Streaming Defenses: Picking a Week 8 Team Defense

TOP STREAMING OPTIONS

Tennessee Titans (vs. Jacksonville Jaguars)
41% Yahoo ownership - 36.8% ESPN ownership

Make it three weeks in a row for the Tennessee defense as my top streaming recommendation, though this time it has as much to do with the horrible alternative as any legitimate faith in the unit. In fact, the Titans made me look pretty stupid last week, and I didn't exactly feel like a genius when they coughed up 26 points to the Browns back in Week 6 (albeit with six sacks and most of the points coming in garbage time). If you can recall the events of Sunday, an injury-ravaged Colts offense went off for 36 points in Nashville, surrendering a season-low two sacks with nary a turnover. But this week, finally, will be the one in which the Titans' solid pass rush translates into a performance that meets the matchup. Why? Because Blake Bortles and the horrid Jacksonville offense are coming to town, fresh off laying yet another egg -- this time to the tune of 16 points and three turnovers in a home game against Oakland's less-than-stellar defense. If the Titans D/ST can't make the most of this matchup in Thursday night's sure-to-be-an-abomination of an NFL game…I promise I'll finally stop recommending them. Let's give it one more try, and let's also find something else to watch on television Thursday night.

New York Jets (at Cleveland Browns)
22% Yahoo ownership - 22.2% ESPN ownership

Another idea that seems entirely logical but never quite seems to work out the way I expect: targeting whichever defense is playing against the Browns. Granted, this idea also never really blows up in your face, but the Cleveland offense has actually managed to do a half-decent job of avoiding negative plays. It would still be foolish to view the Browns as anything less than a premium matchup, especially if Kevin Hogan actually ends up starting in place of the injured Josh McCown (collarbone) and Cody Kessler (concussion). I'm assuming either Kessler or McCown will be ready, but this is still an enticing matchup in a week with just 13 games. The Jets defense, while not to be trusted, is at least coming off a strong showing against the Ravens.

Jacksonville Jaguars (at Tennessee Titans)
3% Yahoo ownership - 7.5% ESPN ownership

And we've now officially reached the territory of 'not enough good defenses or matchups for a week with six teams on bye'. Seriously, take a look at the rankings below and then tell me the Jags aren't a solid choice this week. They've at least been solid against the pass, and as previously mentioned, the annual Jags-Titans TNF classic should be ugly if nothing else. Even in the likely event DeMarco Murray explodes, there should be room for Jacksonville to come away with a few sacks and a turnover or two. There really aren't many trustworthy defenses this season, especially considering units such as Carolina, Los Angeles and Cincinnati have all played far below expectations.

Detroit Lions (at Houston Texans)
7% Yahoo ownership - 6.5% ESPN ownership

The Lions get to face Brock Osweiler, which in itself is good enough for the No. 13 spot in this week's team defense rankings. For those who haven't followed closely, I'll simply note that the Detroit defense has been terrible this season, mostly playing without two of its top three players. The unit did show some competence in Sunday's 20-17 win over Washington, and star DE Ezekiel Ansah should finally be heading back toward full strength. Unfortunately, there hasn't been much to suggest that LB DeAndre Levy -- the other injury-plagued star talent -- is anywhere close to a return to action. This one is really all about the matchup, which is really all about Osweiler's horrendous performance this season.

Chicago Bears (vs. Minnesota Vikings)
2% Yahoo ownership - 17.8% ESPN ownership

Apologies for the relentlessly pessimistic tone of this article. But honestly, there are only 13 games and the crop of team D/ST units seems to be worse than ever. Alas, I've promised five recommendations each and every week, even if all of them come with a grumpy attitude. On a more positive note, the Chicago defense has actually done pretty nice work this season...considering the remarkable amount of significant injuries it's had to deal with. As the unit continues to approach something in the range of healthy, there's some real appeal in Sunday's matchup with a Minnesota team that's almost entirely reliant on its defense. The Vikings were just exposed by the Eagles, and I really wouldn't be surprised if the Bears pull off this upset. Granted, you'd much rather have the Minnesota D/ST in this spot….duh.

Here are my rankings for this week and the remainder of the season: