(Photo by Doug Murray/Icon Sportswire)
Week 5 comes to a close (almost) and it brings another week of data to break down. I’ll be honest: I was nervous when I saw the Giants quickly put up 14 on the Cowboys and I started to fear I had led you astray. Well, have no fear because Daniel Jones is here. Jones coughed up a trademark fumble that the Dallas defense returned for a touchdown, and all was right with the world. I learned my lesson though; don’t trust Dallas. So how did the whole week look? Here’s our leader board.
| Rank | Team | Fant. Pts. | % Owned | Sacks | Interceptions | Fumbles |
| 1 | Baltimore Ravens | 26 | 100% | 7 | 1 | 2 |
| 2 | Cleveland Browns | 13 | 28% | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| T-3 | Miami Dolphins | 12 | 3% | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| T-3 | Los Angeles Rams | 12 | 93% | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| T-5 | Indianapolis Colts | 11 | 89% | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| T-5 | New York Giants | 11 | 1% | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| T-7 | Dallas Cowboys | 9 | 55% | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| T-7 | Houston Texans | 9 | 18% | 4 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 8 | 98% | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| T-10 | Seattle Seahawks | 7 | 56% | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| T-10 | Arizona Cardinals | 7 | 74% | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 6 | 84% | 3 | 1 | 0 |
Looking at this week, we had an excellent finish with five of our six streamers making the list. The only one that didn’t (New England) was in Covid protocol. Our streamer for the week finished with nine points and that gives us a grand total of 54 points through four weeks. That would put us just over Indianapolis as the top defense option in the league during that span. Week 4 (when we went with Seattle) was a bit messy, but the same is true for a strong defense like Indianapolis (7 points in week 4). We can live with the slow weeks if we get some huge boom weeks. Looking at week five’s top groups, we see mostly predictable results. Baltimore crushed the Bengals by sacking Joe Burrow all day long. Cleveland made their day thanks to mistakes by Philip Rivers and a defensive score. Miami crushed San Francisco, and the Niners might be a good target moving forward, assuming Jimmy G is on the shelf. The Rams beat up on a weak Washington team that clearly had no answer at QB. Indianapolis is clearly a great defense, and the window to pick them up has closed. Then the Giants were our last double-digit scorer. They snagged an early defensive score and finished strong despite giving up a pile of points and losing the game. Here are some thoughts moving forward:
- Keep targeting the Jets, Giants, and Washington as they are all a mess.
- Denver, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Miami, and San Francisco should also be closely watched week to week as situations change
- Remember that rookie quarterbacks (even ones that look good) are mistake-prone and work as backup options. Justin Herbert, for example, has 9 sacks and 6 interceptions/ fumbles through four games.
- Dallas just switched over to backup Andy Dalton. I don’t love this target because of Zeke and the other weapons, but it’s worth mentioning.
Alright, so how are things looking for week 6? Let’s find out.
Under-owned Teams
Indianapolis Colts (89%, vs Cincinnati)
We start off with a highly owned team that’s probably not even available. Still, the Colts feel like they should be higher than this, and it’s worth checking your waivers just in case. Indy is the number one defense over the last four weeks, and they have been excellent all season long. They continue to roll through an easy schedule for one more week and then it’s the BYE. Grab them if you can as you’ll see our streaming choices are a little thin this week.
New England Patriots (72%, vs Denver)
Anyone else experiencing deja vu? We loved this matchup last week, and for some reason ownership of the Patriots defense dropped by 5% with their week off. New England is my top choice this week at home against the Broncos, and I would add them over anyone else on the list. It hurt not having Cam Newton last week, but he should be back soon and the team will roll again. If you manage to add New England, I would stick with them moving forward. Don’t overthink it.
Week 4 Streamers
Minnesota Vikings (30%, vs Atlanta)
Let’s just rip the band-aid off: this is a rough week for streaming. I usually have a team or two I can get behind, even if it isn’t a home run. This is just a mess though. We see a bunch of bottom-dwellers facing each other, and the results are going to be tough to predict as a result. Our first team is the Minnesota Vikings. Minnesota is 1-4, but that doesn’t tell the full story. In week 3, they lost by one to undefeated Tennessee. They just lost a heartbreaker to the undefeated Seahawks. I think Minnesota is better than their record, and Atlanta is a decent matchup. Minnesota has averaged three sacks per game over their last three as well as forcing a turnover in each contest. I expect a Vikings win and this matchup gets even better if Julio Jones is still out. Give the Vikings a look this week if you are desperate.
Miami Dolphins (3%, vs NY Jets) Stream of the Week
Yeah, life is tough when your ‘top choice’ is only 3% owned. On the bright side, that means they are available! Miami is coming off a huge win over the San Francisco 49ers, and they have actually looked pretty good these last three weeks. They won in Jacksonville, they lost close to Seattle, and they won in San Francisco–never an easy feat. Over their last four contests, Miami records three sacks and forces almost two turnovers per game. Those are great numbers. I think Miami is being slept on right now, and I actually think they make a strong sleeper case against everyone’s favorite punching bag: the New York Jets. As long as Adam Gase is still the coach, we will keep on attacking. Miami is my stream of the week, and I think I actually feel good about it.
Washington Football Team (7%) @ New York Giants (1%)
I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit. The thought of relying on Washington or New York is almost too much for me to handle. Both are terrible teams, both have unreliable quarterbacks, and I could see both losing this one after crucial mistakes sink them. Washington’s defense has given up 30+ points on four straight games, and the week one win was clearly a mirage. However, they’ve forced six picks and they face Daniel Jones–who has 5 interceptions and 4 fumbles on the year while only throwing a touchdown on 1.1% of his throws. I love targeting Daniel Jones, but can this defense get the job done? On the other side, we have the Giants. The New York defense has been mediocre, but still has 12 sacks and 6 turnovers so far. They face off against a Washington team that loves to give up sacks–but has otherwise been decent at protecting the football. So, how do we choose which terrible team to side with? It’s going to come down to who makes the big mistake first. I think that’s going to be Daniel Jones, so I’m going with the Washington Football Team. It’s close though, so follow your guy if you pick this one. In all seriousness, though, just start the Dolphins instead.