Welcome to the “So you had the Denver DST starting this past week?” article, better known as the Week 4 DST Streamers.
Let’s get this out of the way. That was a horrendous showing by the Denver defense, but it was one week. Part of the beauty of streaming defenses is that it only matters what the defense you stream this week does. In fact, if you stream a team the one and only strong week they have, you did just fine.
Because I actually like the Broncos D a lot this week against the woeful Chicago Bears. However, many others do too. Thus, Denver can be found in the top dozen of the consensus rankings, thereby disqualifying them for consideration for this piece.
And there are not a lot of great defensive match-ups this week, especially once you get beyond the top dozen options.
But you’ve come here for DST streaming options, so let’s look at some of my Week 4 DST streamers.
Week 4 DST Streamers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (at New Orleans)
Defense went crazy on Sunday 🤯
🔜 #PHIvsTB 7:15 p.m. Monday on ABC pic.twitter.com/Is7LkFYLdt
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) September 19, 2023
Another week, another week the Buccaneers occupy this space. Sooner or later this squad is going to be rated high enough that they’re too good to be “stream-worthy”. But for now, they are. And going up against Jameis “Don’t forget my 30-INT season” Winston, I like their chances to produce this week.
New Orleans is 20th in total offense and 26th in scoring offense after three weeks. And that was with Derek Carr at the helm. The Saints are allowing the 11th-most fantasy points to team defenses this year. And now it looks like Famous Jameis will under center this week for New Orleans.
Tampa Bay meanwhile has the third-ranked fantasy defense this season. The Bucs’ defense is one of only four teams this season with at least eight sacks and seven takeaways through the first three games. Tampa Bay also has one return touchdown to go with the multiple sacks and takeaways.
I have a feeling I won’t be able to recommend Tampa Bay too much longer as a potential stream, so I’ll recommend them as one of my favorite week 4 DST streamers while I can.
Cincinnati Bengals (at Tennessee)
It looks like this team is slowly turning the corner, but turning the corner they are. The Bengals sacked Matthew Stafford half a dozen times on Monday night and also forced him to throw two interceptions. They allowed just 16 points, with seven of them coming in garbage time. I still have some questions about this secondary. But let’s not mince words–the Titans’ strength is not exactly an aerial assault.
And Ryan Tannehill had a miserable week, but so did Derrick Henry. The Titans’ offense failed to find the end zone twice in three games. Tennesee is 29th in total offense, 30th in scoring offense, and has allowed the seventh-most fantasy points to defenses this season. Tennessee is not a great offensive team, especially if they can’t get Derrick Henry churning.
The Titans are averaging just 15 points per game, tied for the fourth-fewest in the league. Our friends over at PFF rank the Titans’ offensive line as the fifth-worst this season. Might be why Derrick Henry can’t get anything going. You can only hold King Henry down for so long. But even if he gets close to the century mark, I have no fear about what Ryan Tannehill does to this defense this weekend.
Cincinnati is no longer pinned in the corner of the ring and has the “eye of the tiger” back. Expect them to absolutely maul the Titans.
Other Week 4 DST Streamers to Consider
Los Angeles Rams (at Indianapolis)
Trying to block Aaron Donald looks like fun…
🎥 @NFL pic.twitter.com/jRkBm30345
— The Athletic NFL (@TheAthleticNFL) September 26, 2023
I talked about Aaron Donald last week and he came through with another big game. It’s hard not to root for Minshew Mania, but I think Donald has at least two sacks himself alone this week. And that’s even if Anthony Richardson is under center for the Colts.
Because the Rams have held both Seattle and Cincinnati to under 16 points this season. And those two teams have a whole lot more weapons than Indy does. It’s hard to get excited about the Rams this week, but one could do far worse than Donald and company, who have allowed just one passing touchdown so far this season.
Houston Texans (vs. Pittsburgh)
I just realized all three teams above are on the road. And if I had my druthers, I would rather stream a defense playing at home, especially if all other things are equal. And I like this Houston team playing at home. They shut down the Jacksonville offense on the road and I think the Jacksonville offense is far better than the Pittsburgh offense. It’s a gut call, but my gut has a better track record lately than my head.
Minnesota Vikings (at Carolina)
Let me be clear, the Vikings are not even in my top two dozen options this week. This is more of a potential “DFS punt play” or “picking amongst the scrapings at the bottom” kind of pick.
However, until Bryce Young (or the 35-year-old Andy Dalton) and Carolina show me they can score 30 points, I’m willing to stream a defense against them. Streaming the Vikings is indeed a scary venture to take, but I’d rather take them versus Carolina than some of the other options typically ranked above them like Washington vs. Philly or the Raiders vs. the Chargers.
If you’re dipping this low, you’re in trouble this week. But I think Minnesota can give you at least positive points for your DST. Not sure I can say that about the other half-dozen options in this tier.
If you’d like to see more of my work or have any questions, reach me on Twitter @MarkStrausberg
Also make sure to check out our Week 4 Fantasy Football Rankings: Quarterback | Running Back | Wide Receiver | Tight End | Half-PPR by Position | Flex Rankings | Positional Ranks w/ K & DST | Dynasty | Superflex Dynasty