We had a solid Week 7, as all 3 of our streaming DSTs landed in the top 12 (#5, #8, and #12). Let’s dive into this week’s streaming options. As always, we’re looking for under 50% rostered in Yahoo! leagues.
Green Bay Packers (GB, 19%) vs. Min
The recipe for a good streaming defense goes like this: good defense + favored to win + poor opponent offense. The Packers have all those ingredients this week. Green Bay (5-1) is a 7-point home favorite against Minnesota (1-5). The Packers defense is finally nearing full strength (they’ve missed several key defenders early in the season), and consequently, their pass rush has improved. In Week 7, they posted 3 sacks while holding Houston to 20 points, and now have 13 sacks in their last five games. The Vikings give up 2.5 sacks and over 1 INT per game.
Tennessee Titans (Ten, 27%) @ Cin
The Titans nearly pulled out a victory in the Week 7 battle of the undefeated against Pittsburgh. Their defense did their part, holding the Steelers to 27 points and grabbing 3 INTs, giving them at least 2 INTs in four of their last five games. Their pass rush needs improvement (Jadeveon Clowney hasn’t been a legit sack producer for years), but the Tennessee secondary is stacked. Joe Burrow has done well considering his circumstances, but he’s been a DST’s dream lately: 3 INTs, 13 sacks, and 5 fumbles in his last three games. The Titans are favored by 5.5 and the Bengals have 24.5 expected points.
Denver Broncos (Den, 23%) vs. LAC
We’re really scraping the bottom of the barrel here, as this is a brutal week for under-owned defenses. But with so many good defenses either on bye or with bad matchups, sometimes you need a Hail Mary. Or at least a stop-gap. With that caveat, may I present to you, the Broncos of Denver. Despite Denver having to deal with the Kansas City offense last week, they still racked up 4 sacks. That’s 14 sacks in their last three games. And while they did lose Von Miller, they still have Bradley Chubb and Shelby Harris, so they can still get after the QB. This is also one of the lower totals for the week, according to Las Vegas (the betting community, not Jon Gruden and Co.). The Chargers have 24 expected points and give up 2.2 sacks per game. It’s also usually an advantage to face a rookie QB; Justin Herbert was throwing INTs weekly, but he hasn't turned the ball in his last two games. A reasonable expectation is a medium-low points allowed, a few sacks, and hopefully a turnover.
