Week 4 started with a thriller in Cleveland on Thursday night, and that contest (a 27-24 Browns win) ended up being one of three divisional games — along with Pats/Bills and Chiefs/Raiders — to be decided by just a field goal.
Add in close battles in Philadelphia, Tampa, Cincinnati, Baltimore, and Houston, and we can all collectively ignore that London snooze fest they subjected us to at 9:30 in the morning.
Much to the Reddit haters’ chagrin, our picks had a pretty solid showing in Week 4 (unlike their darling Raiders, who finished with just a point in a loss to the Chiefs).
The Jaguars held Joe Burrow and the Bengals to 17 points with two sacks and two turnovers to finish with eight points; the Jets had a sack and two turnovers, including their first interception since Week 18 of the 2024 season (!!!), resulting in six points in loss to the Bears; and the Browns tormented Aaron Rodgers to the tune of five sacks and two interceptions to finish with nine points in a huge primetime win on Thursday.
Peeking ahead to Week 5, there are a handful of matchups where two highly-rostered defenses go up against talented offenses that you may want to avoid facing, including Eagles/Jaguars, Bills/Rams, and 49ers/Seahawks. So who should we be eyeing?
Let’s take a look at the best fantasy football Week 5 defense streamers (D/ST) that you should be targeting on this week’s waiver wire.
FANTASY FOOTBALL WEEK 5 DEFENSE STREAMERS (D/ST)
CINCINNATI BENGALS (20% ROSTERED)
After 33 points through the first two weeks, the Bengals were the DST1 and a popular streaming pick heading into a Week 3 matchup with the Steelers. They put up a three point dud in that contest, and their ownership fell back into streamer territory as a Week 4 game against Jacksonville loomed.
They managed five points against the Jags, racking up four sacks but losing the game to fall to 2-2. Looking at the board for Week 5, I simply couldn’t get them out of my head, and in the words of the great Michael Scott, I am ready to get hurt again.
Cincinnati hasn’t been able to return to their lucrative scoring ways of Week 1, when they forced four turnovers, scored a touchdown, and sacked Baker Mayfield four times. Their sack numbers have been relatively consistent (ten over the last three games), but they have forced just one turnover since Week 1, and after holding Houston to six points in Week 2, they’ve allowed 52 points over their last two games.
However, after facing the respectable offenses of the Steelers and Jaguars over the past two weeks, they get a much easier matchup this week — the 0-4 Miami Dolphins.
Miami immediately emerged as the go-to streaming target very early this season, and they became an even better target when De’Von Achane, by far the most talented member of their offense, went down with a torn ACL last week. The Dolphins have allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to opposing defenses in 2026 and things don’t look likely to turn around any time soon.
Now, to be fair, Miami has also had a tough draw schedule-wise, starting the year with the surprising Raiders followed by the 49ers, Chiefs, and Vikings. All four teams are in the top half of the league in D/ST fantasy scoring, with Las Vegas and Minnesota currently holding the one and two spots, respectively.
However, Cincinnati (fourth in D/ST scoring this year) has a talented unit and has proven they can beat up on weaker offenses if given the opportunity. They’re my favorite pick of the week, and although they follow this week up with a bye and then a road matchup with Baltimore, they could be worth stashing for Tennessee in Week 8.
CLEVELAND BROWNS (18%)
The Browns saw a bit of an ownership jump last week when I picked them as one of the top streamers, going from a 2% roster rate to their current 18%, but clearly weren’t as popular as they should’ve been. Cleveland was in the Steelers’ backfield all night long, ending the game with five sacks and two picks in a big win.
The turnaround from Deshaun Watson and the Browns offense has been the main focus of Cleveland’s surprising 3-1, which is fair, but the defense deserves their flowers, too. After a one-sack, no-turnover showing in a 34-10 loss to Jacksonville in Week 1, the Browns are allowing just 20 points per game with 11 sacks and four turnovers in the three games since.
Unfortunately, Mason Graham, who leads the team with four sacks and has been an overall force for Cleveland this year, sprained his MCL on Thursday night and is expected to miss at least one game while he recovers. That’s a blow to Cleveland’s defense for sure, but they still amassed five sacks on Thursday even after Graham left the game in the first quarter, so they proved they can weather the storm while their leader of the post-Myles Garrett era heals up.
Those five sacks against the Steelers came from five different players, and they also finished the night with eight passes broken up and ten QB hits. While they have talent all over the defense, their bread and butter is getting pressure on the opposing team’s quarterback, and they should have no issue getting that done against their next opponent.
After keeping Geno Smith off the turf in Week 1 against Tennessee, the Jets have allowed 12 sacks over their last three contests. The Bears only got to Smith three times in Week 4, but New York’s offense had other issues; in their first full game without Breece Hall, who is week-to-week with a quad injury, New York had just 59 rushing yards, all courtesy of Braelon Allen.
In all fairness to Geno and the offense, they weren’t given much of a chance in this one; the Bears finished the game with 34 first downs, while the Jets ran 32 offensive plays. Hard to get into any sort of a rhythm when that’s the situation you’re put in because your defense lets up over 230 rushing yards.
Regardless, I like the Browns to continue getting pressure and forcing Geno Smith into mistakes as the game progresses. They’re likely not a good option for Week 6 as they host Baltimore (although, that would change if Lamar Jackson‘s ankle ends up being a multi-week issue), but they will head to Nashville to face the Titans in Week 7, which is another great spot.
DALLAS COWBOYS (10%)
Yes, I do feel silly putting the Cowboys here. Dallas’ defense led the league in scoring defense in 2023, but since then have been heading steadily downward, ranking 14th in 2024, then 31st in 2025, and have scored just 12 total points through four weeks of 2026.
However, there were a few things I couldn’t ignore heading into their Thursday night matchup with the Bucs this week.
Dallas made a big move on Wednesday, trading a 2027 sixth round pick and a 2028 second rounder to Pittsburgh to acquire Joey Porter, Jr. Porter had missed the Steelers’ first three games of the year with a “back injury,” but as soon as the trade went through, that back was healed and he was ready to go. What a miracle!
Porter had only a few days to get acclimated to Dallas’ defensive playbook, but he was able to make a pretty immediate impact in their win over the Texans on Sunday. He ended up playing a little over 46% of the Cowboys’ defensive snaps and was targeted just once in 19 snaps of pass coverage, not allowing a catch on the afternoon.
Think about that — the Texans knew Porter hadn’t played all year and been on Dallas’ roster for roughly 72 hours, and instead of attacking him and banking on him being rusty and unfamiliar with the defensive scheme, they actively avoided throwing the ball his way. That’s the impact a guy like Porter can have on a defense, especially a defense that has dealt with injuries to newly-acquired members of the secondary Jalen Thompson and Cobie Durant.
The other big factor in this contest is Dallas’ opponent. The Bucs were already struggling offensively this year before Baker Mayfield suffered a thumb injury that should keep him out for three to six weeks. Undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels made his first start against Green Bay in Week 4, and the result was more of the same — the Bucs lost to fall to 0-4, and Daniels threw for just 148 yards with a touchdown, two picks, and three sacks taken. He was able to make an impact with his legs, running for 55 yards on 8 carries, but it wasn’t enough to stop the skid for Tampa, who has now lost 11 of their last 13 games dating back to Week 10 of last season.
I’m definitely a bit hesitant to put too much stock into this Cowboys defense, regardless of opponent, but if options are slim in your league and you need a defense to keep you afloat, you could do a lot worse. I wouldn’t bank on them playing that role for more than a week, but keep an eye on Dallas in Week 5.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
New England Patriots (49%): The Pats are the DST7 but have been ravaged by injuries in recent weeks and have scored just 12 points across three games outside of a 23-point explosion in Week 2. They face the 3-1 Raiders at home in Week 5.
Washington Commanders (2%): Washington has five turnovers over their last two games after forcing none in their first two. They host the Giants this week, and whether it’s Jameis Winston or the newly-acquired JJ McCarthy under center for New York, more turnovers shouldn’t be too hard to come by.
New York Giants (11%): Speaking of the Giants, they’ve scored 22 fantasy points over their last two games after scoring nine over Weeks 1 and 2. They’re on the road against Washington, who may be down to third string QB Athan Kaliakmanis after Marcus Mariota left their game in London with a knee injury.
