After a hot start to the season for the Streamable Defenses of the Week, we’ve come back to earth with a rather disappointing Week 3. We’ve maintained a top five D/ST with our top suggestion through three weeks. Our middle suggestions have been god awful but that will change! Let’s have a big week here in Week 4!
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 Chiefs were my top suggestion in Week 3. They held the Bears to just ten points while recording three sacks. They also recovered a fumble and recorded an interception. The Jaguars were the biggest disappointment of Week 3 as they allowed 31 points to C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans without recording a single sack or takeaway. The Seahawks sacked Andy Dalton three times in Week 3 but allowed 27 points.
Week 3 Results
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Chicago Bears - 11 Points
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Houston Texans - -1 Point
Seattle Seahawks vs. Carolina Panthers - 3 Points
Overall Results
Top Suggestion - D/ST4
Middle Suggestion - D/ST31
Under 10% Owned Suggestion - D/ST12
Week 4 Suggestions
Cincinnati Bengals at Tennessee Titans - Owned in 38% of Yahoo and 18.2% of ESPN Leagues
The Titans’ offense has allowed the seventh most fantasy points to opposing defenses through the first three weeks of the season. They are now making a quarterback change to Will Levis which isn’t going to help them. Don’t get me wrong, I’m as big of a Levis' stan as you’re going to find but he is as raw as they come. This Bengals team is also fresh off a strong performance against the Los Angeles Rams on Monday Night Football where they sacked Matthew Stafford six times and intercepted him twice. The big knock to Levis’ game is his pocket awareness and holding the football too long. On top of that, Tannehill has been sacked 13 times already this season. The Bengals are going to have a field day.
Seattle Seahawks at New York Giants - Owned in 43% of Yahoo and 14.2% of ESPN Leagues
On paper, there are some better matchups this week than this one. Namely the Denver Broncos playing the Chicago Bears. But, I just can’t trust that Broncos defense even if they’re playing the god awful Bears. Instead, I’m opting for the Seahawks with a matchup against the god awful New York Giants. The Seahawks’ defense has allowed a fair share of points to start the season but have played some quality teams in the Los Angeles Rams and Detroit Lions. Now they get the Giants who have allowed the second most fantasy points to opposing defenses through three weeks. The Giants will be without Saquon Barkley yet again so they’ll be forced to put the ball into Daniel Jones’ hands more. Jones has been sacked 12 times through three weeks. We need a big performance out of our middle suggestion this week.
Houston Texans vs. Pittsburgh Steelers - Owned in 1% of Yahoo and 2.1% of ESPN Leagues
This isn’t a plus matchup we typically look for but it’s a very good one nonetheless. The Steelers are averaging just 18.7 points-per-game through their first three games of the season. Kenny Pickett has been sacked eight times and he has thrown three interceptions through the first three weeks of the season. This is a team with a struggling offensive line and the inability to establish the running game. Houston hasn’t recorded a sack in two weeks but did record two takeaways a week ago in an impressive victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars. This Texans team is fun and young. It’s time to pay attention to them.
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