Every point matters when it comes to winning in season-long fantasy football, meaning you can't afford to leave points on the table. While we don't spend top-notch draft capital on D/STs in our fantasy football drafts, ignoring them during the season can cost you dearly.

Streaming defenses throughout the year is a great way to ensure you get the most out of your D/ST slot. Even the best defenses draw tough weekly matchups, and even the worst defenses are capable of strong fantasy outings in the right situations.

This article is here to help you parse through all of those situations and to present you with three streamers that are available in most leagues.

All NFL projections via our numbers at FanDuel Research, and NFL odds references are to FanDuel Sportsbook.

Fantasy Football D/ST to Stream for Week 10

New York Giants

Matchup: at Panthers

Week 10 doesn't provide the most promising group of streamer D/STs, but we do have a few options that could produce solid fantasy point totals.

Starting with our top option, the New York Giants face the Carolina Panthers. The Giants are allowing 22.4 points per game (15th-fewest) and 334.1 yards per contest (18th-fewest) -- neither mark is alarming. In schedule-adjusted rankings before Week 9, the Giants carried the 14th-best adjusted defense and 11th-best adjusted pass defense.

This defense is also elevated by Pro Football Focus' eighth-best pass rushing grade while logging the highest sack rate in the league. New York's D/ST has produced two top-13 weekly finishes over its last four games.

Most of this play has to do with the opponent for Week 10; the Panthers average the fourth-fewest PPG and third-fewest yards per contest. Plus, Carolina gives up the fourth-most turnovers per game. Since Week 5, four of the Panthers' five opponents finished among the top 16 D/ST weekly finishes. Three of those defenses also were in the top 10.

Defenses have enjoyed consistent success against the league's second-worst adjusted offense. Carolina carries PFF's ninth-best pass blocking grade, though -- which could bring the Giants' sack numbers down. New York also has the 5th-worst adjusted run defense while the Panthers total the 16th-most yards per rushing attempt (4.4).

Still, New York has a good shot of finishing among the top half of D/STs in Week 10. This unit is also widely available with a 6% roster percentage.

Atlanta Falcons

Matchup: at Saints

Our second-best streaming option is another underwhelming unit with a favorable matchup. The Atlanta Falcons' D/ST ranks 24th in fantasy points and has only two top-10 weekly finishes on the season.

Atlanta gets to face the New Orleans Saints, though. New Orleans has dealt with a ton of injuries, logging only 13.3 PPG over its last three games. Even with Derek Carr returning in Week 9, the horizon isn't looking much brighter.

Carr has logged only -0.04 expected points added per drop back (EPA/db) since Week 3, per NFL Next Gen Stats. Paired with the season-long absence of Rashid Shaheed (knee), Chris Olave is in danger of missing more time due to a concussion. Coach Dennis Allen was fired following Week 9's loss to the Panthers. The Saints already touted the 10th-worst adjusted offense and 9th-worst adjusted pass offense prior to Week 9. Everything's doom and gloom in The Big Easy.

The Falcons' D/ST hasn't had much success, but its best performance of the season came in Week 4 against New Orleans (17.0 fantasy points).

Atlanta is in the top half of takeaways per game and is averaging 1.3 over its previous four games. There's an angle for the Falcons' D/ST to perform against a declining franchise. Similar to the Giants, this is a unit that should be available with a 9% roster rate.

Detroit Lions

Matchup: at Texans

If available, the Detroit Lions' D/ST would be a solid play in Week 10. But half the trick here is if Detroit is on the waiver wire in your league (47% roster rate). Following a matchup against the Green Bay Packers, Detroit's unit is slightly more available. As the eighth-best adjusted defense before Week 9, the Lions are consistent producers.

This unit is currently tied for the fifth-most points per game (9.4) and is averaging 12.3 fantasy points per contest over the last four games. Detroit led all D/STs in fantasy points in two of the four weeks, as well.

With the 11th-best adjusted pass offense led by C.J. Stroud, the Houston Texans cause some hesitance. However, this passing game isn't in a great spot as Stefon Diggs (knee) is out for the season while Nico Collins (hamstring) hasn't played since Week 5. Collins is trending toward returning in Week 10, but the Lions' defense could still dominate with the NFL's third-best adjusted pass defense.

Detroit is averaging 2.8 takeaways per game over its last four games and totals the third-most takeaways per game (2.0). The biggest worry will probably be stopping Joe Mixon, who is logging 4.8 yards per carry. The Lions have the 12th-worst adjusted run defense and just allowed 6.0 yards per rushing attempt in Week 9.

This is still a unit worth starting in a tight pinch considering Detroit's nose for the ball. Plus, the Texans' recent struggles and injuries makes this an encouraging matchup.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.