Player Spotlight: Streaming D/ST Week 9
Well, apologies if you started the Jaguars last week. They are apparently very much terrible. As for the rest of week eight’s picks, Da Bears proved to be a solid pick, placing fifth for the week, the Titans placed 12th, while the Jets and Browns were tied for 16th and 19th respectively. Overall, defensive scoring was low last week, save for the few at the top. This week will hopefully be better, despite another six teams on bye.
With the Bears(10), Bengals(23), Cardinals(3), Patriots(12), Texans(11) and Washington(15) on bye, five of the top 15 defenses are not available making this week a little tougher for everyone that last week was. As a reminder, all scoring is ESPN standard, and all defenses are owned in less than 50 percent of ESPN leagues.
San Diego Chargers Hosting the Tennessee Titans
A little bit of trivia: What defense is ranked in the top 10, and just cracked 40 percent ownership this week? That’s right, the Chargers. At home facing the Titans, who, despite last week, are still 24th in fantasy points allowed to defenses, the Chargers have been energized with the addition of Joey Bosa the last few weeks. The Chargers average just under two takeaways a game, and have been able to consistently pressure the quarterback. They are also averaging eight fantasy points per game at home.
Baltimore Ravens hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers
It is difficult to recommend anyone against Pittsburgh, who is sixth in the league in fantasy points allowed to defenses, but Baltimore is another defense who, despite coming off of their bye, is in the top 10 and is owned in less than 50 percent of leagues. Baltimore is actually fifth! Like the Chargers, the Ravens are averaging just under two takeaways a game since week two, and are holding opponents to under 20 points a game. Ben Roethlisberger is coming back from injury and may be a bit tepid in his return. Not only that, only three times since 2008 has a Big Ben led Steelers team scored more than 20 points, and twice it was 23 points. The other time being that anomaly of a six touchdown pass game. In fact, only two games in his entire career has Big Ben passed for more touchdowns. Eliminating those two games, he has a career 16-to-18 touchdown to interception ratio. This should be a slobber-knocker, which favors the defense.
Miami Dolphins hosting the New York Jets
There is hesitation in this endorsement, as Miami has dropped the ball in this column before. However, the Jets are still 31st in fantasy points allowed to defenses, and the last two weeks before the bye, the Dolphins were playing great. The Dolphins D has not had a lot of turnovers, but usually Ryan Fitzpatrick can help fix that. Miami has six sacks the last two weeks before the bye, and has scored an average of seven points a week the last three. With so many teams on bye, you could certainly do worse.
If you are feeling desperate….
Tennessee Titans at San Diego Chargers
The Chargers have a tendency to turn the ball over. A lot. In fact, they have averaged just under three turnovers a game the last six weeks. That is bad news for them, but good news for those of us wanting to stream the Titans defense this week. As a result of all those turnovers, the Chargers sit at 27th in fantasy points allowed to defenses, and have given up double digits the last two weeks, and have averaged 9.67 fantasy points allowed since week three. You could do much worse than a Titans hail Mary.
New Orleans Saints at San Francisco 49ers
Speaking of hail Mary’s, this one is not for the faint of heart. The Saints have only scored more than zero points three times this year, but two have come on the road, and the 49ers are not good. San Fran ranks 30th in fantasy points allowed to defenses, and has given up 36 fantasy points the last three weeks. If you are in a deep league and need someone to fill in, this is the ultimate risk/reward play.
If you want to discuss further options for streaming defenses, or anything else, just hit me up on the Fantasy Life App. My user name is @jmarin on the app, and you can usually find me in the FL OG Podcast chat.
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