Photo by Douglas Stringer/Icon Sportswire
It seems like we are hitting our stride in streaming defenses, and week 9 was a fun one. Our streamer of the week was second overall to the definitely-owned Chicago Bears. Our other 3 choices all finished in the top 12, and even our under-owned team showed up. I have been eagerly waiting for an “all-succeed” week, and here we are. Let’s jump right into the top-12 for this week.
| Team | Opponent | Fantasy Pts | Percent Owned | Interceptions | Sacks |
| Chicago | Buffalo | 28 | 98% | 3 | 4 |
| Miami | NY Jets | 25 | 46% | 4 | 4 |
| Minnesota | Detroit | 22 | 94% | 0 | 10 |
| San Francisco | Oakland | 15 | 20% | 0 | 8 |
| LA Chargers | Seattle | 13 | 51% | 1 | 4 |
| Tennessee | Dallas | 10 | 12% | 1 | 5 |
| NY Jets | Miami | 8 | 36% | 0 | 4 |
| Dallas | Tennessee | 7 | 79% | 0 | 4 |
| Atlanta | Washington | 6 | 15% | 1 | 3 |
| Detroit | Minnesota | 6 | 9% | 1 | 1 |
| Kansas City | Cleveland | 6 | 82% | 1 | 2 |
| Carolina | Tampa Bay | 6 | 80% | 2 | 3 |
So recapping our list from last week, we had Miami as our stream of the week (23% owned at the time) and they put up a monster 25 points. In no particular order, we also had the Jets (7th with 8 points), the Titans (6th with 10 points), and the Cowboys (8th with 7 points). Even our under-owned team (Carolina) still managed to tie for 9th with 6 points. The only big time miss on our part was San Francisco, who managed to completely shut down the Oakland offense behind their third different quarterback of the season. To be honest, I would have trusted Oakland if anyone from that game due to the “choice” match-up. I guess it’s a good thing then that we simply stayed away. Like in previous weeks, our top-12 consisted of a few defensive battles that we could target. Miami-New York and Tennessee-Dallas both lived up to the hype and gave us useful options. Minnesota-Detroit also proved useful, though I didn’t see that one coming personally. Both teams have some excellent weapons, and I could have seen that one going much higher score-wise. That’s okay: we can’t predict everything. Looking ahead to week 10, I can already see a great collection of under-owned squads that should definitely be picked up if you can. Without further ado, let’s dive right in.
New England (82%)
Let’s start off with the New England Patriots in their match-up against the Tennessee Titans. The Tennessee offense, despite the big win against Dallas, doesn’t strike fear into my heart. The Patriots, meanwhile, get better and better as the season goes on and are pretty familiar with what Dion Lewis can do. I expect this one to be a safe win for the Patriots, and I don’t think they’ll give up 20 points. I think this one has one of the safest floors of the week and probably the smallest chance of breaking the wrong way. That being said, I don’t think it has the highest ceiling, and so it wouldn’t be my pick this week. Still, it’s a great option if it’s out there.
LA Chargers (80%)
The LA Chargers have been red hot, winning their last 5 games to improve to 6-2 on the season. The Oakland Raiders have been blue-cold, sitting at 1-7 and clearly have no interest in competing this season. What happens when a 6-2 team with a good defense faces a 1-7 bunch with a bad offense? Hopefully a predictable beat down for our sake. Either way, this one could get ugly and should still be really safe. I’d love to have Joey Bosa back just to make it extra sweet, but I’m sure he’s being rested/ allowed to fully recover since the team is winning without him. The Chargers defense is my top choice of the week if it’s out there, and it could easily end at #1 overall.
New York Jets (76%)
Our last under-owned team is the New York Jets. The Jets have flirted with our list each week, and they are back thanks to a choice match-up with the Buffalo Bills. The Bills haven’t managed to put up 20 points since week 3, and their current quarterback choices are Derek Anderson and Nathan Peterson. I think I would start any, and yes I mean any, defense against the Bills right now. We are lucky enough to get a capable unit in New York against what is fighting Oakland for honors of worst offense in the league right now. This one is close with the Chargers for top honors, and it would be ranked higher if I could more trust the Jets offense.
Washington D.C. (37%)
Like the Chargers and Jets, the Washington Redskins have a good match-up in week 10. They play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who are having some…difficulties. They can’t decide which quarterback to start, they have lost 5 of their last 6 games, and they will likely be looking at a new coach next season. I’m guessing they also decide to move on from Jameis Winston as well. This is still a capable offense, but one that is turnover prone. The Washington defense, for their part, has been solid lately. They held three of their last 4 opponents under 20, including the Carolina Panthers. While not my top choice of the streamers, this one could work out if Tampa Bay continues to slide.
San Francisco (24%)
The San Francisco 49ers defense looked good the last two weeks against the lowly offenses of Arizona and Oakland. This week, they draw another struggling team in the New York Giants. The Giants have averaged less than 16 points per game in their last 3 efforts, and they should once again be ripe for the picking. I don’t know how a group with Odell Beckham Jr. and Saquon Barkley can be so bad, but they are. They just are. To be fair, Eli Manning hasn’t been very good this season. He has failed to bounce back, like the team hoped, and he is making it clear that New York should have drafted a quarterback. The 49ers, for their part, have 11 sacks over the last two weeks and have held their last two opponents under 20. This game will be pretty unwatchable and it has no season implications, but I feel safe with the 49ers defense.
Indianapolis (14%, stream of the week)
The Colts defense is averaging 2.5 sacks, 1 int, and 1 forced fumble per game to this point in the season. The Jaguars, meanwhile, have been held under 20 points in each of the last four weeks. Not only that, but the were held under 10 in two of those weeks. This is a bad sign if you are a Jacksonville fan. Blake Bortles is deteriorating back into “ugly Blake” and Leonard Fournette has been sorely missed. On top of their offensive woes, the Jaguars defense is giving up an average 28+ points per game over the last 4 weeks. I like Indy’s offense to put up some points and then sit back and coast against the Jags. If the Colts can get the lead early (or at least not blow it with turnovers), then I love their chances to run away with this one. I think Andrew Luck will throw 2+ touchdowns, the Colts will avoid big mistakes, and this will be a big win for Indy. The Colts are my stream of the week.