Sometimes, when writing the Defensive Streamers story, it can be repetitive, and there are only so many teams to pick from with the byes starting this week.
But we muster on!
And this week, the right defense could make a difference in a fantasy win or loss as the injury bug has hit a lot of the teams playing in Week 5. And the first wave of byes is taking away players from Atlanta, Chicago, Pittsburg,h and Green Bay.
I know I’ve been scrambling to fill spots in four of my six leagues. It could be an ugly weekend of scores so that extra sack or turnover could be the deciding factor.
Now onto the top Defensive Streamers Week 5 to play!
Defensive Streamers
Arizona home against Tennessee
I will continue to pick on No. 1 pick Cam Ward and the Tennessee offense as long as they continue to flounder.
The Titans are still a bottom-two offense with only the Joe Burrow-less Cincinnati Bengals worse. Tennessee is only averaging 210.5 yards a game, and Ward continues to go through rookie QB woes.
Ward’s struggles are to the tune of just better than 50 percent pass completion. He has only thrown for 614 yards and has a QB rating of 63.9.
And he’s been sacked a league-leading 17 times. He’s currently on pace to set a new NFL rookie record for sacks in a season.
The Cardinals started hot but have lost their last two games on last-second field goals to fall to 2-2, but the defense has been solid, not great.
They have given up 351.5 yards a game (23rd), but have been a bend but don’t break on the scoreboard. The Cardinals give only 18.5 points a game, good for the 6th-best in the league.
Detroit at Cincinnati
Jake Browning has struggled since replacing the injured Burrow, but it has more to do with the offensive line than Browning’s shortcomings.
Browning has gained only 6.02 yards per attempt, way below the NFL standard of 7.1 yards, and the team ranks in the bottom 10 as a team in this statistical category, even with Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins as their top receivers.
Now the Bengals face a Lions pass rush that has averaged 3.5 sacks a game this season. Browning’s time could be limited again this weekend.
And Detroit is a Top 10 rush defense, as well. The Lions allow only 94.0 rushing yards a game.
Minnesota at Cleveland (in England)
After throwing for 278 yards in the season opener, Cleveland quarterback Joe Flacco has struggled to surpass the 200-yard mark. With his struggles, the team replaced him with rookie Dillon Gabriel.
Now the young signal caller faces one of the blitz-happy teams in the NFL.
The Brian Flores-led Vikings defense comes into the game with a history of blitzing on 40 percent or more of the time the last two seasons, and they are a Top 10 defense in QB hurries, QB pressure rate, third-down conversions, and yards allowed this season.
And add in the fact, the Vikings have been overseas for a week already after playing Pittsburgh last weekend in Ireland.
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