Streaming Defenses: Picking a Week 3 Defense

This article is part of our Streaming Defenses series.

Titans

How bad is the Colts offense? Through two games they've scored a total of 21 points and are ranked 26th in yards per play (5.0). They've played the Bills and Jets, two good defensive units, so that's part of the equation, but QB Andrew Luck has five interceptions and has a 5.73 YPA. WR Andre Johnson has done very little to help out with seven catches for 51 yards so far, while TEs Dwayne Allen and Coby Fleener have combined for a whopping 22 yards. T.Y. Hilton and Donte Moncrief need to be the focal points going forward, but who knows if coordinator Pep Hamilton will get the memo. The Titans did well to keep the Bucs under wraps in Week 1, but were very leaky in the secondary against the Browns last week and will need to step their game up to contain Luck.

On the ground, the Colts are still looking for answers, as Frank Gore has averaged 3.8 YPC and has only four first downs to his name. Somewhat the victim of the game flow and the Colts getting down early to the Bills, Gore is in his 11th season and shows no signs of finding the fountain of youth. He's durable, for sure, but not exactly elusive enough to get more than what the line has blocked for him. I'm not thrilled about this matchup, but at home and with a reeling Luck, we'll see just how much the Colts offense has regressed since 2014. Vegas has this over/under set at 45 with the Colts favored by 3.5, which puts this at about a 24-21 game. Facing the Colts at home, the Titans defense/special teams has an ownership of 25.7 percent at ESPN and 20 percent at Yahoo.

Bengals

The Ravens are still a bit of a mystery on offense as they failed to score an offensive touchdown in Week 1 against the Broncos and then turned around and scored three against the woeful Raiders in Week 2. QB Joe Flacco has a 6.5 YPA on the season, but this game is more about the divisional rivalry matchup, as Flacco has a 6.0 YPA against the Bengals in 14 career starts and more interceptions (18) than touchdowns (13) against them. The secondary of Dre Kirkpatrick, Leon Hall, and Adam Jones should present problems, as they have in the past for a Ravens receiving corps that is led by the ageless wonder Steve Smith Sr. He'll get his physical yards on intermediate throws, but not much more than that. TE Crockett Gillmore was explosive against the Raiders, as he scored two touchdowns, one for 26 yards. He will be a priority for the Bengals linebacking corps to cover, before he gets to the second level against smaller opponents.

RB Justin Forsett has 3.8 YPC and a long run of 20 yards this season, as he's yet to really get going. The Bengals didn't slow the Chargers ground game a week ago and I'd expect Forsett to keep that going this week, as much of what the Ravens do is from the ground game. I anticipate this game being fairly low scoring with plenty of defense and the kicker that makes the most plays will likely be on the winning side of things. Vegas has this over/under set at 44.5 with the Ravens favored by 2.5, which puts this at about a 24-21 game. Facing the Ravens on the road, the Bengals defense/special teams has an ownership of 21.9 percent at ESPN and 14 percent at Yahoo.

Bucs

Through two games the Texans are 30th in yards per play (4.5) and have not scored a rushing touchdown. Not surprisingly they've gone from Brian Hoyer, who showed his limitations, to Ryan Mallett at QB, the latter who has a strong arm, but has completed less than half his passes. The offense badly misses star RB Arian Foster, who is still day-to-day with a groin injury. If he can't give it a go this week, the Texans will likely continue to sputter with the troika of Chris Polk, Alfred Blue, and Jonathan Grimes collectively bringing nothing to the table.

The only real threat the Texans seem to have is WR DeAndre Hopkins, which the Bucs should be able to contain, somewhat. The rest of the receiving corps has been modestly productive with Nate Washington leading the team in yards and Cecil Shorts III second in catches. Still, if Mallett is only going to complete half his passes, this offense can only go so far without a running game. The Bucs did well to sack Drew Brees four times last week and hold Mark Ingram to just 3.3 YPC. If Foster does play in this game, the matchup starts to crumble a bit, but for now the Texans look to be a great matchup for most defenses as they're limited in playmakers and at the QB position. Vegas has this over/under set at 40.5 with the Texans favored by 6.5, which puts this at about a 23-17 game. Facing the Texans on the road, the Bucs defense/special teams has an ownership of 4.0 percent at ESPN and 2 percent at Yahoo.

Cowboys

Injured on the offense, the Cowboys defense has done well this season to allow just two touchdowns this and keep them in games. Last week they embarrassed the Eagles on the road, as they held them to just 226 total yards. This week against the Falcons they'll get a different test, as QB Matt Ryan is much more experienced in his offense and has an elite playmaker in WR Julio Jones. I don't expect the Cowboys to contain or even slow down Jones, but limiting everyone else should keep the Falcons in check most of the game. It's also yet to be seen who Ryan can count on, when Jones is covered, as Roddy White didn't get a single target last week and Leonard Hankerson is in his first season with the club.

RB Tevin Coleman (ribs) is out for this game, so expect to see Devonta Freeman, who is speedy, but undersized. A season ago, he averaged 3.8 YPC and wasn't much of a threat in the passing game. Overall the Falcons are ranked 30th in YPC (2.8) and I'm expecting that the loss of Coleman will only make matters worse. It helps that the Cowboys have allowed a league low 2.6 YPC on the season too. The main fear here is that Ryan and Jones can't be stopped and together they setup plays for others, but at home the Cowboys should be good for keeping the score close, as the defense knows they really need to carry the load, as the offense looks to retool with their star QB and WR out for a while. Vegas has this over/under set at 45 with the Cowboys favored by 1.5, which puts this at about a 23-22 game. Facing the Falcons at home, the Cowboys defense/special teams has an ownership of 7.6 percent at ESPN and 10 percent at Yahoo.

Browns

Are the Raiders for real or was that just a flukey one week performance against the Ravens? We'll get more information to help answer that question this week, as Derek Carr faces off against corner Joe Haden and company. A season ago Carr looked lost, as he had a lowly 5.46 YPA, but in Week 2 he lit up the Ravens for 7.6 YPA and three touchdowns. An underrated part of his game is his ability to avoid sacks and against the Ravens he took just one. In Week 1 however, he was very much the QB from 2014 with a 5.08 YPA, before getting hurt and leaving the game. He has shown an nice rapport with rookie WR Amari Cooper and newcomer Michael Crabtree, both of whom he targeted heavily in the upset win over the Ravens. Haden should be fun to watch against either WR, as they jockey for position downfield. I trust the Browns secondary much more than Carr, but maybe his Week 2 performance was the beginning of a new chapter for him.

RB Latavius Murray has averaged 4.2 YPC and really should be featured more on the ground and in the air, as he's elusive and has good size. The Browns were easily one of the worst run defenses a season ago and really haven't improved much, ranking 29th in YPC (4.8). I expect Murray to have a productive game for owners, maybe even a standout game, if he gets involved in the passing game enough. Overall though, it's a low over/under and at home, the Browns seem like a fair bet to keep Carr guessing with their secondary. Vegas has this over/under set at 42 with the Browns favored by 3.5, which puts this at about a 23-19 game. Facing the Raiders at home, the Browns defense/special teams has an ownership of 13.7 percent at ESPN and 19 percent at Yahoo.

Here are my rankings for this week, the next four weeks, and the remainder of the season: