3 Defenses to Stream for Fantasy Football in Week 15

Hey, it's your friendly neighborhood defense streaming specialist -- here again, giving you weekly streaming recommendations. A reminder: lines are courtesy of NFL odds, and roster percentages and scores are according to ESPN's fantasy platform. Assume that the listed order is the preferred order. I'll try for defenses on 40% or fewer of ESPN rosters.

Tennessee Titans

vs. Detroit Lions
Spread: Titans -10.5
Roster Percentage: 17%

Matthew Stafford's Week 15 status is still up in the air, but the Detroit Lions have no reason to push him. Assuming Stafford sits, that puts the Tennessee Titans up as double-digit favorites against Chase Daniel, who takes sacks at a high rate (8.8%) and throws picks at a moderate rate (2.5%).

It's not a great week to be streaming, so Stafford sitting would be a boon to streamers.

Arizona Cardinals

vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Spread: Cardinals -6.5
Roster Percentage: 28%

Jalen Hurts impressed me if for no other reason than that he took no sacks when Carson Wentz took a sack seemingly every other dropback.

Nothing drives me up a wall more than watching a quarterback hold the ball too long, but it's gold for fantasy defenses, leading to sacks, which lead to fumbles. Holding the ball longer also leads to more pressured throws, which are more likely to result in interceptions. Early signs suggest Hurts is much better at getting rid of the ball than Wentz.

However, with limited options, you may be left with no better choice than to trot out the Arizona Cardinals and hope for a setback from the rookie signal-caller. Hurts did take three sacks in very limited action against the Green Bay Packers, so there is some hope in that department.

Minnesota Vikings...I Guess

vs. Chicago Bears
Spread: Vikings -3.5
Roster Percentage: 37%

I really don't like this play, but there's just nothing else.

Only about 15 defenses or so fall below the 40% threshold, and most of those are horrible options that you should never, ever play (for example, the Jets, Jaguars, and Bengals). People are getting better at this.

That leaves us with a streaming pool of somewhere between 5-10 teams, so we just have to find one that kind of meets the criteria, and as slight favorites, the Minnesota Vikings sort of do. Maybe we see another Mitchell Trubisky meltdown? It's always a possibility.

The real answer is that the playoffs warrant looking ahead a bit. Maybe we see a quarterback injury creating a better streaming option (and you should always play the best option in the playoffs), but give yourself a baseline and upgrade from there.