Welcome to Week 9! Last week saw our picks turn out to be a couple of treats, with the Chargers and Lions deftly handling business. The latter put up a chunk of fantasy points despite giving up over 400 yards of offense. However, we had a bit of a trick with the Packers stumbling in Florida, only finishing the day with a few fantasy points. It’s a good thing a different NFC North team took the spotlight when it came to embarrassing highlights for the week, allowing Green Bay’s struggle to slide under the radar a bit. This upcoming week tends to favor the defenses that are already rostered in a majority of leagues. So, let us dig in and see what we can pull out of the already picked-over bag of candy defenses. Happy Halloween, everyone!
Please note: 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 out there for 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.
Cincinnati Bengals
Opponent: vs Las Vegas Raiders
ESPN % Rostered: 39%
Yahoo % Rostered: 32%
Picking an orange-themed team to headline this one. Las Vegas has gotten carved up like a pumpkin in three of their last four games. They just got sacked five times last week, which should bode well for Trey Hendrickson, who had the second-most sacks last season and is already in the top five so far in 2024. Before the floodgates broke in the second half last week, Cincinnati had been stifling offenses for under 15 points for ten straight quarters. The Raiders are averaging three turnovers per game over their last four games. They surrender the second-highest fantasy points to opposing defenses in the league this year. Last week snapped a four-game streak of giving up double-digit fantasy points when they only gave over nine fantasy points to the Chiefs last week.
New Orleans Saints
Opponent: @ Carolina Panthers
ESPN % Rostered: 38%
Yahoo % Rostered: 34%
It is bold to recommend this fantasy defense that has struggled mightily of late, but we favor them for the team they are playing against in this one. On paper, this should be a great candidate for a “get-right” game against the struggling Panthers. Their division rivals are averaging double-digit fantasy points to opposing defenses over their last four games. They are on a three-game streak of throwing multiple interceptions and have only reached 300 total yards of offense once over that entire stretch. New Orleans hits the road to face a team that hasn’t said which quarterback it is looking to start against them, in addition to letting their star receiver know that they might want to keep a suitcase packed. So we have a Saints team that is fifth in the league in QB hurries take on a team that is depleted at wide receiver. A fantastic way to keep the opponent from racking up stats against you is to simply keep them off the field. New Orleans has been getting beat out in time of possession lately, so it’s a great time to see Derek Carr go marching into the lineup as he resumes practice, intending to start this week.
Philadelphia Eagles
Opponent: vs Jacksonville Jaguars
ESPN % Rostered: 40%
Yahoo % Rostered: 52%
Coming out of their bye week, the Eagles have been on a roll defensively in fantasy. They have come away with two turnovers and 14 sacks, all while holding every one of their opponents to under 20 points in their three games since they had the week off. Now they get to host a Jaguar team that has been up and down offensively. The key against this team is getting into the backfield and applying pressure to Trevor Lawrence. He continues to struggle in games where he is sacked multiple times. Philadelphia has registered at least one sack in every single one of their games this season, so it is in the realm of possibility for them to get to the quarterback at home this coming weekend. The Eagles have one of the better passing defenses with the second-lowest air yards per completion in the league, as well as a top-five defense for the fewest total yards allowed and net yards per pass attempt.
Honorable Mentions
Minnesota Vikings (E:63% Y!:85%) – ESPN leagues should consider seeing if this one is still available as the Vikings take on the Colts and their spooky play at quarterback.
Washington Commanders (E:20% Y!:13%) – This one is a bit of a Hail Mary, but it’s always spicy when the Commanders take on the Giants. New York has back-to-back games now of double-digit fantasy points to defenses.
Tennessee Titans/New England Patriots – Available in just about every league, these two defenses are at the bottom of fantasy, but so are their offenses! Patriots are the third-best offense to start a defense against, while the Titans are the best offense to start a defense against. Trick or treat?
If you see something I don’t, leave a comment or hit me up with feedback @MikeoftheFF on Twitter or find me on Reddit!
Feature image by Michael Packard (@CollectingPack on Twitter) / Photography by Jeff Moreland / Icon Sportswire