Fantasy Football Week 6 Streaming Defenses: Packers, Cowboys, and More

Fantasy football defense is hard to predict. Even if the best defense shuts down a paltry offense, they might only score a few fantasy points if they don't get lucky with takeaways and sacks.

Then you get performances like Minnesota in Week 3, when they caused five turnovers and scored two defensive touchdowns, putting up the best defensive fantasy outing of the season. Luck plays into it as much as skill in fantasy football, and in no place is that more true than on defense.

Let's look at four D/ST units with good matchups in Week 6 who are widely available in fantasy leagues and can be picked up and inserted into your lineup. Most stats are from NFL.com.

Use FantasySP's defensive rankings to find the teams and groups with the best matchups each week!

Dallas Cowboys @ Carolina Panthers

Every year, a few teams stand out as THE squads to target with fantasy defenses. Those teams will sometimes turn the ball over often or allow a lot of sacks, but they almost always score very few points. The Panthers have scored the ninth-fewest points, and even that is driven by a late surge against the Cardinals in Week 2 and the 27 points they put on the board against the putrid Dolphins last week after going down 17-0.

I'm looking to target Carolina both because I thought they would be one of the worst offensive teams before the year and because they have proven me right in many ways. On top of not scoring, they are gaining yards at low rates both passing and running the ball.

The Panthers are averaging the fourth-fewest yards per pass attempt. Before Week 5, they were gaining less than 4.0 yards per carry, which had them in the bottom 10. Carolina dominated Miami on the ground on Sunday, which has raised that number, but I'm still considering the Panthers a weak running team against real defenses.

The Cowboys have struggled this season defensively, allowing the fourth-most points per game and the most yards per pass attempt (they're right in the middle defending the run). Dallas is a team I am looking to target with opposing quarterbacks and wide receivers.

Two things are true here: Dallas has a poor defense, and the Panthers are bad enough offensively to still make the Cowboys an OK streaming option. They are a low-level streamer, but the Dallas D/ST has a chance at a top-10 fantasy week.

Green Bay Packers vs. Cincinnati Bengals

We'll just hit quickly on the Packers: they were owned in more leagues before their Week 5 bye, but they were dropped en masse last week and now have availability in around half of leagues. On top of being very good defensively, they have a fantastic matchup against the Bengals this week.

Jake Browning is second in the league with eight interceptions thrown despite not playing the first five quarters of the season. Cincinnati scored 13 total points in the first two games without Burrow, though they scored 24 this week while still losing by multiple scores. The Bengals have a low-ceiling, low-floor offense and just traded for Joe Flacco, if that tells you anything.

The Packers are probably a keeper, as they have been successful and their upcoming schedule has soft games against Arizona, Pittsburgh, and Carolina. This is a quality pickup if you can snag them off the bye.

Las Vegas Raiders vs. Tennessee Titans

Tennessee Titans @ Las Vegas Raiders

Since the Packers teeter on the edge of fitting as a “streamer,” let's finish with a double dip in this one with two of the most vulnerable offenses in the NFL right now. This is much more about the offense in the game than the defense.

Both Las Vegas and Tennessee have below-average defenses that I almost never want to count on. The Raiders are a little better, having allowed the eighth-most points per game and 12th-most yards per pass attempt while ranking a little better than average against the run.

The Titans have given up the seventh-most points per game, 10th-most yards per pass attempt, and fifth-most yards per rush attempt. On top of being just a little worse than Vegas in the other areas, Tennessee gets gashed on the ground, something that might not turn out well against Ashton Jeanty in Week 6.

The offenses are about as giving as can be, though, and don't score often. Tennessee is tied with Cleveland for the least points scored per game (14.6), and the Raiders are third worst above only those two teams, averaging just 16.6 points per game.

Geno Smith leads the league in interceptions with nine, one above Browning. No one else has thrown more than six, and that is Flacco; Trevor Lawrence is next among active starters with five. Smith has thrown at least one interception in four of five games, multiple interceptions three times, and three interceptions in two different games.

Cameron Ward has been sacked more than any other QB, going down 19 times (Smith is tied for third with 16 sacks). He hasn't thrown as many picks, but Ward lost two fumbles to go along with his three interceptions. Ward has also been below average throwing the ball in every game and a non-factor as a runner, leaving very little space to contribute positively.

These defenses aren't ones you'll see me hype up often, but the offenses are bad enough to make them worthy of consideration. Like the Cowboys, these groups are low-level streamers, but that's how things go as the season wears on, especially with byes underway. There are two great matchups available here.