The volatility we’ve seen across the start of the NFL season has continued into Week 3. In result, our Streamable Defenses of the Week from Week 3 were pitiful. Simply awful. My highest scoring suggestion was the Tennessee Titans against the Green Bay Packers with three points. That isn’t going to cut it. However, we’re going to have weeks like this in doing this series. All we can do is put the week behind us and move forward. With that being said, onto Week 4!
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 Tampa Bay Buccaneers were our top suggestion from a week ago. They went on to score just two fantasy points while allowing 26 points to the Denver Broncos while recovering a fumble. The Las Vegas Raiders played host to the Carolina Panthers who moved to Andy Dalton at quarterback for the week. Dalton put on a show and in result, the Raiders’ defense scored negative-two fantasy points. They allowed 36 points while recording just two sacks. The Tennessee Titans were our highest scoring suggestion of the week with just three fantasy points. They allowed 24 points to the Green Bay Packers while recording just three sacks.
Week 3 Results
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Denver Broncos - 2 Points
Las Vegas Raiders vs. Carolina Panthers - -2 Points
Tennessee Titans vs. Green Bay Packers - 3 Points
Overall Results
Top Suggestion - 22 Points (D/ST12)
Middle Suggestion - 4 Points (D/ST31)
Under 10% Owned - 10 Points (D/ST23)
Week 4 Suggestions
Philadelphia Eagles at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Owned in 45% of Yahoo and 10.4% of ESPN Leagues)
First off, I know the Eagles are not under the 40-percent owned mark we try to follow in Yahoo leagues but are owned in just 10.4-percent of ESPN leagues so I’ll allow it. The Eagles’ defense put together a good game in Week 3, holding the New Orleans Saints to just 12 points. The Saints had scored 91 points across their first two games combined coming into Week 3. Baker Mayfield was sacked seven times last week by the Denver Broncos and he also threw an interception.
Las Vegas Raiders vs. Cleveland Browns (Owned in 42% of Yahoo and 30.4% of ESPN Leagues)
The Raiders burnt me in a day way in Week 3 so why would I go back to them? The Cleveland Browns are simply a bad football team who can’t put up points. Through the first three weeks of the season, the Browns have scored at most, 18 points. They have also allowed the ninth most fantasy points to opposing defenses to start the season. The New York Giants sacked Deshaun Watson eight times in Week 3. Watson is the most sacked quarterback through the first two weeks with 16.
Tennessee Titans at Miami Dolphins (Owned in 4% of Yahoo and 3.2% of ESPN Leagues)
I know the Titans didn’t really do it for me last week in this series but they get another fantastic matchup this week in Miami. Across the last two weeks, one without Tua Tagovailoa and a half without him, the Dolphins have scored just 13 points combined. In Week 1, with everyone healthy, the Dolphins scored just 20 points against a bad Jaguars team as well. I am a bit worried that the Titans are rather bad against the run (allowing 124.3 rushing-yards-per-game) and the Dolphins will rely much more on the running game this week but our under ten-percent owned suggestion isn’t going to be a polished product.
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