Fantasy Football Week 5 Defense Streamers: Giants, Dolphins, and More

I love identifying the worst offenses in football. I'm not sure if it's some kind of sick thing about wanting to see others fail, but my favorite part of going through the box scores is seeing which offenses couldn't move the ball or score. It matches up perfectly with finding streaming defenses each week.

A few teams are really starting to stand out in terms of offensive ineptitude. When looking for teams that present value for opposing defenses, we're looking both for those that score very few points and those that give up sacks and turnovers. It's great to find a team that does both, but if we can find one or the other, that's a good start.

Let's look at three D/ST units with good matchups in Week 5 that are widely available in fantasy leagues and can be picked up and inserted into your lineup. Most stats are from NFL.com.

Check out FantasySP's defensive rankings to see which teams present the best matchups to players and groups at each position.

Arizona Cardinals vs. Tennessee Titans

The Cardinals might be the streaming defense of the week. Tennessee has regularly been one of the worst offensive groups each week, and they are coming off getting shut out 26-0 by the Houston Texans.

Cameron Ward has been sacked 17 times, more than any other quarterback. He has also thrown two interceptions and lost two fumbles, averaging a turnover per game. If you can get four sacks and a turnover from your defense while holding the opposing team to 13 points, that's a good fantasy week. That's what teams are doing to the Titans.

Arizona ranks tied for 11th in fantasy scoring among defenses. That's a fickle stat, especially this early in the season, but the Cardinals also have good players at every level of the defense and project as at least an average group and maybe better.

They rank out very average in many categories, probably something we can expect moving forward. That means that in good matchups, the Cardinals are worthy of fantasy consideration. They should be owned and put in a lineup in every league this week.

Miami Dolphins @ Carolina Panthers

I really don't like depending on bad defenses in fantasy football. Those are the groups we're usually looking to attack, so grabbing one and expecting fantasy points seems counterintuitive. Two things can be true at the same time, though, including a team having a bad defense and still facing an even worse offense, giving them fantasy value.

That's what we get here, as Miami is among the worst defenses in football and a group I'm happy to go after with offensive players every week. They are in the middle as a run defense but are giving up the second-most yards per pass attempt. The Jets averaged 8.4 yards per pass and 7.0 yards per rush on Monday night, but New York lost three fumbles, a big part of the Dolphins holding them to 21 points.

Carolina was riding high after a 30-0 victory over the Falcons in Week 3, but things turned just as fast, and the Panthers were beaten up by the Patriots 42-13. The Panthers are averaging the fourth-fewest yards per pass attempt and the 10th-fewest yards per rush attempt, failing in every offensive facet. They have also scored the seventh-fewest points; there's no great underlying performance waiting to escape.

Miami won't get three takeaways every week, but they do face a weak offensive team here and have a chance for mild value. They are more of a deep-league streamer or an option if you're desperate late in the week.

New York Giants @ New Orleans Saints

While it was expected that the Giants would struggle offensively, there was hope that their defense would be at least average, led by a deep, talented pass rush. New York has recorded 10 sacks, near average but only four from the top spot (shared by three different teams).

The Giants have been gashed on the ground, giving up the second-most yards per rush attempt. They've been better than average against the pass, allowing the 11th-fewest yards per attempt. The outline of a possibly successful defense is there, though there are plenty of weaknesses as well.

The Saints are a team I'm looking to go after with opposing defenses every week. They haven't turned it over much, with just two interceptions and one lost fumble, and their nine sacks allowed is right in the middle, but New Orleans lacks any kind of explosive element and is really bad throwing the ball.

They are average with the run game, but the Saints are averaging just 5.1 yards per pass attempt, third lowest in the league. Not turning it over is great, but if they protect the ball to the point of not ever getting it downfield, it's not going to help New Orleans be successful. The Saints are averaging just 16.5 points per game, fourth worst.

We're looking at a defense with a few very good pieces against an offense with very little going on. Essentially every D/ST unit has fantasy value against the Saints, and while it would be nice if they turned it over a little more often, defenses don't have to be scared about getting beat or giving up a lot of points.