JAX vs. TEN
28. Chiefs, KC vs. NYG

• The Lions may get a shot in the form of Ernie Sims returning this weekend. Sims declared himself ready to play, but no word yet from the coaching staff.

• While not a top-five pick, I like the Texans at home against the Raiders. We've seen nothing remotely resembling an NFL starting quarterback from JaMarcus Russell and the running game looks decent, but not great. Unless Zach Miller catches 37 passes, they should make a pretty good play this weekend.

• Finally, the Redskins also look like a decent play as the Bucs look to be without Derrick Ward AND are starting second-year quarterback Josh Johnson for his first ever NFL start. This could secretly be the play of the weekend right here. Well, it would help if the Redskins defense was a little better, but look for Tampa to just give it away.