2024 Fantasy Football Week 9 Streaming Defenses: Taking Command

If you read my article on playing the waiver wire game, you know it is essential to winning your fantasy football league.  If you haven’t read it, what are you waiting for?  I just told you it’s a necessary part of winning your fantasy football league!  Why do you hate winning?

One of the best ways to maximize your weekly scoring is to stream defenses.  This strategy is simple – we aren’t as concerned about good defenses, so much as finding defenses that are playing terrible offenses.  Bad offenses are more likely to keep playing badly because if they knew how to be good, they would already be good.  Because of this flawless logic, I will be pointing out the best streaming options every week.

Cincinnati Bengals DEF (36% owned) @ Las Vegas Raiders

The Bengals have been getting quietly better on defense when they get healthy, but this is all about the Las Vegas Raiders. They hit the big three categories I love to see when I’m streaming a defense. They have the most turnovers, the 4^th most sacks, and score the 7^th fewest points per game. They are a bad offense, and I like nothing more than starting an average defense against a bad offense.

Chicago Bears DEF (48% owned) @ Arizona Cardinals

If you can’t get the Bengals, then the Chicago Bears are a team to consider, although it comes with some inherent risk. The DST5 on the season held a number one scoring offense in the Commanders to only 4 field goals last week (I turned the game off when the clock hit 0 and saw nothing after). The Bears have the best red zone defense in football, are 7^th in turnovers, and give up the 4^th fewest points per game. They are a good defense, but the Cardinals are a good offense. So it comes down to which one does better.

Washington Commanders DEF (23% owned) @ New York Giants

Washington has been on a roll, but this is the defense I am most worried about. Washington is coming off a very emotional victory, so there is a risk of a letdown factor. They also are playing a divisional game, and sometimes numbers get thrown out the window. Lucky for them, the New York Giants are not a very good football team. The Giants have given up the 3^rd most sacks, get the 4^th fewest yards per play, and score the 2^nd fewest points per game. On the flip side, the Commanders have the 7^th most sacks and allow the 10^th fewest points per game. This should be an easy stream, but it could also get weird very quickly.