With defensive streamers, you need to be able to pivot according to matchups. Last week I pivoted later in the week as I liked the Chicago Bears DST as a solid play and it worked out in one league.
Early waiver wires make picking the right play can be tough as most teams have not had their first practice of the week.
I hope your leagues have adjusted this season and gone with waivers that are not on Tuesdays.
Let’s get into this week’s Defensive Streamers!
Week 5 Streamers
Cincinnati (at Miami, 19 percent rostered on Sleeper)
The Cincinnati Bengals DST gave some hope that maybe the organization has figured out this thing called defense.
Then came the road game against AFC North rival, the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Steelers ripped off 30 points against the Bengals after the Cincinnati DST has only giving up an average of 13.5 points a game.
The unit played well in the loss the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.
Now they’ll face the Miami Dolphins’ sluggish offense.
And the Dolphins have allowed 11 sacks this season despite have a mobile quarterback like Malik Willis.
This is an area the Bengals have excelled this season. Cincinnati has 14 sacks on the season and are led by 2 sacks each by Jonathan Allen, Dexter Lawrence II and Cedric Johnson.
The Bengals are 7-point road favorite.
Las Vegas (at New England, 29 percent rostered on Sleeper)
I know the Las Vegas Raiders let us down last week in their first loss of the season to the Kansas City Chiefs.
And this may be a gutsy call after the New England Patriots upset the previously undefeated Buffalo Bills.
However, New England QB Drake Maye has 9 total turnovers this season (7 interceptions and 2 fumbles).
And like I said this week, the Raiders DST has been a ball-hawking unit this season.
The defense has forced 9 turnovers and recorded 12 sacks in four games.
Last week against the Chiefs, the Raiders were not able to force a turnover and only recorded 2 sacks.
However, defensive coordinator Rob Leonard’s attacking style of defense has led to the turnover barrage this season.
The Raiders defenders have bought into Leonard’s fast, physical, violent and “about the ball” play for their 3-1 start.
The Patriots are a 3.5-point favorite.
Washington (home against New York Giants, 2 percent rostered on Sleeper)
The Washington Commanders DST get the benefit of two things this week – Jayden Daniels is expected to return at QB for the Commanders and Jameis Winston is the Giants’ current starting QB.
Daniels should give the offense some continuity since back-up Marcus Mariota went down with an injury in last week’s game.
That continuity should help keep the defense fresh and get some needed rest between series.
Now we get to Winston.
Winston is a turnover waiting to happen. Despite tossing 3 TDs last week, Winston also threw 2 interceptions, and he is still the only QB to have a 30-30 season (30 TDs and 30 interceptions) in NFL history. He did the feat in 2019 season with Tampa Bay.
The Commanders are a 3-point favorite.
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