Fantasy Football Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em: Week 9 Predictions

Start: Cowboys DST vs. Titans

Sit: Chargers DST at Seahawks

The Cowboys are coming off a bye making them widely available in most leagues. Dallas takes on a Titans offense who put up the following point totals over the last three games: 19, 0 and 12. The Titans offense has a lot of holes and takes on the Cowboys on the road in a Monday Night Football matchup.

Dallas' defense has quietly been one of the better units in the league. The Cowboys are giving up the second-fewest amount of points in the NFL at 17.6 per game. The Titans are scoring the third fewest points in the league at 15.1. All this makes the Cowboys a dream DST stream this week.

The Cowboys defense could get a bit of reinforcement with the return of Sean Lee. The Dallas linebacker hopes to play on Monday and spoke about his status heading into their bye week.

“I’m past the treatment phase, which is nice,” Lee said per DallasCowboys.com. “I’m practicing normally, which is also nice. I’m trying to build some momentum and some continuity week to week. I need to be out there practicing and playing, so hopefully I can do that down the stretch here and for the rest of the year.”

Dallas has only allowed an opponent to score more than 20 points once this season. The Cowboys DST has a good chance to be a top 10 fantasy defense this week. The Cowboys defense received a big boost with the play of linebacker Jaylon Smith. He spoke about how Lee is still the center of the defensive unit, but he still considers himself a leader.

“It’s a responsibility I’m ready for," Smith told the Star-Telegram. "I’ve learned so much from Sean. He’s still the leader of the defense but when he’s not able to play or whenever he decides to retire in the next four years, it’s going to be my defense. I’m ready for it.”

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The Chargers Defense Is a Sit Heading into Seattle

With the Seattle offense starting to find their footing, I recommend passing on the Chargers DST for Week 9. Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll credits running back Chris Carson for part of the offensive resurgence.

“Chris has got a big style," Carroll explained to Seattle PI. "He can run in traffic. He looks good in the open field. He has a real aggressive nature to him. … He’ll attack guys, which is part of the run style I always really like. … But then (he) also makes (opponents) miss. Chris does all of that. He’s got a real good balance about him. He’s got real good lateral movement when he’s making his choices and you’ll see him just bring it together and go tear somebody up when he gets the chance too. Historically, the really good running backs always have a knack for getting out of trouble and making something out of nothing. … They keep you from those second-and-11s. You make a second-and-8 out of a play and it’s a big difference in how you approach it. He seems to have a good knack for that.”

The Seahawks historically thrive at home, and I think there are much better DST streaming options this week than the Chargers.

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