We’re over halfway through the 2024 NFL season and we’re still figuring things out. Case in point, three of the top five D/ST performances through Sunday’s Week 9 action came from teams (the Rams, Colts, and Cardinals) that were rostered in less than 10% of Sleeper leagues.
Unfortunately, our picks from last week didn’t feature any of the above streaming options. Instead, we had the Bears, who put up a respectable eight points against Arizona, and the Saints and Texans, who each finished with just three points in disappointing losing efforts.
Week 10 is well on its way and features some more top defenses on bye weeks and others running into tough matchups. The playoffs will be here before we know it, and now is the time to start stacking wins and getting ready for the stretch run.
So, let’s take a look at the best fantasy football week 10 defense streamers (D/ST).
TEAMS TO AVOID IN WEEK 10
BYE WEEKS
Four teams find themselves idle in Week 10 — let’s go through each quickly.
The Cleveland Browns (35% rostered on Sleeper) are off this week after a six-point showing against the Chargers. Cleveland has disappointed relative to expectations and is currently ranked 17th in D/ST scoring. They have a decent upcoming schedule with New Orleans, Denver, and two games against the Steelers, but a rough fantasy postseason draw of Kansas City, Cincinnati, and Miami. They may be a streaming option soon, but no need to stash them for now.
The Green Bay Packers (34%) are the fourth-ranked scoring D/ST of the year and have been a great streaming option for much of the season. However, heading into their bye week, they’ve yet to top six points over the past three weeks. They should be in for a bounce back off the bye against Chicago, but their schedule toughens from there. I’m probably still stashing them for now if possible, but I’m wary of the future for Green Bay.
The Las Vegas Raiders (5%) are ranked 31st in D/ST scoring and haven’t put up double digit point totals in any games this year. They also have a brutal upcoming schedule, so no redeeming qualities for the Raiders at this point.
The Seattle Seahawks (20%) are a top ten fantasy defense for the season but have slipped as of late and have a tough rest-of-season schedule upcoming. You may be able to stream them at some point but no need to hold onto them now.
MATCHUP-BASED
The Denver Broncos (57%) have been one of the best defenses all year long, but this stretch of Baltimore/Kansas City/Atlanta came at a great time to figure out if they’re for real. The first part of the test didn’t go well, and although the Chiefs haven’t been setting the world on fire offensively, I’m still avoiding Denver until they prove they can put up points against a good offense.
The Cincinnati Bengals (52%) have topped 11 points in two of their last three contests, but will travel to Baltimore on Thursday night to face the Ravens. Their schedule down the stretch could make them a good option in a few weeks, but not now.
FANTASY FOOTBALL WEEK 10 DEFENSE STREAMERS (DST)
CHICAGO BEARS DST (42% ROSTERED ON SLEEPER)
vs New England Patriots | 1 PM
The Bears find themselves a top streaming pick on back to back weeks, and after putting up eight points against Arizona, they’ll head back home this week to host the Patriots. You may have seen a clip once or twice of how regulation ended in New England’s game this week:
While Drake Maye has been a jolt to New England’s system at times, he doesn’t have enough around him to make a real difference in the Patriots offense. They’re still dead last in total offense and passing offense and are ranked 30th in scoring, ahead of only Miami and the Giants.
The Patriots offensive line continues to be terrible with 31 sacks allowed on the year, which has them tied for the second-most, while Chicago is 10th defensively with 23 sacks. Chicago is also tied for fourth with 15 takeaways, and while New England hasn’t turned the ball over a ton, continued pressure on a young quarterback should give them plenty of chances to do so.
Chicago is still figuring things out offensively but has been stout on defense and finds themselves in a great matchup at home this week. I’d be shocked if they aren’t one of the top performers of the week.
ATLANTA FALCONS DST (9%)
@ New Orleans Saints | 1 PM
When I started breaking down this week’s options, I wasn’t anticipating having Atlanta included. They’re ranked 24th in D/ST scoring this season, and while they’re near the middle of the league with 10 turnovers on defense, they’re dead last with only nine sacks, which is a huge part of fantasy scoring.
Maybe I think they’re primed to build on a three-sack effort against Dallas, which followed an eight-point effort with three turnovers against Tampa Bay. Or, maybe, the Saints have just been that bad recently.
The Saints have given up the most points to fantasy D/STs over the past four weeks, which took place during a seven-game losing streak that just cost Dennis Allen his job. Chris Olave will almost certainly be out long-term after taking a brutal shot on Sunday, and Derek Carr is back to having virtually nobody to throw the ball to. Alvin Kamara is still out there doing his best, but running behind PFF’s 29th-ranked offensive line isn’t going to do much for him.
I’m usually wary of the interim coach bump, especially with a name like Darren Rizzi, but I have my doubts about the impact a career special teams coordinator can make on a struggling offense. I don’t see a lot of hope for the Saints to figure things out anytime too soon, and picking up Atlanta is a great way to take advantage of that.
NEW YORK GIANTS DST (6%)
vs Carolina Panthers | 9:30 AM (Germany)
The Giants are coming off a stinker against Washington, but before that were averaging almost ten points per game over their last four, including a 19-point, seven-sack outburst Week 5 in Seattle. They’re better than they looked against a tough offense in Week 9, and they’ll set out to prove it in Munich on Sunday.
Standing in their way will be the 2-7 Panthers, who are coming off a win over New Orleans on Sunday. Carolina was forced to turn back to Bryce Young, and despite a win last week, the results haven’t been great. They’ve given up ten points per game to opposing D/STs over the past four weeks and have only gotten worse on paper, trading Diontae Johnson to Baltimore last week. In a post-Diontae world, 14 of Young’s 24 targets went to rookies, representing Carolina’s three leading receivers in the game.
This game taking place in Germany is also a factor, with players having to adjust their schedules significantly compared to a typical week. I’m expecting a low-scoring affair in this one and think the Giants are a great pick for Week 10.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Arizona Cardinals (4%): The Cardinals put up 13 points on Chicago last week and will stay home this week to face the Jets.
New England Patriots (13%): The Patriots finished with just six points against the lowly Titans, but could have better luck against Chicago this week.
Carolina Panthers (0%): As I said, the Germany game will be low scoring, and the Panthers could also benefit from that if you’re desperate.
