Streaming Defenses: Picking a Week 9 Team Defense

TOP STREAMING OPTIONS

San Diego Chargers (vs. Tennessee Titans)
9% Yahoo ownership - 15.4% ESPN ownership

With No. 3 overall pick Joey Bosa off to an insane start to his career, the San Diego defense suddenly looks perfectly competent despite losing top cornerback Jason Verrett (knee) for the rest of the season. Facing the Broncos twice, sandwiched around a nightmare road matchup against Atlanta, the San Diego defense impressively has six sacks and six takeaways over the past three weeks. It now gets to face a shaky offense while playing as a significant home favorite, though it's certainly worth noting that Marcus Mariota and Co. have also been much better in recent weeks. This may not have looked like an exciting (or even competent) matchup a few weeks ago, but it now appears to be a real litmus test for both the San Diego defense and Tennessee offense. I'm backing the Chargers D without a second thought, and not just because the Titans keep burning me in every aspect of fantasy play.

New York Giants (vs. Philadelphia Eagles)
8% Yahoo ownership - 21.5% ESPN ownership

The Giants D/ST had been drastically better in real life than its fantasy production suggested...and then it finally erupted with a four-interception, three-sack effort in a Week 7 win over the Rams in London. Now coming out of a bye week and seemingly in good health, the Big Blue defense draws another strong matchup, facing the sinking ship that is the Eagles offense. Lacking in downfield threats and with no power running game to speak of, the Philly offense has been reduced to nothing more than a barrage of short passes, with TE Zach Ertz oddly not part of that plan. Meanwhile, New York's defense has quietly been much better than its offense, marking a significant reversal from last season. And the Giants have done this despite dealing with quite a few injuries, which no longer seems to be an issue after the bye week.

Miami Dolphins (vs. New York Jets)
4% Yahoo ownership - 4.4% ESPN ownership

It may have just been a short-term mirage, but the Dolphins looked shocking competent in their final two games before a Week 8 bye, first beating the Steelers by 15 points and then edging the Bills out by three. The Miami defense notched six sacks and two takeaways between those games -- solid totals considering both opponents have otherwise been averse to negative plays on offense this season. More important than the Dolphins' recent form is the combination of a favorable matchup and homefield advantage. Even after accounting for last week's solid showing against the hapless Browns, the Gang Green offense has been a complete disaster, committing 17 turnovers in seven games while averaging a mere 18.8 points.

Green Bay Packers (vs. Indianapolis Colts)
43% Yahoo ownership - 55.6% ESPN ownership

While obviously far from trustworthy, the Green Bay defense has a lot working in its favor as a major home favorite against the team that's allowed the most sacks in the NFL. Sure, the Colts are also capable of erupting for a lofty point total, but their inability to protect Andrew Luck creates major upside for opposing D/ST units. The Packers rank 11th in the NFL with 19 sacks despite already having their bye week, but hesitance about this selection is still understandable when accounting for all of the team's injuries in the defensive backfield. It's easy to imagine this game going either heavily in Luck's favor or heavily in the Green Bay defense's favor. This week's first three recommendations certainly feel safer.

Los Angeles Rams (vs. Carolina Panthers)
55% Yahoo ownership - 28.1% ESPN ownership

The Carolina offense has fallen off a cliff since its spectacular 2015 season, and while it still shouldn't be viewed as a cupcake matchup, the combination of homefield advantage and a stout front seven could lead to a big day for the Rams. It helps that LA is coming out of a bye week, as the team was previously dealing with a number of key injuries that took a toll on that aforementioned front seven. There may even be some chance for top CB Trumaine Johnson (ankle) to return, which would be bad news for the already-struggling Kelvin Benjamin. This could end up being a slugfest, as the Carolina defense finally seems to be regaining its form of the past few years. Unfortunately, the Panthers D/ST isn't available on waivers in many leagues.

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