Streaming Defenses: Picking a Week 2 Defense

This article is part of our Streaming Defenses series.

Titans

After Week 1, the Browns now have Johnny Manziel under center, as Josh McCown has helicopter crashed into the league's concussion protocol. A noted risk-taker on the field, Manziel's questionable decision making often leads to ill advised throws or him scrambling to extend the play, leaving himself open to hits and potential fumbles. Against the Jets he accounted for three turnovers by himself. The Titans held the Bucs to 6.4 YPA, as rookie Jameis Winston was never able to find a rhythm or find receivers open down field. That's due more in part to his inexperience than the Titans' pass coverage, but I don't expect much to change this week, as the Browns have almost no playmaking receivers, outside of Travis Benjamin, whose job it is to open the lid on the secondary.

On the ground, owners should be almost equally as confident, as the Browns are still searching for their lead back. Duke Johnson Jr. played, but received only seven carries to Isaiah Crowell's 12. Both should perform better this week than against the Jets in Week 1, but this is still an offense looking for an identity. Derrick Morgan and Jurrell Casey had disruptive games against the Bucs and I look for them to carry that forward against the Browns, who have a strong offensive line, but much of that is lost in pass coverage, when Manziel is improvising. Vegas has this over/under set at 41.5 with the Titans favored by 1, which puts this at about a 21-20 game. Facing the Browns on the road, the Titans defense/special teams has an ownership of 10.4 percent at ESPN and 10 percent at Yahoo.

Jaguars

After holding the Panthers to 3.9 YPP, the Jaguars look like a defense on the rise, but then again, it's only one game. That said, the Dolphins found little traction themselves against a Washington defense that was very leaky in 2014. QB Ryan Tannehill had two turnovers and took three sacks, which generally isn't like him. His WR/TE corps saw Jarvis Landry receive 12 targets, but only turn that into 53 yards, while Jordan Cameron led the team in yards with 73 on seven targets. I expect the Dolphins to play more efficiently this week, despite this game also being on the road, though in state. I also expect more from the passing game, which has yet to see a star/playmaker emerge.

As for the run game, Lamar Miller did fine to gain 4.1 YPC in his season debut, but was only fed the ball 13 times. The Jaguars held the Panthers to just 3.0 YPC, which is impressive considering the Panthers leaned heavily on the run (35 carries). Miller is the lead back in terms of passing situations too, so expect the defense to hone in on him. The Jaguars don't have many household names on defense, though LB Paul Polsuszny is close and not surprisingly led the team in tackles in Week 1. My biggest concern in this game is that the Jaguars offense sputters and leaves their defense on short fields with which to operate, leading to scoring the Dolphins offense didn't necessarily earn. Vegas has this over/under set at 41.5 with the Dolphins favored by 6, which puts this at about a 24-18 game. Facing the Dolphins at home, the Jaguars defense/special teams has an ownership of 1.1 percent at ESPN and 1 percent at Yahoo.

Lions

The Lions aren't likely to stop Adrian Peterson, but if they can slow him enough to force Teddy Bridgewater to make plays, they should be a decent play for owners this week. The Vikings WR/TE corps did little to inspire confidence in Week 1, as much of the players were held to underneath routes with the vertical game stifled. Mike Wallace and Kyle Rudolph led the way with seven targets, but combined gained 116 yards. Bridgewater's 7.2 YPA is exactly what you want to see out of a still young QB, but he also took five sacks, as the offensive line could not hold up their end of things, when he looked to extend plays. WR Charles Johnson may build on his 2014 season and start to emerge as a more consistent target, but it didn't happen in Week 1 and considering he only had three games last season with over 60 yards, I'm not willing to label him a threat just yet.

The focal point of the Vikings offense remains Peterson, who was held to just 3.1 YPC against the 49ers and saw just three passes thrown his way. I don't expect the Lions to produce similar results, but it's nice to see they held the Chargers to just 3.2 YPC in their season debut. Haloti Ngata will be key to clogging the interior and forcing Peterson off tackle. The Vikings would do well to feature play-action passing to open things up or utilize screen passes to get Peterson the ball in space. The lack of down field threats should limit big plays and keep the score close, even should the Lions struggle on offense. Vegas has this over/under set at 43 with the Vikings favored by 3, which puts this at about a 23-20 game. Facing the Vikings on the road, the Lions defense/special teams has an ownership of 49.5 percent at ESPN and 25 percent at Yahoo.

49ers

Holding the Vikings to just three points, Week 1's best defensive performance may well have been from the 49ers. They'll get a much different task this week though, as the Steelers aerial attack will look to spread them out. QB Ben Roethlisberger had a 9.2 YPA against the Patriots, as he peppered WR Antonio Brown and TE Heath Miller much of the night. A rebuilt roster, the 49ers looked just as stingy on defense as before, though they didn't see a playmaker of Browns' caliber. He's likely to create havoc and open things up for Miller and Markus Wheaton over the middle and down the field. The 49ers will really have to pressure Big Ben up the middle and test that offensive line that is still without center Maurkice Pouncey.

RB DeAngelo Williams, who is still filling in for the suspended Le'Veon Bell, didn't miss a beat in his season debut, as he ran for a whopping 6.0 YPC. It'll be interesting to see how he fairs against the 49ers, who allowed Adrian Peterson just 3.1 YPC last week. The Vikings offense is centered around Peterson, while the Steelers are much more balanced, so I expect Williams to still have a productive game. Given the Steelers' efficiency and explosiveness on offense, I understand if owners want to pass on the 49ers all together, but I also think too much has been made of their roster turnover and this unit won't fall apart completely with players like NaVorro Bowman still playing at a high level. Vegas has this over/under set at 45 with the Steelers favored by 5.5, which puts this at about a 25-20 game. Facing the Steelers on the road, the 49ers defense/special teams has an ownership of 18.2 percent at ESPN and 49 percent at Yahoo.

Bengals

Holding the Raiders scoreless until midway through the fourth quarter, the Bengals look better on paper than they likely are in reality. This week they'll get a legit test from the Chargers, who struggled to run the ball, but had no problems finding yards through the air, as QB Philip Rivers threw for over 400 yards with a 9.6 YPA. He also threw two interceptions and took two sacks, so it wasn't all positive for him. The Bengals must keep track of WR Keenan Allen, who saw 17 targets and resembled his rookie form, as he put on a show in his season debut. Rivers has alternatives though in Steve Johnson and TE Ladarius Green and pass catching back Danny Woodhead. The Bengals have the secondary to keep up though with Dre Kirkpatrick, Leon Hall, and Adam Jones, so this should be a fun matchup to watch.

Rookie RB Melvin Gordon gained 3.6 YPC and never really got going against the Lions. DT Geno Atkins had a sack and forced fumbled against the Raiders and showed much of his pre-ACL tear form. He'll be counted on to clog the middle and keep Gordon under wraps. The aforementioned Woodhead is more of a pass catching threat than from out of the backfield, though he saw almost as many carries (12) as Gordon (14). Again, it's tough to tell what's real and what's not, after dismantling the woeful Raiders, but the Bengals have the pieces in place to slow the Chargers and keep the chunk yardage plays to a minimum. Vegas has this over/under set at 45.5 with the Bengals favored by 3, which puts this at about a 24-21 game. Facing the Chargers at home, the Bengals defense/special teams has an ownership of 27.0 percent at ESPN and 14 percent at Yahoo.

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