Welcome back to the defensive rankings! The best defenses to stream in week 2 of the NFL season for fantasy football.
Last Week
Last week was an excellent week for our selections. Theo touted three defenses that finished with 10 or more fantasy points (Minnesota, Chicago, and New Orleans). Now that we have actionable information, we can provide even sharper analysis to help your streaming needs.
I’ll provide you with four options, plus a streamer for you “not-in-my-league” readers.
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Note: All these streamers are available in 60% or more of Yahoo Leagues. The Chargers are at 65%, but if they are available in your league, they would be the top streamer this week.
Jacksonville Jaguars (12%) vs. Cleveland Browns
The Browns might be bad. Horrendous. Reaching levels of offensive incompetence not yet witnessed before. And the Jaguars get to face them after giving up only 20 points to the high-powered Miami offense. Deshaun Watson was sacked six(!) times with both tackles missing Week 1.
Josh Allen-Hines and Arik Armstead are talented enough to keep the pressure on against a weakened offensive line. Last week, the Browns averaged 3.3 yards per play, finishing with a 13% conversion rate on third down. The Jags are a solid play this weekend. They are on top of the defensive rankings when it comes to defensive streamers.
Indianapolis Colts (8%) vs. Green Bay Packers
At the time of this writing, it appears that Malik Willis will be starting for the Packers. Here are the combined stats from his three full games he played in 2022:
25 completions on 49 attempts, 51% completion percentage, zero passing touchdowns, three interceptions, 10 sacks, 95 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown.
I do not anticipate a brand new, vastly improved Willis. Even with the Colts down starting cornerback Julius Brents, they get the best matchup against Willis. If Jordan Love is able to play, I do not have as much confidence in them. Keep an eye on the injury reports over the weekend before blindly plugging them in your lineup. If Love is out, the Colts are my favorite defensive streamer and would be on top of these defensive rankings.
Houston Texans (53%) vs Chicago Bears
The Bears won Sunday, but it was historically one of the ugliest wins ever. The new look Bears offense struggled mightily Sunday against the Titans. In fact, the Bears offense combined for only 148 yards, averaging less than 15 yards per drive. Caleb Williams did not look comfortable. The rushing game was inconsistent. Better days should be ahead for the Bears, but not this Sunday.
The Texans did an admirable job against the Colts last week, containing Jonathan Taylor to 48 total yards. Aside from Anthony Richardson making two insane touchdown throws, they put out a strong defensive performance. Williams isn’t at Richardson’s talent level yet.
Seattle Seahawks (38%) vs. New England Patriots
After one game into the Mike Macdonald era in Seattle, it’s looking good for the defensive guru. Seattle limited the Broncos offense to 138 yards passing along with forcing two interceptions Sunday. Per Next Gen Stats, the Seahawks generated pressure on 44.9-percent of drop backs in Week 1. The Bengals burned many fantasy managers in Week 1 against the Patriots. The Patriots have no desire to light up the scoreboard. They want games to finish 17-13, 14-10, etc. If Seattle can get to the quarterback, they will finish as a top 10 defense.
The “Not-in-my-league” option
This is only for those most desperate. I would recommend all four defenses listed above before using these two options.
New England (5%) vs Seattle Seahawks
I mentioned this above, but it bears repeating. The Patriots want ugly, nasty games. Low scoring, no big plays, grinding the ball on offense.
New England defensively looked strong against Joe Burrow and the Bengals. They could match up well against Seattle who could be without offensive tackle George Fant.
Week 3 Options to Stash
-Las Vegas Raiders (6%) vs. Carolina Panthers
-Tennessee Titans (1%) vs. Green Bay Packers
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