This article is part of our Streaming Defenses series.
The Week 15 team defense scoring was dominated by established units that were already owned in most leagues, but it was nonetheless a solid week for the recommendations from this space, with the Redskins and Bills tying for seventh in scoring at 10 points while the Saints came in at 13th (six points) and the Cardinals tied for 17th (four).
Had the Cardinals eeked out one more point, it would've been the first time all season that each of my recommendations landed in the top half of the league in scoring. Given the difficulty of predicting team defense scoring — along with the fact that I recommend five units most weeks — it would be pretty impressive to do that even once in a season.
The good news is that I have two more chances, starting with a Week 16 fantasy championship slate that appears rich with streaming options. It shouldn't be too difficult to land one of my top two picks — the Redskins and Bears — given that most fantasy leagues only have two or four teams with any incentive to continue making transactions at this point in the season. And even if you can't land one of those two defenses, there are some nice fallback options in the form of Arizona, Carolina and Detroit.
For those of you looking ahead to Week 17, the Redskins (at NYG) and Lions (vs. GB) also draw favorable matchups for their final games of the season, though the latter obviously depends
The Week 15 team defense scoring was dominated by established units that were already owned in most leagues, but it was nonetheless a solid week for the recommendations from this space, with the Redskins and Bills tying for seventh in scoring at 10 points while the Saints came in at 13th (six points) and the Cardinals tied for 17th (four).
Had the Cardinals eeked out one more point, it would've been the first time all season that each of my recommendations landed in the top half of the league in scoring. Given the difficulty of predicting team defense scoring — along with the fact that I recommend five units most weeks — it would be pretty impressive to do that even once in a season.
The good news is that I have two more chances, starting with a Week 16 fantasy championship slate that appears rich with streaming options. It shouldn't be too difficult to land one of my top two picks — the Redskins and Bears — given that most fantasy leagues only have two or four teams with any incentive to continue making transactions at this point in the season. And even if you can't land one of those two defenses, there are some nice fallback options in the form of Arizona, Carolina and Detroit.
For those of you looking ahead to Week 17, the Redskins (at NYG) and Lions (vs. GB) also draw favorable matchups for their final games of the season, though the latter obviously depends on what the Packers decide to do with Aaron Rodgers (collarbone).
Note: These recommendations are limited to D/ST units with under 60 percent ownership on Yahoo! as of Tuesday morning. All references to fantasy points are based on Yahoo! standard scoring.
Top Streaming Options for Week 16
Washington Redskins (vs. Denver Broncos)
35% Yahoo ownership
After living up to expectations against Blaine Gabbert last week, the Redskins will get an even better matchup this coming Sunday if Paxton Lynch (ankle) is named as the Broncos' starter over Brock Osweiler. Lynch has looked totally incompetent in his brief taste of NFL action, taking 13 sacks and throwing for only 538 yards on 97 pass attempts (5.5 YPA). He made a terrible Oakland defense look excellent in Week 12, before Trevor Siemian (shoulder) came in and nearly mounted a comeback. This is a prime matchup regardless of which quarterback gets the starting nod, as the Philadelphia, Cincinnati and New England defenses scored at least eight points apiece in Osweiler's three starts earlier this season.
The Redskins figure to take full advantage of a Denver team that's given up the second most fantasy points to team defenses, looking to build on impressive totals of 36 sacks (t-10th) and 14 interceptions (t-9th) — marks that have been achieved against the NFL's toughest schedule to date. Opponents generally don't have too much trouble piling up yards, but the Redskins at least been competent enough to ensure that the big plays go both ways. The line hints at a low-scoring Washington victory, with implied totals of Redskins 22.25 - Broncos 18.75.
Chicago Bears (vs. Cleveland Browns)
26% Yahoo ownership
The Browns maintained their status as the most generous opponent for fantasy defenses, ending an unexpected stretch of semi-respectability when they yielded 20 fantasy points to the Ravens in Sunday's 27-10 loss. Cleveland is the only team that's given up at least five fantasy points to every opponent this season, including eight games in double digits and another three allowing exactly eight. The Browns' implied total of 15.75 is the second lowest this week, and the spread (+6.5) suggests DeShone Kizer will be forced to throw.
This is unchartered territory for a Chicago team that's only been a favorite twice this season, and never by more than 4.5 points. Of course, the Bears' struggles largely fall on a young, injury-riddled offense that rarely creates big plays, as the defense has actually been above average, led by a pass rush that ranks sixth in the NFL with 39 sacks. The Chicago defense has quietly averaged 10.2 fantasy points since the first four weeks of the season, scoring seven or more in seven of the past 10 games. As with the Redskins, the Bears' performance to date should be viewed with the knowledge that they've faced a nightmare schedule.
Arizona Cardinals (vs. New York Giants)
44% Yahoo ownership
The Giants have only given up the 13th most fantasy points to team defenses, but they'd likely rank in the top 10 if not for the oddity of allowing zero touchdowns on 11 interceptions and seven lost fumbles. The lack of scores has allowed for consistent but unspectacular D/ST scoring against the Giants, with each of the last 10 opponents landing between five and 13 points. This week's implied total of 18.25 actually seems a bit generous, considering Big Blue ranks a meager 30th in scoring (16.3 points per game) even after Sunday's 29-point explosion against the Eagles.
The Arizona defense has been limited by the struggles of the team's offense, but this is still an above-average unit in terms of opponent/situation-adjusted metrics like Football Outsiders' DVOA. Favored by more than 2.5 points for the first time since Week 4, the Cardinals may have a rare opportunity to tee off on an opposing QB while playing with a lead. The Arizona defense has scored at least six fantasy points in every victory this season, averaging 9.3 in those six games.
Carolina Panthers (vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
55% Yahoo ownership
For all their struggles, the Bucs haven't been overly generous to opposing team defenses, allowing the 16th most fantasy points despite losing nine of their past 11 games and dropping to 4-10 in the process. That said, they've also been much worse since the early part of the season, surrendering 13 or more points to four of the last eight opponents, including this same Carolina team back in Week 8. A closer look reveals that the Tampa offense essentially has imploded against every decent defense its faced since Week 7, and even Weeks 5 and 6 were ugly until the Bucs padded their stats in garbage time.
The Carolina defense hasn't exactly been a shutdown unit, but it's scored double-digit fantasy points in three of the past four games, despite allowing at least 24 real-life points in each of those contests. Coming off solid performances against Case Keenum and Aaron Rodgers the past two weeks, the Panthers are tied for third in sacks (43) and tied for 18th in takeaways (18). Their ability to pressure QBs is finally creating the turnovers that would be expected, with at least a couple more likely on deck in game the Panthers are favored to win by 10 points. Carolina will need to be bumped higher in the rankings if Tampa's injury woes from Monday night's loss to the Falcons carry over into Week 16.
Detroit Lions (at Cincinnati Bengals)
59% Yahoo ownership
Coming off back-to-back hideous outings against Chicago and Minnesota, the Bengals have now surrendered the ninth most fantasy points to team defenses, quickly vaulting from the middle of the pack into the top 10. Beset by poor O-line play and skill-position injuries all season, the Bengals seemingly lost interest in their current campaign after a narrow Week 13 loss to Pittsburgh made the playoffs an all but impossible proposition.
The Detroit defense isn't a shutdown unit in terms of yards or points, but it's at least rebounded nicely from a mid-season swoon to score 25 fantasy points the past two weeks. The seven touchdowns (including two punt returns) in 14 games isn't a sustainable pace, but it is worth noting that Jamal Agnew is genuinely one of the top return specialists in the league. While I wouldn't count on another TD this week, it's fair to expect a couple sacks and at least one turnover against a Bengals team listed as five-point underdogs with an implied total of 19.
Honorable Mentions: Dallas Cowboys (vs. SEA); New York Giants (at ARI)
Week 16 D/ST Rankings
1. Baltimore Ravens (vs. IND)
2. Kansas City Chiefs (vs. MIA)
3. Washington Redskins (vs. DEN)
4. Chicago Bears (vs. CLE)
5. Jacksonville Jaguars (at SF)
6. Arizona Cardinals (vs. NYG)
7. Carolina Panthers (vs. TB)
8. Detroit Lions (at CIN)
9. Los Angeles Chargers (at NYJ)
10. Pittsburgh Steelers (at HOU)
11. Philadelphia Eagles (vs. OAK)
12. Los Angeles Rams (at TEN)
13. New England Patriots (vs. BUF)
14. Minnesota Vikings (at GB)
15. Dallas Cowboys (vs. SEA)
16. Denver Broncos (at WAS)
17. New York Giants (at ARI)
18. Cincinnati Bengals (vs. DET)
19. San Francisco 49ers (vs. JAC)
20. New Orleans Saints (vs. ATL)
21. Seattle Seahawks (at DAL)
22. Green Bay Packers (vs. MIN)
23. Tennessee Titans (vs. LAR)
24. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (at CAR)
25. New York Jets (vs. LAC)
26. Cleveland Browns (at CHI)
27. Miami Dolphins (at KC)
28. Houston Texans (vs. PIT)
29. Atlanta Falcons (vs. NO)
30. Buffalo Bills (at NE)
31. Oakland Raiders (at PHI)
32. Indianapolis Colts (at BAL)
Preliminary Top 12 for Week 17
1. Pittsburgh Steelers (vs. CLE)
2. Baltimore Ravens (vs. CIN)
3. New England Patriots (vs. NYJ)
4. Minnesota Vikings (vs. CHI)
5. Jacksonville Jaguars (at TEN)
6. Los Angeles Rams (vs. SF)
7. Kansas City Chiefs (at DEN)
8. New Orleans Saints (at TB)
9. Seattle Seahawks (vs. ARI)
10. Washington Redskins (at NYG)
11. Detroit Lions (vs. GB)
12. Los Angeles Chargers (vs. OAK)
