It wasn’t a crazy successful week in terms of streamable defenses. I’ve had worse weeks and I’ve had better weeks. I’ll call this week a win even though it’s a middle-of-the-pack outing on my end. Our top option, the Detroit Lions, went over 10 points and our lowest scoring defense, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, posted five points. In all, not a horrible outing.
Every week I go through and pinpoint my top three streamable defenses of the week. To qualify as streamable and for this article, they must be under the 40% owned mark on Yahoo and/or ESPN. I also include one defense owned in less than 10% of Yahoo and/or ESPN leagues to cater to as many readers as possible. The Streamable Defenses of the Week article drops every Tuesday. You can find last week’s results below and you can find previous week’s results at the bottom of this article.
Week 8 Results
Detroit Lions vs. New York Giants - 11 points
Indianapolis Colts vs. Denver Broncos - 7 points
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Tennessee Titans - 5 points
Week 9 Streamable Defenses
Cleveland Browns at Denver Broncos - Owned in 25% of Yahoo and 16.2% of ESPN leagues
I’m going with the Cleveland Browns as my top streamable defense of the week because the Denver Broncos will be sending out Brandon Allen to lead the offense. Allen is a guy who has been cut or waived four times since 2017 and has yet to make an NFL start. Joe Flacco is out and could be headed to the IR and 2019 second round selection Drew Lock is on the IR. All of this spells trouble for the Denver Broncos this week. Also, the Broncos’ have given up the ninth most fantasy points to opposing defenses, and that’s with Joe Flacco and not Brandon Allen. The Browns’ defense has definitely struggled thus far this season, but this is a game where any NFL defense will thrive. Expect Allen to turn the ball over at least a few times and will be under constant pressure from Myles Garrett.
New York Jets at Miami Dolphins - Owned in 14% of Yahoo and 10.8% of ESPN leagues
This one is pretty straight forward. If you've been following this series at any point thus far this season, you know we like to target the Dolphins’ opponent, and rightfully so. The Dolphins’ offense has given up the second most fantasy points to opposing defenses. The Jets’ offense has been anything but spectacular over the past two weeks, but the Dolphins are in obvious tank mode. They don’t want to win games. They just allowed the Pittsburgh Steelers to record two interceptions, two fumble recoveries and four sacks on Monday Night Football. The Jets have some quality pieces on their defense. Look for the Dolphins to continue to turn the ball over and the Jets’ defense to have a field day.
Miami Dolphins vs. New York Jets - Owned in 1% of Yahoo and 0.7% of ESPN leagues
I had to find a defense owned in less than 10% of Yahoo and/or ESPN leagues, and here it is. Just as I previously mentioned, the Dolphins have allowed the second most fantasy points to opposing defenses. Now you may ask, what team could be worse than the Miami Dolphins in that category? You guessed it, the New York Jets. Now this stat is a little skewed due to the Sam Darnold-less games that the Jets played, but it’s like Darnold has offered much change since his return. Darnold has thrown eight interceptions over his last three games since returning and has thrown seven over his last two games. Chances are Darnold will throw an interception, or two. Also the Dolphins added Aquib Talib from the Los Angeles Rams at the trade deadline. That will improve their defense a bit.
Honorable mention: Dallas Cowboys vs. New York Giants - Owned in 33% of Yahoo and 28.8% of ESPN leagues
Week 2 Results
Houston Texans vs. Jacksonville Jaguars - 10 points
Tennessee Titans vs. Indianapolis Colts - 8 points
Carolina Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - 6 points
Week 3 Results
Green Bay Packers vs. Denver Broncos - 13 points
San Francisco 49ers vs. Pittsburgh Steelers - 7 points
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. New York Giants - 8 points
Week 4 Results
Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cincinnati Bengals - 19 points
Indianapolis Colts vs. Oakland Raiders - 3 points
Cincinnati Bengals vs. Pittsburgh Steelers - 2 points
Week 5 Results
Philadelphia Eagles vs. New York Jets - 35 points
Tennessee Titans vs. Buffalo Bills - 7 points
Arizona Cardinals vs. Cincinnati Bengals - 1 point
Week 6 Results
Washington at Miami Dolphins - 10 points
Green Bay Packers vs. Detroit Lions - 3 points
Denver Broncos vs. Tennessee Titans - 23 points
Week 7 Results
Houston Texans vs. Oakland Raiders - 2 points
Detroit Lions vs. Minnesota Vikings - -4 points
New York Giants vs. Arizona Cardinals - 10 points