This article is part of our Streaming Defenses series.
With six teams on bye, last week's column featured four streaming recommendations instead of the usual five. The first three pick — Cincinnati (15 points), Buffalo (14), New Orleans (eight) — each finished tied for 11th or better in Yahoo! standard scoring among team defenses, while the fourth (Miami) was buried at No. 24 with only one fantasy point.
Week 9 brings us another shortened slate with only 26 teams in action, but the streaming options on waivers look quite a bit better, in part because some of the teams coming out of a bye week draw favorable matchups Sunday. The Cardinals, Rams and Titans were dropped in many leagues, with owners either unwilling or unable to roster them through a bye. We're thus back to five recommendations, though I'll admit to not having a ton of confidence in the fourth and fifth choices.
Note: These recommendations are limited to D/ST units with under 60 percent ownership on Yahoo! as of Tuesday morning.
Top Streaming Options for Week 9
Arizona Cardinals (at San Francisco 49ers)
37% Yahoo ownership
Jimmy Garoppolo won't be ready for Sunday, leaving C.J. Beathard to make a third consecutive start despite showing little-to-no promise in his first two outings. The third-round rookie looked good after he replaced Brian Hoyer in a Week 6 loss to the Redskins, but he's subsequently taken nine sacks and committed four turnovers while completing 52.7 percent of his passes for 5.4 yards per attempt. With the San Francisco running game in
With six teams on bye, last week's column featured four streaming recommendations instead of the usual five. The first three pick — Cincinnati (15 points), Buffalo (14), New Orleans (eight) — each finished tied for 11th or better in Yahoo! standard scoring among team defenses, while the fourth (Miami) was buried at No. 24 with only one fantasy point.
Week 9 brings us another shortened slate with only 26 teams in action, but the streaming options on waivers look quite a bit better, in part because some of the teams coming out of a bye week draw favorable matchups Sunday. The Cardinals, Rams and Titans were dropped in many leagues, with owners either unwilling or unable to roster them through a bye. We're thus back to five recommendations, though I'll admit to not having a ton of confidence in the fourth and fifth choices.
Note: These recommendations are limited to D/ST units with under 60 percent ownership on Yahoo! as of Tuesday morning.
Top Streaming Options for Week 9
Arizona Cardinals (at San Francisco 49ers)
37% Yahoo ownership
Jimmy Garoppolo won't be ready for Sunday, leaving C.J. Beathard to make a third consecutive start despite showing little-to-no promise in his first two outings. The third-round rookie looked good after he replaced Brian Hoyer in a Week 6 loss to the Redskins, but he's subsequently taken nine sacks and committed four turnovers while completing 52.7 percent of his passes for 5.4 yards per attempt. With the San Francisco running game in hibernation and the Niners potentially playing without both starting tackles as well as Pierre Garcon (neck), Beathard wouldn't be positioned for success even if he had the look of a starting-caliber quarterback.
The Arizona defense may not be anywhere close to what it was in past seasons, but it's likely still better than a Cowboys unit that put up 15 points against Beathard two weeks ago. The Eagles then tapped the rookie for 20 points last week, suggesting the Cardinals should push for double digits even if we can no longer view them as an above-average defensive team. I'm currently rostering the Cardinals in my favorite favorite league, but I do plan on dropping them after Sunday's game, wanting no part of upcoming matchups with the Seahawks and Texans.
Buffalo Bills (at New York Jets)
48% Yahoo ownership
The Jets haven't quite provided the elite matchup we all expected, with 12 teams giving up more fantasy points per game to opposing defenses. That said, Gang Green has surrendered at least five points to every opposing defense, including nine points to the Bills back in Week 1. While he's done a nice job limiting interceptions, Josh McCown is tied for the NFL lead with eight fumbles (only two lost) and is on pace to take 50 sacks. The Jets' inability to consistently protect him eventually figures to have more repercussions in terms of turnovers.
The Bills don't have a great pass rush and are averaging only 1.9 sacks, but their excellent coverage has resulted in an NFL-best 1.6 interceptions per game. They put up 15 fantasy points without the help of starting safety Jordan Poyer (knee) and starting corner E.J. Gaines (hamstring) in Sunday's 34-14 win over Oakland — and Poyer may be ready to return for Thursday's game. The Bills have probably appeared in this column more than any other team, but they'll be off the radar next week when they welcome the Saints to Buffalo.
Los Angeles Rams (at New York Giants)
58% Yahoo ownership
The Giants have looked surprisingly competent since losing Odell Beckham (ankle) and Brandon Marshall (ankle) for the season, giving up just six fantasy points to the Denver defense in Week 6 and seven points to the Seattle defense in Week 7. That's highly impressive when taking the opponents into account, but I'm nonetheless inclined to believe it was little more than a mirage. While they haven't given up a ton of fantasy points to opposing team defenses (14th most), the Giants won't be able to keep that going unless they start to score points (16.0 per game), which doesn't seem likely given the current personnel.
Well rested and healthy coming out of a bye week, the Rams defense should pick up right where it left off — 22 fantasy points against the Jags in Week 6; 17 against the Cardinals in Week 7. The Rams have tallied multiple sacks in every game this season, ranking fourth in the NFL with 3.3 per game. They're also tied for fifth in interceptions per game (1.3) and rank third in Yahoo! standard scoring (12.3 points per game). The only bad news is that the Rams draw tough matchups in Weeks 10-12, facing the Texans, Vikings and Saints, respectively.
Green Bay Packers (vs. Detroit Lions)
26% Yahoo ownership
While not bad at putting up yards and points, the Lions provide a favorable fantasy matchup for opposing defenses, with a high volume of pass attempts creating ample opportunity for sacks and turnovers. It once seemed this season would be different, but lo and behold...Matt Stafford is on pace for 617 attempts, and the Lions can't run the ball (3.5 YPC) or play defense (5.6 yards per play) with any consistency. A crazy Week 6 game against New Orleans may distort the numbers, but it isn't a total coincidence that Detroit has given up the 10th most fantasy points to team defenses.
Although they're a thoroughly mediocre defensive squad, the Packers should come out of their bye week with enough juice to force Stafford to keep airing it out. Green Bay entered its bye with a streak of four straight games creating multiple turnovers, despite facing Dallas, Minnesota and New Orleans (all bottom 10 matchups) in that stretch. This defense has mostly been subject to tough matchups throughout the season, but Weeks 9, 10 (at CHI) and 11 (vs. BAL) look quite a bit friendlier. The Packers make for a sneaky multi-week add in leagues where pickings are slim on the waiver wire. The rest-of-season schedule is favorable, with the exception of a Week 12 game in Pittsburgh. Of course, it would look a lot better if Aaron Rodgers (collarbone) were still around to regularly provide multi-score leads.
Tennessee Titans (vs. Baltimore Ravens)
14% Yahoo ownership
The Ravens are coming off a 40-0 win over the Dolphins, and yet they still haven't displayed any form of competence in the passing game, ranking last in the NFL in both yards per attempt (5.3) and yards per game (153). Even with the offense likely to be at its healthiest point in weeks, the Ravens will remain highly reliant on their rushing attack, which could be problematic as road underdogs against a defense that's giving up just 3.6 yards per carry.
The Tennessee defense may be lousy, but it's really only vulnerable to the pass, and the Ravens have displayed a competent aerial attack just once this season (Week 5 in Oakland). Joe Flacco will be in serious trouble, regardless of the opponent, whenever he's forced to play from behind without the benefit of a rushing attack for safeties to worry about. This admittedly is a risky pick, as the Titans likely will crash and burn (at least from a fantasy perspective) if they can't force the Ravens offense to become one-dimensional.
Honorable Mentions: New England Patriots (vs. Los Angeles Chargers), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (vs. Carolina Panthers)
Week 9 D/ST Rankings
1. Jacksonville Jaguars (vs. CIN)
2. Philadelphia Eagles (vs. DEN)
3. Houston Texans (vs. IND)
4. Arizona Cardinals (at SF)
5. Seattle Seahawks (vs. WAS)
6. Buffalo Bills (at NYJ)
7. Los Angeles Rams (at NYG)
8. New Orleans Saints (vs. TB)
9. Green Bay Packers (vs. DET)
10. Tennessee Titans (vs. BAL)
11. New York Giants (vs. LAR)
12. Baltimore Ravens (at TEN)
13. Denver Broncos (at PHI)
14. San Francisco 49ers (vs. ARI)
15. Cincinnati Bengals (at JAC)
16. Carolina Panthers (vs. ATL)
17. New York Jets (vs. BUF)
18. Detroit Lions (at GB)
19. Oakland Raiders (at MIA)
20. Atlanta Falcons (at CAR)
21. Miami Dolphins (vs. OAK)
22. Kansas City Chiefs (at DAL)
23. Dallas Cowboys (vs. KC)
24. Washington Redskins (at SEA)
25. Indianapolis Colts (at HOU)
26. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (at NO)
Looking Ahead to Week 10
The Bucs host the Jets.
The Lions host the Browns.
The Giants travel to San Francisco.
The Packers travel to Chicago.
The Patriots travel to Denver.
The Panthers host the Dolphins.
