Streamable Defenses of the Week - Week 9 (2023)
During this series, we’ll see those huge weeks where everything clicks but we will also have those weeks where we just get by. Week 8 was one of those weeks where we just get by. It’s a plus that neither of our three suggestions posted a goose egg or went into the negatives but as a whole, it could have been much better. Overall, however, it wasn’t bad by any means. That just means that there is room for improvement for Week 9!
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.
Our top suggestion for Week 8 was the Atlanta Falcons on the back that the Titans were to go with a combination of Malik Willis and Will Levis at quarterback. Levis just happened to show out for the Titans, sinking our hopes for a big week out of the Falcons’ defense. The Falcons posted three fantasy points by allowing 28 points while recording two sacks and a fumble recovery. The Jaguars were our biggest performers of the week, allowing just ten points to the Pittsburgh Steelers while recording three sacks and two interceptions en route to 11 fantasy points. Our under ten-percent owned suggestion was the Houston Texans who posted seven fantasy points against the Panthers while allowing 15 points and recording a staggering six sacks.
Week 8 Results
Atlanta Falcons at Tennessee Titans - 3 Points
Jacksonville Jaguars at Pittsburgh Steelers - 11 Points
Houston Texans at Carolina Panthers - 7 Points
Overall Results
Top Suggestion - 60 Points (D/ST13)
Middle Suggestion - 63 Points (D/ST12)
Under 10% Owned - 82 Points (D/ST2)
Week 9 Suggestion
New England Patriots vs. Washington Commanders (Owned in 28% of Yahoo and 31.2% of ESPN Leagues)
This isn’t the Patriots’ defense of the past that we are used to being an annual top D/ST in fantasy football. However, they get a very good matchup this week with the Washington Commanders who have allowed the third most fantasy points to opposing defenses. Sam Howell has been sacked 41 times through eight games. That’s on average, five times a game. That alone offers great fantasy value. The Commanders are also 20th in the NFL in offensive yards-per-game. Howell has also thrown eight interceptions this season, or tied for the second most in the NFL. The downfall is that the Patriots’ defense hasn’t done a whole lot all season. We’ll hope that the trend of Howell being sacked five times a game continues.
Atlanta Falcons vs. Minnesota Vikings (Owned in 32% of Yahoo and 28.6% of ESPN Leagues)
Insert the Michael Scott “No question about it, I am ready to get hurt again” meme. I played the Falcons last week against the Titans who were also playing a backup quarterback. That did not work out for me. However, I believe this time to be a bit different. The Vikings are set to roll out fifth round rookie Jared Hall as Kirk Cousins ruptured his Achilles Tendon last week. We don’t know what to expect out of Hall, but I don’t think it’ll be great. The Vikings have also recently acquired Joshua Dobbs from the Arizona Cardinals. It’ll take a lot to see Dobbs on the field Sunday but isn’t completely out of the question. The Vikings are preparing to start Hall but Head Coach Kevin O’Connell suggested that Dobbs could be ready. Either way, there isn’t a possibility that he could learn the playbook that fast, leaving room for error. I think the Falcons’ defense is better than what paper suggests.
Indianapolis Colts at Carolina Panthers (Owned in 8% of Yahoo and 9.2% of ESPN Leagues)
This Colts’ defense is not good by any measures but the matchup is too good to ignore. The Colts get the Carolina Panthers this week who have allowed the eighth most fantasy points to opposing defenses on the season. Carolina is 27th in the league in terms of offensive yards-per-game. Bryce Young has been sacked 22 times this season and Andy Dalton has been sacked three, putting the combined 25 total sacks tied for fourth most in the league. On top of the Colts getting the Panthers this week, they get the Patriots in Week 10 who have allowed the second most fantasy points to opposing defenses so if you’re in deeper leagues, this is a two-for-one.