Streaming Defenses: Picking a Week 7 Defense

This article is part of our Streaming Defenses series.

Redskins

When in doubt fade Jameis Winston. The rookie QB ranks 30th in passer rating (77.6) and 32nd in completion percentage (56.6), as he's still learning what it takes to make it in the NFL. Coming off a bye, he figures to be rested, but rest may not be enough to make up for a lack of experience. He has only two games with more than one TD pass and both games came with more than one turnover as well, as the more he's been asked to pass, the more he has been exposed. The Redskins pass defense has been middle of the road so far, ranking tied for 13th in YPA (6.9). The Bucs leader in catches and receiving yards is Vincent Jackson, but when you look at his game log, you notice has had one big game and four duds, as he's been inconsistent with his production. Fellow WR Mike Evans is finally healthy, but has had to contend with the raw Winston, so his numbers too have been uneven.

On the ground the Redskins can be had, as they're ranked 25th in YPC (4.6) and Bucs RB Doug Martin is on a pretty nice comeback tour, averaging 4.5 YPC. He's the most concerning weapon the Bucs have on offense and the Redskins will need to make it their focal point to shut him down as best they can. LB Ryan Kerrigan and DE Chris Baker really need to get after Martin and force long third downs, where Winston is more likely to try and extend plays, to his demise. Vegas has this over/under set at 43 with the Redskins favored by 3.5, which puts this at about a 23-20 game. Facing the Bucs at home, the Redskins defense/special teams has an ownership of 6.5 percent at ESPN and 7 percent at Yahoo.

Giants

Matt Cassel is still in the league? I had forgotten, since the last time we saw him was last season with the Vikings, when he was racking up a wretched 5.99 YPA, en route to another benching. He's now tasked with seeing if he can breath some sort of life into a passing game that Brandon Weeden put into a coma. He might get WR Dez Bryant back this week, which would be exciting to talk about, but likely nothing more than posturing, as he's still coming off a pretty serious foot injury. Instead Cassel will be slinging it around to Jason Witten, who in his 13th season is good for a handful of catches and nothing more, as his speed is gone. WR Terrance Williams has a couple TD catches, but little else, as he's seen spotty usage, as more of a deep threat than anything. The Giants rank 16th in YPA (7.0), but again, consider the opponent, when judging them here.

What should be really interesting is to see what the Cowboys do when they decide to run the ball, as they plan to "take the reins off" of newcomer Christine Michael. With very little usage while in Seattle, he should have fresh legs, but he'll be going up a Giants defense that is tied for fourth in YPC (3.6), so this might not be the best opponent for him to debut against. He's got to be better than Joseph Randle (3.9 YPC) and Darren McFadden (3.5 YPC) have done this year, considering they're all playing behind one of the better offensive lines in the league. Somehow these Cowboys/Giants games get interesting late, as we saw in Week 1, but that was with Tony Romo, Dez Bryant, and in Dallas, all of which are not going to be present in this one. Vegas has this over/under set at 45.5 with the Giants favored by 3.5, which puts this at about a 25-21 game. Facing the Cowboys at home, the Giants defense/special teams has an ownership of 24.3 percent at ESPN and 25 percent at Yahoo.

Vikings

Getting benched for Dan Orlvosky is life's way of waving smelling salts under your nose. QB Matthew Stafford must've woken up from this, as he shook off the previous benching to have his best game in quite a while. Not surprisingly, he took deep shots to WR Calvin Johnson, as the two hooked up for over 160 yards. But where has this been all season? The previous three games Stafford threw a combined two TDs and five picks and in this matchup, that's what you're betting on, inconsistency. Of course it doesn't hurt that the Vikings are ranked ninth in YPA (6.6) and Stafford ranks second in interceptions (nine). WR Golden Tate finally scored his first TD last week, but even that was questionable, as he lost control of the ball as he crossed the endzone. Still, he's been pretty disappointing this season with close to 50 yards per game. The real star of the passing game and offense has been RB Theo Riddick, who has 33 catches on the season.

The Lions might be best to just throw the ball on every play, as they're last in the league in YPC (3.4) and have no identity to their running game. Rookie Ameer Abdullah is averaging a meager 3.3 YPC and has battled some fumbling issues, while veteran Joique Bell is better off released from the team, as he has added just 1.1 YPC. Zach Zenner has looked decent, coming off a hot preseason, but he's now out for the season due to cracked ribs and a collapse lung, so there goes that. Using Theo Riddick as their every down back might be something the Lions are forced to do, which might not be so bad, if they just pass it every play. The Vikings rank 23rd in YPC (4.5), but again, who in this backfield is there to exploit that? Vegas has this over/under set at 44.5 with the Vikings favored by 2.5, which puts this at about a 24-21 game. Facing the Lions on the road, the Vikings defense/special teams has an ownership of 42.1 percent at ESPN and 32 percent at Yahoo.

Steelers

Fact: You can't spell "carsick and wretch" without Charcandrick West. And that's what this Chiefs offense feels like without Jamaal Charles, something that will make you carsick and want to wretch. QB Alex Smith can only do so much, when he won't challenge for yards vertically, as he ranks 17th in YPA (7.49). He has done a nice job limiting the turnovers, but at what cost, as he ranks second in the league in sacks taken (23). He'd do better to throw it away or dump it off, before the pressure gets to him, but that's not his game, especially not when his safety valve of Charles is gone. Still, I like what WR Jeremy Maclin and TE Travis Kelce offer in terms of size and speed, if only they were more consistently targeted. Maclin is coming off a concussion and if not able to play in this game, would really be a reason to ride with the Steelers, who are below average against the pass, ranking 22nd in YPA (7.3).

The problems for the Chiefs though are when they decide to run the ball, as the aforementioned West only averaged 3.7 YPC against the Vikings in what was to be his grand debut as the starter. Backup Knile Davis didn't do much better with 2.6 YPC. The Steelers are an average run defense, ranking 11th in YPC (3.7), but should excel in this matchup with no real weapon coming of the backfield to fear. Overall the Chiefs have been competitive in all of their games this season and yet they're 1-5 with a lone win over the Texans. If the Steelers can get even average QB play from Landry Jones, they might be playing with the lead for most of this one and be able to really make the Chiefs one dimensional. Vegas has this over/under set at OFF due Big Ben possibly playing with the Steelers favored by 2. Facing the Chiefs on the road, the Steelers defense/special teams has an ownership of 12.2 percent at ESPN and 21 percent at Yahoo.

Buccaneers

Kirk Cousins, you stink. The fourth year QB ranks 33rd in YPA (6.23) and has failed to throw more than one TD in any game this season. I guess it shouldn't be all that surprising, when he has options like Pierre Garcon, yet didn't target him at all in the second half of a game where they trailed by multiple possessions. WR DeSean Jackson (hamstring) is unlikely to suit up yet again, as he had a setback in practice, so there's that. TE Jordan Reed has been fairly consistent, but he's unlikely to stretch the field. The Bucs are 11th in YPA (6.8) and coming off a bye, so this should be a decent matchup for them.

The three-headed trio of Alfred Morris, Matt Jones, and Chris Thompson haven't done much this season, despite a few flashes here and there from Jones and Thompson, both of which have been banged up of late. The Bucs rank 14th in YPC (3.9) and again are coming off a bye, so they really have no excuse not to be fresh and ready for this game. My biggest concern is QB Jameis Winston shows his inexperience and has so many turnovers that the Bucs are often stuck in bad field position defensively, as they're asked to carry the load for a wobbly offense of their own. Vegas has this over/under set at 43 with the Redskins favored by 3.5, which puts this at about a 23-20 game. Facing the Redskins on the road, the Bucs defense/special teams has an ownership of 3.9 percent at ESPN and 2 percent at Yahoo.

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