As Week 6 of the NFL season looms, things must be getting tight in your fantasy league. We are approaching the midway point of the fantasy football season. Many of us are fighting tooth and nail for a precious playoff berth. Every week becomes critical at this point of the season. While you may feel the need to look ahead, keeping your one-week goal in mind is paramount.

Today’s “Reality of Fantasy” will look at this week’s best and worst matchups, plus streaming options for defense. First, let’s get the bye weeks out of the way so we can get a better feel for how to approach this week. Minnesota and Tampa Bay are both on a bye so this is a decidedly light bye week for fantasy purposes. Mike Evans from Tampa Bay and the Minnesota defense are the key players that are off this week, so plan your lineups accordingly.

With the top fantasy defense taking the week off, let’s dive into some streaming options on defense. There are a few worthwhile selections this week to fill the massive void left from the Minnesota defense, which is averaging 16.8 fantasy points per week. You may even be looking to give the Carolina defense a breather considering its struggles in the past couple weeks going up against a potent offense in New Orleans. So here are a few options to look at this week:

• Tennessee Titans – This is a popular streaming option among fantasy experts this week, and I couldn’t agree more with the pick. The Titans get a beautiful matchup against the Browns. Cleveland can’t seem to keep any of its quarterbacks healthy, which bodes well for Tennessee this week. Tennessee has actually been a pretty tough defensive group this season but have flown under the radar in the league. There is a bit of risk involved though as the Titans have only scored double-digit fantasy points once this season, and it was last week against Miami. That being said, the matchup is just too enticing to ignore. Tennessee is only owned in 3.4% of leagues on ESPN and should be worth a look.
• Pittsburgh Steelers – This is a bit of a risky move here, but the Steelers defense draws a good matchup against the struggling Miami offense. Outside of the New England game, opposing defenses are averaging around ten fantasy points against Miami. Now you may ask, where is the risk? Well, Pittsburgh has not scored double-digits this season. This is due in large part to teams having to play a lot of catch-up in garbage time. I due think there are enough positives to roll the dice here for one week.

Like I said earlier, it’s a light bye week, but these are the type of things you have to get used to looking at week to week. Getting into a good habit of identifying viable streaming options will prepare you for the dreaded Week 8 and 9 byes (12 total teams on byes those weeks). Since all of the elite options at quarterback are playing this week, there should be no need for streaming there this week.

Now let’s take a peek at the best and worst matchups of the week. There may even be a surprise or two in here this week.

Best Matchup: Jacksonville vs. Chicago

I’ve gotten into a habit of only highlighting individual team matchups, but this is a game where I think that both teams will be able to put up points. Neither team really plays a lot of defense and I can see both teams trying to throw the ball frequently. Blake Bortles and Allen Robinson are due for an offensive explosion at some point this year. Coming off of a bye week, I think they can jump out early on Chicago and turn this game into a shootout.

Worst Matchup: San Diego (vs. Denver)

San Diego is a great offense for fantasy football, but this week it’s time to send all of the Chargers to the bench. The Chargers don’t have the same versatility that Atlanta has on offense and won’t be able to create mismatches in the passing game. I see a Denver defense looking to make a statement after getting beat last week. A tough season for San Diego is about to get a whole lot worse.

Good Matchup: Buffalo (vs. San Francisco)

An under-the-radar pick here, but the entire 49ers defense looks different without the presence of former All-Pro linebacker Navarro Bowman. That will open up room for Lesean McCoy to run wild. The Buffalo defense got a wake up call early in the year and should play well against the Niners. I doubt the move to Colin Kaepernick will do much to quell the offensive woes in San Francisco. Expect the Bills to have the ball a ton in this game, which will be ample opportunity for them to put up points this week.

Bad Matchup: Oakland (vs. Kansas City)

Now you may be saying to yourself, “Get out of here Moon, you’re crazy.” Well, I might be but there is a lot here working against the Raiders (a team I’m loving this season by the way). Andy Reid-coached teams are virtually unbeatable coming off of a bye week (15-2 in his career). Plus, Oakland is a team that tends to struggle at home. Derek Carr and company have been fantastic this season, but I see a let-down in the making for the Raiders.

Other Good Matchups: New Orleans (vs. Carolina), New England (vs. Cincinnati), Pittsburgh (vs. Miami)

Other Bad Matchups: Atlanta (vs. Seattle), Detroit (vs. Los Angeles), NY Jets (vs. Arizona)

 Just a quick house keeping note, I’m pushing back the MLB Postseason round-up to Friday so I can wrap up all four Divisional Series and preview both the ALCS and NLCS. Be on the look out for “No Huddle” tomorrow where I’ll preview Thursday Night Football and make my picks for Week 6. Follow me on Facebook @thereal_jmooney and go like the Shooting the Moon page on Facebook.