Fantasy football 2019: Week 5 streaming defenses

There are some widely available defenses you can use for your fantasy football team if your main option has a bad matchup.

Looking at the top-12 fantasy football scoring defenses, six of them are available in more than 50 percent of ESPN leagues. The top defense, New England, has a 29-point lead over the second-best team, Chicago. What that means is you either spend an early-round draft pick on a defense or wait until your final pick.

If you fall into the latter category, you’re likely mixing and matching defenses each week based on who they play. With a good amount of bad teams, finding a viable defense to find and start off the waiver wire is possible.

Week 5 has two teams on bye week, the Lions and Dolphins. That takes away one bad offense to stream against but that shouldn’t stop you from streaming a defense this week. With teams like the Bengals, Jets, Vikings and Cardinals still playing, you have options.

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This piece will feature three defenses with ownership percentages under 50 percentage based on ESPN leagues. You don’t need to keep them for Week 6 and can do this all again next week, or you can keep them until the matchup is that bad.

Cardinals, @CIN

We saw how bad Cincinnati was on Monday night against the Steelers. Andy Dalton was 21-for-37 with 171 yards and an interception. Joe Mix rushed 15 times for 62 yards. Auden Tate led all Bengals receivers with 50 yards. The point is, they could not move the ball.

Entering this game, the Bengals will be without John Ross as he left the game with a right shoulder injury. That leaves Tyler Boyd, Tyler Eifert and Tate. The Cardinals defense hasn’t scored more than four points in a game but they have at least two sacks per game.

The Bengals will have a hard time scoring on this defense.

Panthers, vs. JAX

The Panthers just make the cut at 49.4 percent. They face the Jaguars in Week 5. The Carolina defense, over the last two weeks, has recorded 14 sacks, three interceptions and one fumble recovery while allowing 30 points against the Cardinals and Texans.

The Jaguars offense has been playing decent with Gardner Minshew under center but that magic has to run out soon, right? If the Panthers can stack the box to stop Leonard Fournette, they will force Minshew to throw more than he needs to. He averages just over 30 attempts per game.

49ers, vs. CLE

After a dominant Week 1 performance against Tampa Bay, the 49ers defense has recorded just 15 total fantasy points over their next two games. Coming off their bye week, they face the Browns.

Cleveland’s offense hasn’t been what everyone thought it would be. Nick Chubb looks good with 398 yards and four scores but the passing game is a question mark.

Baker Mayfield has a 59 percent completion rate with four touchdowns and six interceptions. Odell Beckham and Jarvis Landry combined have 39 receptions for 636 yards and one touchdown. Keenan Allen has 34 receptions, 434 yards and three touchdowns alone.

A home game against a struggling offense is the recipe for a successful defense. They are my top streaming pick of the week.

All three defenses have good matchups against bad offenses. That’s what you look for when streaming defenses. If they can limit opposing scoring while forcing a turnover or two, you’ll get at least 10 points from your defense. Thanks for stopping by FanSided Fantasy!