Denny’s Deals - Week 6 Fantasy Football Defenses
Up your chances of winning a tournament with these Week 6 fantasy football defenses.
The Chargers may have come through as a superb cash game — and tournament — option in Week 5, but I think we learned a valuable lesson about the Seahawks’ defense — our other Week 5 cash game unit.
Seattle, while averaging a decent seven fantasy points per contest at home, have scored a grand total of two fantasy points in two away games in 2014. The Seahawks, quite amazingly, are the third worst defense in fantasy football. Their reputation precedes them, of course, but the numbers speak poorly of their fake football prospects.
The Seahawks have generated a meager three turnovers and six sacks through five games. The Jaguars, for the sake of extreme contrast, have recorded 16 sacks and six turnovers. It might be time to cast a (very) skeptical eye upon Seattle’s weekly daily fantasy price.
Below are the Week 6 fantasy football defenses I think best fit as options for head-to-head matchups and 50/50s, and the Week 6 fantasy football defenses with more variance ideal for tournament play. My analysis is largely based on Streaming Scores – numbers assigned to each and every defense indicating how good or bad their matchup is that week.
A team’s Streaming Score doesn’t incorporate the how stifling or generous a certain defense has been. It’s entirely matchup based.
Week 6 Fantasy Football Defenses for Cash Games
San Diego Chargers ($7,300) at Oakland Raiders
San Diego, once again, is a very safe option as they face a team likely to play from behind, headed by an inaccurate quarterback who will be forced to throw. The Chargers, who sport a nice Streaming Score of 4 this week, are allowing a league-low 5.7 yards per pass attempt. Even if they don’t pick off a pass or three, there’s little chance the Raiders will be able to move the ball down the field with any success in Week 6.
Deploy fantasy’s fifth highest scoring defense with confidence even if you’re a little uncomfortable with their DraftDay price.
Denver Broncos ($6,300) at New York Jets
The Jets, thanks to Geno Smith’s mercurial ways, have become one of our most reliable streaming targets in 2014. Gang Green has allowed an average of 11 fantasy points over the past three weeks, giving up 1.2 turnovers per contest.
The Broncos have been one of fantasy’s worst defensive options through five weeks, but against Geno and company, that doesn’t matter. Geno averages an amazing 1.9 interceptions when the Jets lose, and that’s precisely what they’ll do in Week 6 barring the alien abduction of Peyton Manning. Denver’s Streaming Score of 5 is the third highest of our Week 6 fantasy football defenses.
Week 6 Fantasy Football Defenses for Tournaments
Minnesota Vikings ($4,250) vs. Detroit Lions
Matthew Stafford, without Calvin Johnson in the lineup, is a rather pedestrian signal caller. Perhaps no team in the NFL gets a bigger downgrade than the Lions without Megatron.
Calvin is likely to sit out this week as the Lions travel to Minnesota. The Vikings’ Streaming Score of 3 isn’t exactly confidence building, but that score doesn’t factor in the loss of Megatron. The Vikings force 1.2 turnovers per game too — third highest in the league after five weeks.
The Vikings’ defense has a pretty low floor in this one, like most tournament plays. I love their ceiling though. You’ll be right or wrong with the Vikings, but right or wrong alone.
San Francisco 49ers ($6,100) at St. Louis Rams
The Rams have only held one opposing defense to fewer than eight fantasy points so far this season. Opposing defenses and special teams have scored four touchdowns against St. Louis. That’s a jarring number.
While Austin Davis’ second half hijinks last week against the Eagles might scare daily gamers away from deploying the 49ers’ defense, I see them as a solid play with a sky-high ceiling.
San Francisco opponents are rushing the ball just 19.3 times per game, and I don’t expect that to change in Week 6. Davis will throw quite a bit in this one. He’s looked excellent in spates during his time as Rams starter, but let’s remember that he’s committed five turnovers along the way and remains a quarterback to target.