Top Fantasy Football Streaming Defenses for Week 16

Defensive scoring in fantasy football depends more on weekly matchups than maybe any other position. There are very few true, every-week starting options out there, and all but the absolute worst defenses can be viable if they're in the right matchup.

Every week there are plenty of defenses worth starting that are available on the waiver wire, and it pays to be vigilant in keeping up with the best weekly plays at the position.

With that said, here are the top three fantasy football streaming defenses for Week 16, all of which are available in at least 50 percent of Yahoo! Fantasy Football leagues.

3. Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles

Jaylon Smith celebrates a play against the Giants. / Sarah Stier/Getty Images

The Dallas Cowboys pass-rushing unit checks in among the top 12 in the NFL, recording a pressure (sack, QB knockdown or hurry) on 24.7 percent of drop backs. Their recent fantasy production hasn't been anything to write home about, but with at least two sacks in each of the last five games (averaging 2.6 and 5.8 QB hits per game in that stretch), the upside is clearly still there.

2. Washington Redskins vs New York Giants

Matt Ionnaddis and Jonathan Allen celebrate after a play. / Scott Taetsch/Getty Images

For all of the team's struggles this year, the Washington Redskins' pass rush has been terrific. Their 30.9 percent pressure rate is tops in the NFL, they just haven't had a ton of opportunities to work with, as opponents are typically playing with a lead (eighth-fewest pass attempts against). As 2.5-point home favorites on FanDuel Sportsbook, game flow isn't going to hold the pass rush back as much as we're used to seeing. The last time they won a game, Washington racked up seven sacks, scoring 11 fantasy points. They've averaged 10.5 per game over the last four and aren't likely to slow down much against the Giants.

1. Atlanta Falcons vs Jacksonville Jaguars

Grady Jarrett celebrates against the Seahawks. / Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

The biggest favorites on this list (and tied as the third-biggest of the week), the Atlanta Falcons are giving seven points at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Football Outsiders has the Jags' offense giving up the ninth-worst adjusted sack rate in the league, which should give a nice boost for the for the usually-poor Atlanta pass rush. The Falcons' D has at least 10 fantasy points in four of the last six weeks, averaging 10.3 per game since Week 10. Jacksonville has surrendered top-10 fantasy scoring to opposing defenses this year, and the Falcons D sits fifth at the position in our Week 16 fantasy football rankings.

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Jason Schandl is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Jason Schandl also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Jaymun. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.