Streaming Defenses: Week 5 Fantasy Options for Team Defenses

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Updated on October 10, 2023 12:02AM EST

This is one of those weeks when it might make sense to use FAAB on a defense. The top two in my weekly rankings, Detroit and Washington, are unrostered in a comfortable majority of fantasy leagues ahead of matchups with the Panthers and Bears, respectively. And then we have Miami, fresh off a humiliating loss at Buffalo but nonetheless holding fantasy appeal thanks to upcoming home games against the Giants and Panthers.

If you can't get your hands on those three, the backup plan involves two games with close spreads and low over-unders — Jets-Broncos and Texans-Falcons

Note: These recommendations are limited to team defenses that are rostered on less than 60 percent of teams on Yahoo or 45 percent on ESPN. Any references to fantasy points are based on Yahoo standard scoring, which doesn't include yards allowed.

Top Streaming Options for Week 5

1. Detroit Lions (vs. CAR)

12% Yahoo, 5% ESPN
Team implied total: 27.0 Opponent implied total: 18.0
Upcoming Ranks (Projected) — Week 6: 15th (at TB), Week 7: 18th (at BAL)

Giants-Dolphins and Panthers-Lions (#KittyBowl) were the only Week 5 games that opened with spreads of more than a touchdown. In the first case it's largely because Miami has a prolific offense and thus the largest implied total on the slate, though the Giants' struggles (especially on offense) are also a factor. In the second case it's mostly because Carolina looks completely hopeless on offense and thus has the smallest implied total.

Detroit's strong

If you can't get your hands on those three, the backup plan involves two games with close spreads and low over-unders — Jets-Broncos and Texans-Falcons

Top Streaming Options for Week 5

1. Detroit Lions (vs. CAR)

12% Yahoo, 5% ESPN
Team implied total: 27.0 Opponent implied total: 18.0
Upcoming Ranks (Projected) — Week 6: 15th (at TB), Week 7: 18th (at BAL)

Detroit's strong showings on defense the past two weeks are also a factor — as is a three-day rest advantage — though I'm not quite ready to buy in beyond this week given the lack of premium talent beyond DE Aidan Hutchinson and continued injury woes in the secondary. Road trips to Tampa and Baltimore will provide better tests Weeks 6-7 after the Lions feast on their feline cousins this weekend.

2. Washington Commanders (vs. CHI)

26% Yahoo, 19% ESPN
Team implied total: 25.75 Opponent implied total: 18.75
Upcoming Ranks (Projected) — Week 6: 14th (at ATL), Week 7: 13th (at NYG)

Chicago's offense has already yielded 17 sacks, eight turnovers and three defensive touchdowns, with all four opponents to date (GB, TB, KC, DEN) scoring 11 or more fantasy points. As we saw this past Sunday, even the good version of Justin Fields makes big mistakes at an astronomical rate relative to other starting QBs. The Commanders figure to take advantage, just as they did Weeks 1 and 2 in favorable matchups against the Cardinals and Broncos. I wouldn't worry too much about Washington getting run over by the Bills and Eagles the past two weeks, considering Fields gives up sacks and turnovers at about twice the rate of those teams' QBs.

3. Miami Dolphins (vs. NYG)

48% Yahoo, 61% ESPN
Team implied total: 29.75 Opponent implied total: 19.25
Upcoming Ranks (Projected) — Week 6: 2nd (vs. CAR), Week 7: 25th (at PHI)

As much as the offense has carried them this year, the Dolphins mostly played respectable defense prior to Sunday's full-on meltdown in Buffalo. It was one of those games that created questions for January, but in terms of the immediate future we should be able to get plenty of fantasy points from the Miami D/ST in upcoming home games against two teams (CAR, NYG) that are a combined 1-7 and both averaging less than 17 points.

The Dolphins still have a solid group of defensive starters on paper, especially if they get OLB Jaelan Phillips (ankle) and/or S DeShon Elliott (ankle) back in the lineup after Week 4 absences. Even without those two, Miami's defense might be healthier than a Giants offense that not only got embarrassed by the Seahawks on Monday but also lost starting center John Michael Schmitz (shoulder) and top interior OL backup Shane Lemieux (hip) to injuries — and that's in addition to RB Saquon Barkley (ankle) and LT Andrew Thomas (hamstring) already being out.

4. Denver Broncos (vs. NYJ)

40% Yahoo, 7% ESPN
Team implied total: 22.75 Opponent implied total: 20.75
Upcoming Ranks (Projected) — Week 6: 30th (at KC), Week 7: 16th (vs. GB)

Denver's defense came up big in the second half of Sunday's 31-28 win over Chicago, but only after a six-quarter stretch of play that was one of the worst by any unit (offense or defense) in NFL history. I don't really have any great analysis here, other than basically agreeing with the betting odds. Just hold your nose and hope Zach Wilson does what he does best. His career INT rate of 2.9 percent and sack rate of 9.3 percent are borderline Fieldsian, and Wilson doesn't rip off long runs to partially atone for his brutal mistakes.

5. Atlanta Falcons (vs. HOU)

4% Yahoo, 3% ESPN
Team implied total: 21.25 Opponent implied total: 20.25
Upcoming Ranks (Projected) — Week 6: 9th (vs. WAS), Week 7: 17th (at TB)

I debated listing the Texans rather than Falcons here, as C.J. Stroud is already far better than Desmond Ridder. On the other hand, Atlanta's defense and running game have been better than Houston's and we know the Falcons will hide Ridder unless they fall behind by multiple scores (and sometimes even then). It makes the Falcons a slightly better bet to come away with sacks and turnovers in the event of a close game, and they get a second tiebreaker going in their favor because I like Atlanta's Week 5 matchup (vs. WAS) a bit better than Houston's (vs. NO).