Streaming Defenses: Week 2 Fantasy Options for Team Defenses

Week 1 didn't go as planned for D/ST streaming recommendations, with only two of the five defenses putting up strong fantasy scores even though none allowed more than 20 real-life points. The Saints and Seahawks beat up on young QBs, as expected, but the Bengals and Falcons ended up falling behind and racing a lot of run plays in low-volume, slow-paced games without many chances to pile up sacks or interceptions. The Bucs, meanwhile, took care of business, only it didn't do us much good for fantasy because Jayden Daniels avoided turnovers and led a TD drive in garbage time.

The best fantasy total from a D/ST spot outside the Top 5, with Chicago putting up 24 points in Yahoo! standard scoring behind a pair of TDs. The Bears now head to Houston for a much tougher test, and many of the best matchups this week belong to defenses like Baltimore, Pittsburgh and New York (Jets) that are owned in the vast majority of fantasy leagues. There are still some good streaming options, per usual, but it does look like a thinner field than at this time last week.

Note: These recommendations are limited to team defenses that are rostered on less than 60 percent of teams on Yahoo or 45 percent on ESPN. Any references to fantasy points are based on Yahoo standard scoring, which doesn't include yards allowed.

Top Streaming Options for Week 2

1. Los Angeles Chargers (at CAR)

• 13% Yahoo, 11% ESPN
• Team implied total: 22.75      Opponent implied total: 16.25
• Upcoming Ranks (Projected) — Week 3: 11th (at PIT),  Week 4: 27th (vs. KC)

The Chargers are widely available in fantasy leagues and figure to be the most added D/ST of the week, heading to Carolina after a four-sack, three-turnover performance against Las Vegas. The only negative is an early, east-coast kickoff on the road after a cross-country flight, but that's a price most teams are happy to pay when the reward is a matchup with Bryce Young, who somehow looked worse in his first game under coach Dave Canales than he did during his rookie season.  

2. Houston Texans (vs. CHI)

• 53% Yahoo, 15% ESPN
• Team implied total: 26.0     Opponent implied total: 19.5
• Upcoming Ranks (Projected) — Week 3: 10th (at MIN),  Week 4: 13th (vs. JAX)

Caleb Williams looked the part of a rookie in his first career start, and the Bears offense generally looked disjointed under offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, whose work in Seattle the past three years wasn't exactly stellar. Williams will be fine long term, but he's unlikely to get much help from his playcaller and may be without fellow rookie Rome Odunze (MCL) for a few weeks. The Bears likely will need to put the game on Williams' shoulder, considering the Texans' excellent run defense from last year carried over to Week 1 against Jonathan Taylor, who is far better than Bears lead back D'Andre Swift. Expect Williams to make a few mistakes even if he has more success moving the ball than he did this past Sunday against Tennessee.

3. Indianapolis Colts (vs. GB)

• 8% Yahoo, 4% ESPN
• Team implied total: 22.0     Opponent implied total: 18.5
• Upcoming Ranks (Projected) — Week 3: 13th (vs. CHI),  Week 4: 10th (vs. PIT)

The Colts are an unexpected addition here on account of Jordan Love's knee injury, now scheduled to face Malik Willis — who was traded for a seventh-round pick two weeks ago — instead of Green Bay's franchise quarterback. A 2022 third-round pick, Willis made three starts and attempted 66 passes in two years with the Titans, completing 53 percent of his throws for 5.3 YPA while tossing three interceptions and taking 14 sacks. He's the second- or third-fastest QB in the NFL, behind only Lamar Jackson and (maybe) Anthony Richardson, but when Willis got his chances in Tennessee he had more sack yards (79) than scramble yards (71). While Green Bay surely will try to keep the ball on the ground against a Colts defense that just got owned by Joe Mixon, there's ample potential for disaster if Willis is forced to shoulder a significant burden. 

4. Seattle Seahawks (at NE)

• 43% Yahoo, 56% ESPN
• Team implied total: 20.5     Opponent implied total: 17.5
• Upcoming Ranks (Projected) — Week 3: 19th (vs. MIA),  Week 4: 30th (at DET)

Seattle would be a couple spots higher if we strictly went on implied totals from betting lines, but I think there's some reality to what we saw from the Patriots last week in the sense that they'll be decent at avoiding turnovers even if they don't put up many points. They clearly want to lean on RB Rhamondre Stevenson, and for all of Jacoby Brissett's shortcomings his career interception rate (1.4 percent) is second best in NFL history. The Patriots won't take many chances unless they fall behind by multiple scores and have no other option (although in that case their lack of WR and OL talent likely would make things difficult on Brissett and could thus lead to some fireworks for Seattle's defense).

5. Jacksonville Jaguars (vs. CLE)

• 4% Yahoo, 32% ESPN
• Team implied total: 22.5     Opponent implied total: 19.0
• Upcoming Ranks (Projected) — Week 3: 28th (at BUF),  Week 4: 25th (at HOU)

It was an odd start to the season for Jacksonville's defense, with 46 percent of their yardage allowed (182 out of 400) coming on three big pass plays from Miami. The Jags surprisingly shut down Miami's running game apart from the penultimate drive and also stopped the Dolphins on a pair of fourth-down tries. It was a solid effort overall, albeit in a loss, while the Cleveland offense was flat-out miserable in a home game against the Cowboys. Losing TE David Njoku (ankle) doesn't help, and it's not clear when starting OTs Jedrick Wills and Jack Conklin will be ready to play after last year's season-ending knee surgeries (both missed Week 1). The Jaguars also suffered a major injury loss Week 1 with top corner Tyson Campbell pulling a hamstring, but they have the edge on paper this week against Cleveland's depleted, Deshaun Watson-led offense.

Week 2 Rankings

1. Ravens (vs. LV) 
2. Jets (at TEN)
3. Chargers (at CAR)
4. Steelers (at DEN)
5. 49ers (at MIN)
6. Cowboys (vs. NO)
7. Texans (vs. CHI)
8. Colts (at GB)
9. Seahawks (at NE)
10. Jaguars (vs. CLE)
11. Commanders (vs. NYG)
12. Packers (vs. IND)
13. Broncos (vs. PIT)
14. Eagles (vs. ATL)
15. Giants (at WAS) 
16. Browns (at JAX)
17. Chiefs (vs. CIN)
18. Titans (vs. NYJ)
19. Patriots (vs. SEA)
20. Lions (vs. TB)

Looking Ahead to Week 3

1. Browns (vs. NYG)
2. Jets (vs. NE)
3. Raiders (vs. CAR)
4. Bengals (vs. WAS)
5. Buccaneers (vs. DEN)
6. Packers (at TEN)
7. Titans (vs. GB)
8. Chiefs (at ATL)
9. Steelers (vs. LAC) 
10. Texans (at MIN)
11. Chargers (at PIT) 
12. Bills (vs. JAX)
13. Colts (vs. CHI)
14. Bears (at IND)
15. 49ers (at LAR)
16. Eagles (at NO)
17. Dolphins (at SEA)
18. Panthers (at LV)
19. Seahawks (vs. MIA)
20. Saints (vs. PHI)

Rest-of-Season Rankings

One quick note here: I don't necessarily move teams down/up in the rankings after a bad/good performance. The Jets are a perfect example this week, as their disappointing MNF showing is canceled out (at least in these rankings) by the benefit of getting a season-worst matchup out of the way. On the other end of that spectrum is a team like the Seahawks, whose defense played well in Week 1 but now has one fewer favorable matchup on the remaining schedule. 

1. New York Jets 
2. Dallas Cowboys
3. Baltimore Ravens 
4. San Francisco 49ers
5. Kansas City Chiefs
6. Cleveland Browns 
7. Pittsburgh Steelers
8. Miami Dolphins
9. Detroit Lions
10. Houston Texans
11. Buffalo Bills 
12. Chicago Bears
13. Seattle Seahawks 
14. New Orleans Saints
15. Philadelphia Eagles
16. Green Bay Packers
17. Las Vegas Raiders
18. Jacksonville Jaguars
19. Los Angeles Chargers
20. Tennessee Titans