The official halfway point of the NFL season has passed and with that, we had another quality outing for the Streamable Defenses of the Week. In the season long standings, each of our three suggestions have now entered the top ten of all D/STs as our top suggestion has slotted into the D/ST position. Our top suggestion in Week 9 in the Washington Commanders was actually our lowest scoring of the three as both the Cincinnati Bengals and Tennessee Titans topped double-digit fantasy points. Let’s keep this train rolling into Week 10!
I’m one to never invest a high draft stock into team defenses. I play the waiver wire every single week to find my D/ST for the upcoming week. Due to this, I find myself never drafting a defense and waiting for just before the start of Week 1 to grab my first defense of the season. This is where this series comes into play. Every week I will be suggesting my favorite three team defenses that are regularly available on waiver wires across most formats. I will also keep a running total of how my selections measure up across the season below.
The premise of this article is to bring forth three streamable defenses that fantasy football players should look to use for that respective week. To qualify for this series, defenses must be owned in less than 40-percent of Yahoo and/or ESPN leagues. At least one of the suggested defenses will be owned in less than 10-percent of Yahoo and/or ESPN leagues to cater to as many fantasy players as possible. You can find last week’s results below and previous week’s results at the bottom of this article.
The Washington Commanders were our top suggestion in Week 9 as they played the New York Giants. They recorded four fantasy points by allowing 22 points and recording two sacks and a fumble recovery. The Cincinnati Bengals playing host to the Las Vegas Raiders were our middle suggestion last week as they recorded ten fantasy points by allowing 18 points, recording five sacks and recovering two fumbles. Our less than ten-percent owned suggestion in the Tennessee Titans playing host to the New England Patriots was our highest scoring Week 9 suggestion with 11 points. They allowed just 17 points while recording four sacks, two interceptions and a fumble recovery.
Week 9 Results
Washington Commanders at New York Giants - 4 Points
Cincinnati Bengals vs. Las Vegas Raiders - 10 Points
Tennessee Titans vs. New England Patriots - 11 Points
Overall Results
Top Suggestion - 81 Points (D/ST3)
Middle Suggestion - 74 Points (D/ST7)
Less than 10% Owned - 66 Points (D/ST10)
Week 10 Suggestions
New York Giants at Carolina Panthers (Owned in 7% of Yahoo and 4.5% of ESPN Leagues)
Some weeks, the options are plentiful. Other weeks, they’re rather limited. We’re in the later part of that statement this week as there are few qualifying teams with plus matchups to use. The Giants just happen to be one of them as they play the Panthers, who have allowed the eighth most fantasy points to opposing defenses. Through nine games, are you aware that the New York Giants lead the NFL in most team sacks at 35? They’re getting to the quarterback better than any other team. Now, the Panthers don’t allow a ton of sacks as the combination of Bryce Young and Andy Dalton have been sacked 17 times (good enough for a tie as the 17th most sacked quarterback in the NFL.) However, sacks force turnovers. I’m hoping a motivated Giants’ defense with a bye next week shows up against the Panthers.
Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints (Owned in 9% of Yahoo and 14.4% of ESPN Leagues)
For the past two years I’ve been on record stating the Falcons’ defense is better than what paper tells us. They get a plus matchup this week with the Saints who have allowed the fifth most fantasy points to opposing defenses. The Falcons have allowed over 28 points just once through nine games. They’re simply not a team to record a ton of sacks or turnovers. They did record three sacks last week against the Cowboys and three turnovers in Week 8 against the Buccaneers however. This is more of one of those safe floor type of plays opposed to a homerun attempt.
Arizona Cardinals vs. New York Jets (Owned in 3% of Yahoo and 1.1% of ESPN Leagues)
Remember when I said options are limited this week? Well here we are. Now, the Jets have allowed the 11th most fantasy points to opposing defenses, so that is a plus. However, the Cardinals’ defense isn’t great by any measures. I challenge you to name one defensive player on Arizona without using Google. Anyhow, the Cardinals did just hold the Chicago Bears to nine points in Week 9 while recording six sacks. They also held the Chargers to just 15 points in Week 7. We’re taking a chance here no matter how you look at it.
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