ClutchPoints
Week 9 of the NFL and Fantasy Football season is already here before we knew it and fantasy managers are prepping for another wild week of action inside the league. While Week 8 came with its fair share of upsets, injuries, and memorable moments, fans will have to turn the page and look ahead towards Week 9. Whether you’ve stuck with a D/ST all season or opt towards streaming week-t0-week, having consistency at the position could mean your fantasy matchup on any given week.
Week 8 saw defenses like the Atlanta Falcons take a step back by allowing 34 points to the Miami Dolphins and the Cleveland Browns allowing 32 points to the New England Patriots. Other defenses like the Houston Texans stepped up big against the 49ers and were the main focal point in their victory.
Aside from the top-ranked units, we’ll be taking a look at which defenses you can confidently start ahead of Week 9 and which we’re deciding to leave on the bench.
Week 9 BYE: Cleveland Browns, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
This Week’s Top D/ST Starts:
Detroit Lions D/ST (vs. MIN)
This should be an obvious pick as the Detroit Lions land just outside our top-5 starts of the week at No. 6. They’ll face a divisional test as the Minnesota Vikings come to town, but the Lions have owned this matchup with a 9-1 record in their last 10 games against Minnesota. In each of the Lions’ five wins this season, they’ve managed to hold opponents to 30 or fewer points.
They currently rank seventh among other defenses in fantasy scoring this season, notching their second-highest point total (13.0) of the season last week against Tampa Bay. The Vikings’ don’t have half the offensive power of the Buccaneers, so this Lions’ defense should be in for another favorable matchup in a game they should win. Newly-minted defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard has this unit firing on all cylinders, so expect another double-digit performance in this one.
New England Patriots D/ST (vs. ATL)
The New England Patriots D/ST currently ranks No. 1 overall on ESPN formats and although they draw a tougher matchup against the Atlanta Falcons, this defense has shown an ability to stifle key parts of teams’ offenses, most recently the running game of the Quinshon Judkins and the Cleveland Browns in Week 8. Over the last three weeks, the Patriots have totaled 38.0 total fantasy points for the most during that stretch of games.
It’s worth noting that the Miami Dolphins’ defense held Falcons’ RB Bijan Robinson to just 25 rushing yards and a fumble, so the Patriots can certainly take a page out of Miami’s book and contain Robinson the same way. With continued questions at the quarterback position for Atlanta,...
