Best Fantasy Football D/ST Streaming Options for Week 10: Chargers, Bears, Giants, Patriots
Ted breaks down the top streaming defenses for Week 10's fantasy football action.
After an absolutely blistering stretch of weeks, these picks cooled off a little bit in Week 9. The Titans (DST4, 13 points) and Bengals (DST8, 11 points) were both still great. But the Saints (DST15, 6 points) and especially the Patriots (DST27, 0 points) let us down.
Hopefully this week, we can bounce back with the best fantasy football defensive streaming options for Week 10. There are four teams on bye this week (including two of our usual favorite teams to pick on in the Browns and Raiders), so we have a few fewer options than normal, but there are still plenty of terrible offenses to target. Let’s get started!
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Week 10 Fantasy Football Defense Streaming Options
Los Angeles Chargers (51.2% Rostered) vs. Tennessee Titans
I’m breaking my own rule here (by 1.2%), but I have to mention the Chargers’ defense against Tennessee. Will Levis will likely be back for the Titans this week, and we all know that he is a gold mine of questionable turnovers and unnecessary sacks. Meanwhile, LA’s defense has been arguably the best in the NFL. They easily lead the league in both EPA per play allowed and points per game allowed. They also rank in the top 10 in both yards per game and yards per play given up. In the 49% of leagues where they are available, they are absolutely the best possible streaming option this week.
To make up for the fact that I cheated by including the Chargers, here are a few other teams with good matchups that are above the 50% threshold but are still available in many leagues: The Chiefs vs. the Broncos, the Eagles @ the Dak-less Cowboys, the Bills @ the Colts, the Vikings @ the Jaguars, and the 49ers @ the Buccaneers. These are all decent options rostered in between 50% and 90% of leagues, so don’t hesitate to grab them if your league happens to have any of them available.
Chicago Bears (48.1% Rostered) vs. New England Patriots
We’ve actually got another team close to that 50% border for our next pick (don’t worry, there are some true deep streaming options coming up), as the Bears get a great matchup with the Patriots. It is true that Drake Maye has massively improved New England’s offense. However, the rookie also ranks eighth among qualified QBs in turnover-worthy throw rate and has averaged 3.3 sacks in his three completed games (which would tie him for fourth in the league in sacks per game).
For their part, the Bears’ defense has been excellent to start the season. Their traditional stats aren’t great, but they have given up the fourth-lowest EPA per play of any team. They also rank seventh in pressure rate, which is a great place to start from against a Patriots offense that has allowed by far the highest pressure rate over expected in the league at +11%. They might give up some points along the way, but I love Chicago’s chances to rack up a few sacks of Maye, giving them a very safe floor for this week.
New York Giants (4.3% Rostered) @ Carolina Panthers
To his credit, Bryce Young had arguably the best game of his NFL career in Week 9. However, even coming off that performance, he still ranks dead last among qualified quarterbacks in EPA per play. Young is also the worst quarterback in the league in terms of adjusted net yards per attempt, and he cracks the bottom five passers in turnover-worthy throw rate.
Young will have a particularly tough time against a Giants’ defense that quietly boasts one of the league’s most effective pass rushes. The Giants rank third in the league in pressure rate over expected and lead the NFL with 35 total sacks through nine weeks (nearly four per game).
With that said, it doesn’t really matter who the defense is. Until the Panthers show that they are capable of producing NFL-quality offense (especially with Bryce Yong under center), they are a top-tier option to target when streaming defenses. The likely debut of rookie RB Jonathon Brooks might help somewhat, but we also have to remember that the Panthers just traded away their only above-average NFL receiver, Diontae Johnson. Don’t overthink this one: The Giants are a great option this week.
New England Patriots (13.1% Rostered) @ Chicago Bears
I’m very scared of this recommendation. As I mentioned in the intro, the Patriots were one of my picks last week, and they let me down by giving up 20 points and 400 total yards to the Titans. Just as importantly, New England managed just one sack and one turnover (although they did force three unrecovered fumbles, giving them a boost depending on your scoring settings). The Bears also aren’t one of the top few teams that come to mind when thinking of truly terrible offenses. This play certainly has risk.
However, although they have been effective at times this season, the Bears also still an undeniably good matchup for fantasy defenses. This is mostly because they rank first in the league with 3.63 sacks allowed per game — that’s a massive boost to both floor and ceiling outcomes for any team playing against them.
Again, this play is by no means a slam dunk. The Patriots rank below average in just about any defensive statistic you can find. But in a week where most of the top matchups are either on bye or playing defenses that are already widely rostered, we have to take what we can get. Those 3.6 sacks per game are enough to make New England a decent desperation option.
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