Streaming Defenses: Picking a Week 7 Team Defense

Apologies for the late posting -- I was sick Tuesday and Wednesday, which pushed my whole schedule back for the week. You can still expect this piece to be ready no later than Tuesday evening in future weeks.

TOP STREAMING OPTIONS

Tennessee Titans (vs. Indianapolis Colts)
39% Yahoo ownership - 36.6% ESPN ownership

The Titans top our streaming list for a second straight week, drawing another fantastic home matchup in the wake of last week's admittedly disappointing performance against the cellar-dwelling Browns. Although the Tennessee defense gave up 26 points without grabbing a takeaway, it did manage a season-high six sacks for a second consecutive game. The Titans are in a good position to continue their recent pass-rushing form, facing an Indianapolis offensive line that has allowed Andrew Luck to be sacked a league-high 23 times, including 13 over the past three games. No other quarterback has taken more than 19 sacks (Andy Dalton), and only two (Dalton and Ryan Tannehill) have been dropped more than 15 times. Meanwhile, the Titans now rank fifth in the NFL with 18 sacks, led by OLB Brian Orakpo (seven), DT Jurrell Casey (three) and OLB Derrick Morgan (three in just five games). Orakpo has been especially dominant, notching seven sacks over the past five weeks with at least one in each of those games.

New York Giants (at Los Angeles Rams)
13% Yahoo ownership - 29.9% ESPN ownership

Another holdover in the same spot from the previous addition of this piece, the Giants D/ST was also rather disappointing last week, as a mostly solid showing against the Ravens was partially undone by some questionable penalties, in addition to a lake of takeaways. The Big Blue defense has still been vastly improved from last season on the whole, ranking a respectable 19th in yards allowed per game (363.7) and 14th in points allowed per game (21.8), despite facing a nightmarish schedule that has already included the Cowboys, Saints, Packers and Vikings. With things softening up considerably for the middle part of the season, New York should finally add some sacks and takeaways to go with the solid marks in prevention of points and yards. Keep in mind that this isn't a true road game, as the two teams will be squaring off at Twickenham Stadium in London.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (at San Francisco 49ers)
5% Yahoo ownership - 7.3% ESPN ownership

The Tampa Bay defense is understandably on very few rosters, ranking 27th in scoring average (28.4), 20th in yards per game (366.2) and T-25th in sacks (nine). However, the Bucs have fared much better since starting the season with nightmare road matchups in Atlanta and Arizona, tallying five sacks and five takeaways in the subsequent three games. Coming out of a bye week, the Bucs should also benefit from the likely return of star DT Gerald McCoy (calf), who played just 12 snaps in Week 4 and was absent in Week 5. Of course, this recommendation is about matchup more than anything else, as the San Francisco offense has been a complete disaster since Week 1. Only six teams have surrendered more turnovers than San Francisco's 10, and Colin Kaepernick's recent history suggests lofty sack totals will soon follow. Kaep had the league's highest sack rate (10.3 percent) among qualified passers last season, after finishing with the fourth-highest mark (9.8) in 2014.

Los Angeles Rams (vs. New York Giants)
81% Yahoo ownership - 48% ESPN ownership

The Rams defense is largely accounted for on Yahoo!, where it ranks a lofty eighth in ownership rate among D/ST units, oddly sitting ahead of stronger options such as Houston (72%), Cincinnati (60%) and Green Bay (54%). The story is different on ESPN, where each of the three aforementioned teams is at least 62-percent owned, while the Rams are at a more reasonable 48 percent. The Los Angeles D/ST is admittedly looking to rebound from a horrendous showing, after recording one sack and no takeaways in a 31-28 Week 6 road loss to the Lions. In addition to drawing a far more manageable matchup back at home, the Rams may have the benefit of improved health, potentially getting DE Robert Quinn (shoulder) and DT Michael Brockers (thigh) back on the field for Week 7. Even if Quinn and/or Brockers can't play, the Rams should have some luck against a Giants offense that has committed more turnovers (13) than all but two teams. The Giants had point totals of 20, 10 and 16 in their first three road games.

New York Jets (vs. Baltimore Ravens)
20% Yahoo ownership - 27.2% ESPN ownership

Ever since bye weeks kicked in, things always seem to get shaky around the fifth recommendation -- and this week is clearly no exception. Undone by a miserable secondary, the Jets defense is working on an unwanted streak of five straight games with two or fewer sacks and no more than a single takeaway. There is, however, some cause for cautious short-term optimism, considering the streak has coincided with tricky matchups against the Bills, Chiefs, Seahawks, Steelers and Cardinals. The Jets still have a fearsome defensive line featuring the trio of Sheldon Richardson, Muhammad Wilkerson (ankle) and Leonard Williams -- which could spell trouble for a Baltimore offense that may be without its best lineman, G Marshal Yanda (shoulder), for a second straight game. Top wideout Steve Smith (ankle) also looks doubtful, and even QB Joe Flacco (shoulder) could be absent or limited. If Flacco can't go, the Jets D/ST would shoot up the rankings for a matchup with Ryan Mallett.

Here are my rankings for this week and the remainder of the season: