Streaming Defenses: Picking a Week 14 Defense

This article is part of our Streaming Defenses series.

Lions

After scoring a combined 10 points in the last two weeks and the Lions coming off a long week from a Thursday night game, this matchup should be ripe to help owners. The most important stat maybe in this game is that the Rams are tied for 26th in yards per play (5.1) and have not put up much of a fight this season. QB Nick Foles ranks 32nd in YPP (6.09) and has one of the worst WR/TE corps in the league. Kenny Britt leads the unit with 37.1 yards per game and he's followed by TE Jared Cook, who averages just 33.4 yards per game. Tavon Austin can get loose and wreck havoc, but not on his own. The Lions rank tied for 24th in YPP (7.3), but still, this matchup would have to go pretty wrong for the Rams to get vertical on the Lions.

On the ground, The Lions rank tied for ninth in YPC (3.9), but have been the league's best run defense over the last three weeks (3.7 YPC). RB Todd Gurley will have his work cut out for him and as amazing as he his could find himself in a game flow problem that limits his touches, should the Rams fall behind. There aren't any other options on this offense and with the extra rest, it's tough to see the Lions faltering here. Vegas has this over/under set at 40.5 with the line set at pick 'em, which puts this at about a 20-20 game. Facing the Rams on the road, the Lions defense/special teams has an ownership of 10.3 percent at ESPN and 12 percent at Yahoo.

Giants

Having not topped 20 pionts over their last four games, the Dolphins are sputtering to the offensive finish line. QB Ryan Tannehill ranks 21st in YPA (7.07) and should have produced better results than his 22nd passer rating suggests. WR Jarvis Landry is a beast but caught just two passes last week and that was with Rishard Matthews out dealing with a rib injury, which will likely keep him out of this game as well. If the Giants can keep Landry limited, it figures to be a long game for the Dolphins.

RB Lamar Miller has had a banner season with 4.9 YPC, but the game can get away form the Dolphins and force them to throw the ball more than preferred. The G-Men rank tied for 13th in YPC (4.0) and should welcome the Dolphins run game, if that means they've abandoned the passing game. The G-Men are going on the road, but playing for their divisional lives, as if they win this game they'll keep pace in the sorry NFC East. Vegas has this over/under set at 46.5 with the Giants favored by 1.5, which puts this at about a 24-22 game. Facing the Dolphins on the road, the Giants defense/special teams has an ownership of 14.2 percent at ESPN and 22 percent at Yahoo.

Bucanneers

The Saints are capable of putting up points as evidenced by their 38 last week, but also capable of not as the put up a combined 20 the previous two weeks. QB Drew Brees has thrown at least one pick in six consecutive games, which points to the potential with the Bucs here, who rank 14th in YPA (6.8). The deep ball is where the team generates most of their passing yards and if the can corral that, they'll be just fine. WR Brandin Cooks leads the team in catches, yards, and TDs and will be the main focus.

RB Mark Ingram is averaging 4.6 YPC and while that's great, he faces an uphill task agains the Bucs who are the best run defense in the league (3.5 YPC). Stopping him and making the Saints one-dimensional should create more passing downs, more sacks, and more interceptions. If the Bucs can get ahead in this game, the Saints will be more prone to turnovers, which should again help the Bucs. Vegas has this over/under set at 50.5 with the Saints favored by 3.5, which puts this at about a 27-23 game. Facing the Saints on the road, the Bucs defense/special teams has an ownership of 13.9 percent at ESPN and 11 percent at Yahoo.

Redskins

The Bears over their last three games have scored 17, 17, and 20 points, as they've dealt with injuries, most notably TE Martellus Bennett (ribs), who is now done for the season. Over that three game span QB Jay Cutler has thrown one touchdown and for barely over 200 yards twice, as the offense has struggled to get going. On the season he ranks 14th in YPA (7.43) and should find some room to throw against the Redskins, who rank tied for 21st in YPA (7.1). Still, without Bennett, he's down to WRs Alshon Jeffery and Marquess Wilson.

The Redskins are ranked 28th in YPC (4.6) and can be gashed on the ground by RB Matt Forte, who is averaging 3.9 YPC this season, his eighth in the league. And yet for all his talent, he only has three rushing TDs on the season and hasn't topped 100 rushing yards since Week 1. The Bears should be able to move the ball against this unit, but this three game slide they're in could also continue and help owners who go with the Redskins. Vegas has this over/under set at 44 with the Bears favored by 3, which puts this at about a 24-21 game. Facing the Bears on the road, the Redskins defense/special teams has an ownership of 14.4 percent at ESPN and 16 percent at Yahoo.

Colts

The Jags are coming off arguably their best offensive performance of the season, as they put up 39 points against the Titans last week on the road. QB Blake Bortles ranks 23rd in YPA (6.95) and threw five TDs with no interceptions in that game. Previously he had thrown at least one pick in seven consecutive games, which seems more the norm for him. WR Allen Hurns (concussion) should be back to play this week, after suffering a scary head injury. He and Allen Robinson have been a fantastic WR duo this season. The Colts will need CB Vontae Davis to show up big and shutdown at least one of them to come out of this profitable for owners.

RB T.J. Yeldon has averaged 4.0 YPC and the Colts give up 4.3 YPC, so we should see positive game out of the Jags run game. The hope here is that the Jags come back down to Earth after their offensive explosion last week and the Colts bounce back from their disaster on Sunday night against the Steelers. Should they meet somewhere in the middle, this should be a tight divisional game, not a shootout. Vegas has this over/under not set with the line set at pick 'em. Facing the Jags on the road, the Colts defense/special teams has an ownership of 5.2 percent at ESPN and 17 percent at Yahoo.

Here are my rankings for this week, the next four weeks, and the remainder of the season: