Philadelphia Eagles D/ST (8.2%)
The Eagles D/ST had a monster game in San Francisco and looked much improved after struggling against Washington at home in week 3. As a unit, they scored a total of three touchdowns–one on a punt return, one on an interception return, and one on a blocked punt recovered in the end zone. On the season, they’ve scored five touchdowns with a defensive or special teams score in all but their week 2 win at Indianapolis.
Not only did they score the touchdowns, but the Eagles brought consistent pressure on Colin Kaepernick and kept him on the move most of the game while dropping him for four sacks. It was obvious from the early stages of the game that week 4 was going to be a much-improved effort from the defense even though ultimately Nick Foles and the offense couldn’t generate any points resulting in a tough road loss.
This week, the Eagles are again a good play in a favorable matchup against the Rams. Whether Shaun Hill or Austin Davis gets the start, the St. Louis offense has been turnover prone and has struggled to get into gear. Hopefully, the Philadelphia offense can get going early so that the Rams are forced to play catch-up which should result in turnovers and pressure on the quarterback. I expect the Eagles to be in the top ten in fantasy defenses again which is why they are the defense in my week 5 pickups.