Streaming Defenses: Week 3 Fantasy Options for Team Defenses

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Published on September 17, 2024

There's a clear Top 3 in my D/ST rankings this week, with the Browns, Jets and Buccaneers playing home games against some of the league's worst offenses. After that, the pool of strong options is much deeper than it looked a week ago, thanks to injuries taking a big chunk out of offenses that might otherwise be tough matchups (namely the Dolphins, Rams and Packers).

We even have a couple of streamers on the board that look like multi-week starters, with the Bengals and Raiders drawing highly favorable matchups both this week and next. In fact, the Raiders are a sneaky candidate to be 5-2 or 4-3 before they face the Chiefs in Week 8, having just upset the Ravens ahead of a five-game run against struggling offenses. The Raiders and Bengals don't quite top our streaming list for Week 3, but they may be the best additions if you're worried about finding strong plays for Weeks 4 and/or 5.

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 3

1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (vs. DEN)

6% Yahoo, 3% ESPN
Team implied total: 23.5 Opponent implied total: 16.5
Upcoming Ranks (Projected) — Week 4: 21st (vs. PHI), Week 5: 20th (at ATL)

Tampa Bay just turned in one of the more

Top Streaming Options for Week 3

1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (vs. DEN)

6% Yahoo, 3% ESPN
Team implied total: 23.5 Opponent implied total: 16.5
Upcoming Ranks (Projected) — Week 4: 21st (vs. PHI), Week 5: 20th (at ATL)

Tampa Bay just turned in one of the more surprising defensive performances of the young season, overcoming a slew of injuries in the secondary and giving up just 16 points in a win at Detroit. Next up is an infinitely better matchup, with the Buccaneers returning home to face a Broncos offense that allowed nine fantasy points to the Seattle D/ST in Week 1 and then 13 points to Pittsburgh in Week 2. The Bucs still have major injury concerns, including DT Vita Vea (MCL) and S Antoine Winfield (foot), but the impact of any absences should be outweighed by the home matchup against a struggling Bo Nix.

2. Seattle Seahawks (vs. MIA)

40% Yahoo, 53% ESPN
Team implied total: 23.0 Opponent implied total: 18.0
Upcoming Ranks (Projected) — Week 4: 29th (at DET), Week 5: 1st (vs. NYG)

The Seahawks unexpectedly land on our streaming list for a third straight week, after putting up nine fantasy points at home against Denver and six on the road in New England. A matchup with Tua Tagovailoa (concussion) has turned into one with Skylar Thompson instead, with the discussion surrounding Tua focusing on terms like 'retirement' and 'injured reserve' rather than any hint of focus on Week 3.

Thompson has a lot of help, but that was also the case in 2022 when his 150 pass attempts (including playoffs) yielded two TDs, five INTs, two lost fumbles, 10 sacks, a 52.0 completion rate and 5.03 YPA. He's probably one of the worst backups in the league, and his first start of 2024 will come in what's arguably the toughest road environment in the NFL, after the longest possible flight for a non-international game (it takes more than six hours to go from Miami to Seattle).

3. Las Vegas Raiders (vs. CAR)

9% Yahoo, 4% ESPN
Team implied total: 23.25 Opponent implied total: 17.75
Upcoming Ranks (Projected) — Week 4: 8th (vs. CLE), Week 5: 8th (at DEN)

Bryce Young's benching moves Las Vegas from the top of our streaming list to third place, as even a 36-year-old version of Andy Dalton can't possibly be as bad as the 2023 first overall pick. Dalton will have a decent offensive line in front of him to deal with Raiders DE Maxx Crosby and DT Christian Wilkins, but Carolina's group of "playmakers" may be the worst in the league, with Diontae Johnson the only guy among the bunch that could be considered an above-average starter (and even that's debatable). In other words, a home matchup with Carolina is still one of the best draws on the board.

4. Buffalo Bills (vs. JAX)

65% Yahoo, 15% ESPN
Team implied total: 25.5 Opponent implied total: 20.0
Upcoming Ranks (Projected) — Week 4: 23rd (at BAL), Week 5: 24th (at HOU)

I pretty much agree with the betting odds, which essentially split the difference between Jacksonville's woeful offensive performance to date and the solid group of players they have on that side of the ball. Blocking and coaching are the biggest problems, as was the case last season, and a trip to Buffalo isn't exactly what we'd call a get-right spot even if Trevor Lawrence is a strong candidate for positive regression in general.

The Bills got run over by the Cardinals at the beginning of their Week 1 matchup but then limited Kyler Murray and Co. to three points and 80 yards over the final five drives, which set the table for a 31-10, defensive-driven win at Miami four days later. With six sacks and four takeaways through two weeks, the Bills seem to be proceeding as usual despite losing a bunch of veteran defenders this offseason.

5. Cincinnati Bengals (vs. WAS)

20% Yahoo, 32% ESPN
Team implied total: 28.0 Opponent implied total: 20.5
Upcoming Ranks (Projected) — Week 4: 4th (at CAR), Week 5: 23rd (vs. BAL)

The Bengals surprisingly scored nine fantasy points at Kansas City this past Sunday after managing just two in a Week 1 home game against the Patriots. It'll be much less of a surprise if the Cincinnati defense shows well Week 3, playing at home against a Commanders offense that has a rookie QB behind a subpar offensive line. While they've done a decent job moving the ball, QB Jayden Daniels has taken sacks on seven of 70 dropbacks, the fifth-highest rate (10.0 percent) among starting QBs. He's completed 75.5 percent of passes for 7.7 yards per attempt, but it doesn't mean much in light of his league-low 4.6 aDOT and 37.7 percent on-target percentage (24th of 32). Daniels is still a mystery as a passer, with the only real signal so far being his high rates of sacks and scrambles.