When looking for Week 5 DST Streamers it seems we need to tighten up a bit, as we hit the dreaded bye weeks section of the schedule.
Although I still hate that the NFL calls them “bye weeks”. They’re not. A bye gives you a pass into the next round of a tournament, so you have to win one less game than many of the other entries. The regular season is not a tournament and teams are not playing one less game due to the bye.
Can we please stop calling them the “bye week”? I know, that’s going to fall on deaf ears and it’s never going to change, regardless of how wrong it may be.
But I know, you didn’t come here to get a dictionary lesson, so let’s just move directly onto the Week 5 DST streamers, shall we?
Week 5 DST Streamers
Houston Texans (at Atlanta)
2️⃣ big sacks today 😤 pic.twitter.com/IRIPNrVDzX
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) October 1, 2023
I said in this space last week that my gut has a better track record than my brain lately. And my gut continues to kick butt, having nailed the Houston defense last week. But I like them again this week.
Houston is not going to have a ton of sacks as Atlanta seems to be allergic to passing the ball. And if your quarterback was Desmond Ridder who had two very ugly interceptions last week, you might get sick passing the ball as well.
Meanwhile, Houston is starting to look less and less like last year’s joke of a team. We rightfully find them at .500, something they could never say last year. Much of that resurgence can be attributed to the Houston offense, but the defense has been doing their part as well. They have allowed just 23 points combined in the last two weeks.
Expect them to hold Atlanta under 20 points as they pick up a couple of turnovers and maybe get a sack or two. It’s not spectacular, but you can’t ask for much more from a potential Week 5 DST Streamers option.
Detroit Lions (vs. Carolina Panthers)
So here’s what we know:
-The Detroit Lions are a top-10 fantasy DST with 35 points, tied with Cleveland for the ninth most points.
-Detroit is averaging a turnover per game along with nearly four sacks per game.
-The Panthers have allowed 14 sacks this season, the eighth most in the NFL so far this season
-Carolina QB Bryce Young has a QBR of 24.9, which is the 33rd-best in the league. I’ll remind you that there are 32 teams in the league.
You can connect the dots.
Other Week 4 DST Streamers to Consider
Denver Broncos (vs. New York Jets)
The Denver Broncos now have the worst defense ever tracked by DVOA through 4 games.
(Higher defensive DVOA = more scoring = worse) pic.twitter.com/VgCW32DORs
— Aaron Schatz 🏈 (@ASchatzNFL) October 2, 2023
Yes, I’m aware that Denver has given up 153 points over the last four games. If you don’t need to dig this deep, don’t. But as bad as it has been for the Denver DST, they’ve still actually been a decent DST play.
Despite last week’s humiliating loss to Fields and the Bears, they still sacked him four times, picked off a pass, and scored a defensive touchdown en route to a top-10 fantasy finish for Week 4. And as good as the Jets defense is, might be as bad as the Jets offense is. I know Zach Wilson actually looked like a viable NFL quarterback last week. However, the Jets are still in the top half of the league when it comes to allowing fantasy points to opposing defenses.
Denver might be worth the gamble.
Indianapolis Colts (vs. Tennessee Titans)
I always like to have at least one defense playing at home. The Colts are outside my top 20 this week. However, despite running roughshod over the Cincy defense last week, I still question the Titan offense. The Titans are even more generous than the Jets when it comes to allowing fantasy points to opposing defenses.
The Colts are believe it or not currently the seventh-best Fantasy DST. Yeah, I was surprised too. That is assisted by their Week 1 TD. But the Colts also have at least two sacks in every game and a total of 14. That gives us enough of a floor to make them worthy of being one of the more sneaky Week 5 DST Streamers.
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