It wasn’t a great week for the Streamable Defenses of the Week in the fantasy football semi-finals but it definitely could have been worse. We were led by a seven point performance by the Houston Texans. Who would have thought we could have just played the defense playing the Kansas City Chiefs if we wanted the week’s best performers. That’s fantasy football for you. Anyway, we’re onto championship weekend! Let’s hit some big winners this week and claim some championships along the way!
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 Houston Texans were our top suggestion last week and they were our top performer as they totaled seven fantasy points against the Cleveland Browns. The Texans allowed 36 points but recorded a sack and two interceptions. The Washington Commanders were our middle suggestion who played the dreadful New York Jets. It wasn’t a typical result that we would expect out of a team playing the Jets as the Commanders totalled three fantasy points. They did so by allowing 30 points and recording an interception and a fumble recovery. The Arizona Cardinals were our less than 10-percent owned suggestion as they posted three fantasy points by allowing 27 points and recording a sack and an interception.
Week 16 Results
Houston Texans vs. Cleveland Browns - 7 Points
Washington Commanders at New York Jets - 3 Points
Arizona Cardinals at Chicago Bears - 3 Points
Overall Results
Top Suggestion - 120 Points (D/ST13)
Middle Suggestion - 124 Points (D/ST11)
Under 10% Owned - 155 Points (D/ST3)
Week 17 Suggestions
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Carolina Panthers - Owned in 42% of Yahoo and 33.2% of ESPN Leagues
First off, I know I’m breaking the under 40-percent owned mark in Yahoo leagues but the good thing about this series is that I make the rules. So, as my own commissioner, I’ll allow it. This is another one of those simple analyses. The Carolina Panthers’ offense is god awful. They looked halfway decent a week ago against the Packers, scoring 30 points. However, prior to that they scored at most 18 points in eight consecutive weeks. Included in that stretch of games, the Panthers scored a combined 15 points against the Saints and Falcons. They have also allowed the fifth most fantasy points to opposing defenses on the season.
Chicago Bears vs. Atlanta Falcons - Owned in 32% of Yahoo and 22.5% of ESPN Leagues
What has me excited about this matchup is the projected poor weather set for this weekend in Chicago. The temperature will be around freezing with a high chance of precipitation. For an offense that struggles to move the ball such as the Atlanta Falcons, throwing some inclement weather into the mix is a perfect storm for a fantasy football defense. On top of that, the Falcons have allowed the 13th most fantasy points to opposing defenses on the season. The Bears’ defense has also been much improved as of late, allowing at most 20 points over their last four games.
Carolina Panthers at Jacksonville Jaguars - Owned in 5% of Yahoo and 7.4% of ESPN Leagues
Options are very slim for the under ten-percent owned suggestion for the Streamable Defenses of the Week. My favorite option of what we’re working with however is the Panthers this week as they play the Jaguars. First off, the Jaguars have allowed the tenth most fantasy points to opposing defenses on the season. The Jaguars have scored a combined 19 points across their last two games. The Jaguars are also known to turn the ball over. Trevor Lawrence threw two interceptions last week and the team lost two fumbles. Two weeks ago against the Ravens, the Jaguars also lost two fumbles.
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