Streaming Defenses: Picking a Week 6 Defense

This article is part of our Streaming Defenses series.

Titans

Even coming off a bye, the Dolphins need to be targeted, as they've fired their coach in hopes of turning around their season. They're tied for 25th in YPP (5.1) and QB Ryan Tannehill is 33rd in YPA (6.32). He's got an interesting talent in WR Jarvis Landry, who leads the team in targets, but still is yet to score a receiving TD. The rest of the WR/TE corps is underproducing with Rishard Matthews the lone standout. The Titans rank tied for 15th in YPA (6.9) and will need to keep the likes of Kenny Stills and DeVante Parker in front of them, as they can stretch the field.

I'm most intrigued to see what the Dolphins do with the ball on the ground, as hopefully new coach Dan Campbell finally utilizes RB Lamar Miller. So far Miller has averaged 3.5 YPC, has no runs over 20 yards, and is still looking for his first TD. The Titans rank 22nd in YPC (4.4), which isn't all that helpful, but again, it's yet to be seen if the Dolphins commit to the run game for once or continue to ignore Miller. Overall the Titans rank sixth in YPP (5.2) as a defense and at home should be up for this game against a Dolphins team still deciding who they are and where they want their season to go. Vegas has this over/under set at 43.5 with the Titans favored by 2.5, which puts this at about a 23-20 game. Facing the Dolphins at home, the Titans defense/special teams has an ownership of 21.3 percent at ESPN and 7 percent at Yahoo.

Redskins

Coming off a bye, the Jets are an improving squad with a 3-1 record, but then again their QB is still Ryan Fitzpatrick, who ranks 32nd in YPA (6.37). He's done well to avoid sacks, but has still thrown at least one pick in all four games. The Redskins rank tied for seventh in YPA (6.4), so this should be a fairly even matchup, though I expect LB Ryan Kerrigan and company to get a couple sacks and harass Fitzpatrick plenty. Containing WRs Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker will be a challenge, but hopefully DBs Chris Culliver (knee) and DeAngelo Hall (foot) will be healthy enough to suit up.

The identity of the Jets offense is their run game and RB Chris Ivory has been having a great season, averaging 5.0 YPC. A bruising runner, he'll get a Redskins defense that ranks 22nd in YPC (4.4) and was shredded last week by the Falcons, though their pass defense was pretty great in that game. Bilal Powell is a change of pace back and a pass-catching threat, but hasn't had the level of success that Ivory has on the ground, averaging 3.9 YPC. Whoever wins this matchup will likely win game, as the Jets want to dictate the game through their ground attack. Vegas has this over/under set at 40.5 with the Jets favored by 6, which puts this at about a 23-17 game. Facing the Jets on the road, the Redskins defense/special teams has an ownership of 3.1 percent at ESPN and 2 percent at Yahoo.

Bengals

Hello EJ Manuel! The third year QB, who appeared in only four games last season, is likely to start this game with starter Tyrod Taylor out due to a sprained MCL. The last time we saw Manuel was over a year ago, when he had a 6.40 YPA, before finding himself benched in favor of Kyle Orton. The Bengals defense should be excited about the matchup, though they rank tied for 17th in YPA (7.0). Manuel is mobile, but not in the way that Taylor was with his elusiveness. His WR/TE corps leaves much to be desired with the leader in catches, yards, and TDs being TE Charles Clay. WR Sammy Watkins (calf) should be healthy enough to play this game, but it's uncertain what his chemistry will be like with Manuel.

On the ground, it's not entirely clear who the Bills have at their disposal, as LeSean McCoy (hamstring) and Karlos Williams (concussion) are injured, leaving likely just Boobie Dixon and Daniel Herron, whom the team just recently acquired. The Bengals run defense is porous, ranking 29th in YPC (4.8), but again in this game, they won't be facing the best that the Bills have to offer, so it should be a somewhat friendly matchup for them. As long as the Bengals continue to get steady QB play, the Bills defense shouldn't run wild in this game and put the Bengals defense in compromising positions, making this a pretty decent play for fantasy owners. Vegas has this over/under set at 42.5 with the Bengals favored by 3.5, which puts this at about a 23-19 game. Facing the Bills on the road, the Bengals defense/special teams has an ownership of 36.4 percent at ESPN and 40 percent at Yahoo.

Lions

A divisional game at home, the Lions need to show up for this game against QB Jay Cutler and company. The QB ranks 26th in YPA (6.60) and not surprisingly has thrown an interception in three of the four games this season. The Lions rank 31st in YPA (8.5) and will really need to pressure Cutler, as their secondary hasn't been doing much to slow down opposing passing games. The status of WRs Alshon Jeffery (hamstring) and Eddie Royal (ankle) is still unclear, but both figure to be hobbled, if they do suit up. Cutler has had to turn to WR Marquess Wilson and TE Martellus Bennett, both of whom are physical, but don't present the upside of a Jeffery. Unfortunately, a week after getting him back, the Lions are likely to be without LB DeAndre Levy (hip). He would've been a real help in this game.

On the ground RB Matt Forte is the focal point of the offense, as he has averaged 4.3 YPC, again proving to be one of the best backs in the game. The Lions rank 21st in YPC (4.3) and will really need to slow Forte down to keep up in this game. They did an extremely poor job against the Cardinals last week, though they do get high marks for shutting down the Seahawks run game the previous week. After being competitive in the first four games, I'm hopeful the Lions bounce back from their embarrassing loss last week and realize they're playing for their coach's job and respectability, as they've still not won a game yet. Vegas has this over/under set at 43 with the Lions favored by 3, which puts this at about a 23-20 game. Facing the Bears at home, the Lions defense/special teams has an ownership of 32.0 percent at ESPN and 22 percent at Yahoo.

Vikings

Who are the Chiefs without star RB Jamaal Charles? They'll turn to second year runner out of Abilene Christian, Charcandrick West and Knile Davis, who has filled in before. It's a surprise to me that Davis isn't being given the first crack at replacing Charles, but then again I haven't seen much of West and maybe that's part of the reason why. Either way, not having Charles is a blow to an offense geared around feeding him the ball and making smart decisions in the passing game. Without him, it'll be up to the timid Alex Smith to find alternate means of leading the offense. On the ground, the Vikings rank 27th in YPC (4.7), so they can be run on, it just remains to be seen if West and Davis are up for the task.

In the air, Smith ranks 17th in YPA (7.46) and has done well to limit the turnovers, but has taken a whopping 21 sacks, second most in the league. That along with the absence of Charles makes this a nice matchup for the Vikings and fantasy owners. They should be able to contain WR Jeremy Maclin and TE Travis Kelce, as they become the 1A and 1B options in the passing game, sans Charles. I expect Davis to see his share of targets too, but he's not the trusted pass catcher that Charles was. Moreover, the Vikings rank seventh in YPA (6.4), so this is a matchup that should favor them. Coming off a bye and playing at home, my only concern is that this looks like too good of a setup for the Vikings. Vegas has this over/under set at 44 with the Vikings favored by 3.5, which puts this at about a 24-20 game. Facing the Chiefs at home, the Vikings defense/special teams has an ownership of 27.3 percent at ESPN and 22 percent at Yahoo.

Here are my rankings for this week, the next four weeks, and the remainder of the season: