Welcome to Week 4! Take a minute to gather yourself after last week’s Return of the Defense (and Special Teams). We saw a nice haul of nine DST touchdowns this past Sunday, with nearly twice the number of teams scoring double-digit fantasy points compared to the week before. Among those teams were all three of our picks as the Buccaneers, Colts, and the Commanders all came through in a big way for us last week! This week will see some of the top-ranked fantasy defenses facing a tough test, as we will see which teams truly stand out and which ones aren’t quite who we thought (or hoped) they were. So let’s see which matchups catch our eye to stream heading into this week as we look for teams rostered in around 50 percent of leagues or fewer.
Please note that there’s a decent chance that better teams above this 50 percent threshold are available in your league, but we can’t assume they’re available to everyone. We have to draw the proverbial line somewhere, so stay active and monitor the league home page; someone might drop a desirable defense after waivers clear.
New England Patriots
Opponent: vs. Carolina Panthers
ESPN % Rostered: 49%
Yahoo % Rostered: 15%
The Patriots now have a three-game interception streak going and will look to keep that alive against Bryce Young and a Panthers team coming to town. Carolina already has six turnovers on the season and has allowed a sack in every game so far, and now faces a New England team that has nine sacks in just two games. The Patriots have allowed the second-fewest rushing yards this season and will look to stifle Chubba Hubbard this week. The Panthers are bottom-ten in the league in offensive yards per game for both passing and rushing. They have also given up an average of two sacks and two turnovers per game on the road this year as they roll into Gillette Stadium this week.
Los Angeles Chargers
Opponent: @ New York Giants
ESPN % Rostered: 12%
Yahoo % Rostered: 49%
Russell Wilson‘s offensive explosion in Week 2 is starting to look more like an outlier after pairing Sunday night’s red zone meltdown with his performance to open the season in Week 1. Coach Daboll was non-committal to the quarterback position after questions this Monday, and this weekly article is a big fan of defenses going against a rookie quarterback’s debut, but also, this is a matchup worth considering, even if Wilson gets another start. This will be the first non-division opponent for the Chargers this season after getting battle-tested against two of the league’s more formidable offenses. Los Angeles comes into this game maintaining a multi-sack streak over three games now, while New York is also on a three-game streak of their own, giving up multiple sacks.
Chicago Bears
Opponent: @ Las Vegas Raiders
ESPN % Rostered: 5%
Yahoo % Rostered: 4%
This Bears defense is starting to spark with double-digit points in all three of their games this season. Granted, one of them was in the negative, but I am willing to overlook that from a divisional rival that was all too familiar with the first-year head coach’s scheme. Even with that Week 2 drubbing, Chicago has five sacks and four interceptions from the other two games as they travel into Las Vegas to take on the second-highest sacked quarterback in the league, Geno Smith. The Raiders have allowed 12 sacks over their three games so far, and Smith has turned the ball over four times in that span. Las Vegas has now given opposing defenses double-digit fantasy points in back-to-back games heading into this tilt.
After the Cut
Detroit Lions (E:55% Y!:56%) – Would have been this week’s headliner if they were rostered in just a fewer leagues. The Lions will host the Browns, who have been generous with turning the ball over while also giving up multiple sacks per game.
Houston Texans (E:79% Y!:61%) – Texans welcome newcomer to the division Cam Ward and a Titans team that has been very favorable to stream against.
New York Jets (E:12% Y!:13%) – If you’ve been keeping an eye on teams to stream against the Dolphins while they are on implosion watch, next up will be their divisional rival with the Jets heading to South Florida.
If you see something I don’t, leave a comment or find me on Reddit!
Feature image by Michael Packard (@CollectingPack on Twitter) / Photography by Matthew Pearce / Icon Sportswire