Fantasy Football: 3 Defensive Streaming Options for Week 2

Every point matters when it comes to winning in season-long fantasy football, meaning you can't afford to leave points on the table. We don't spend top-notch draft capital on D/STs in our fantasy football drafts, but 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 available in most leagues.

Fantasy Football Defenses to Stream for Week 2

All projections via numberFire.

Last week's streamers fared fairly well. The Green Bay D/ST finished fourth among all D/STs in fantasy with 15 fantasy points, while the Falcons' D/ST and the Jags' D/ST finished with 12 and 11 fantasy points, respectively. Not bad for the first week!

Cleveland Browns

Matchup: at Pittsburgh Steelers

numberFire Projection: 7.69 (D/ST9)

Our first defensive streamer of the week is the Cleveland D/ST, who are fresh off of a near-shutout of the Cincinnati Bengals. The Browns' defense completely denied what was one of the best offenses in the league just a season ago, allowing just 3 points while keeping Joe Burrow to a paltry 83 passing yards. The downpouring weather likely played a factor, but it takes more than a little bad weather to shut down an elite offense like Cincinnati's.

The Browns' pass rush only got home twice but did manage to generate a ton of pressure on Burrow on the opener, notching 10 quarterback knockdowns despite the two sacks. Myles Garrett and new teammate Za'Darius Smith will be a fearsome duo on the edge for Cleveland this year and could feast in their Week 2 matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Steelers got destroyed in their Week 1 game against the San Francisco 49ers, scoring their only points on a two-minute drill to end the first half when they were already down by multiple scores. Quarterback Kenny Pickett, who recorded a perfect passer rating in the preseason, had an especially brutal outing, taking five sacks in the season opener. He was under constant pressure behind an offensive line that graded out dead last in PFF's Week 1 pass protection grades -- an impressive feat in a week where the Dallas Cowboys dismantled the New York Giants.

numberFire's model projects the Browns to allow the sixth-fewest points (19.0) of any defense in the league in Week 2, giving them a strong floor for fantasy purposes. Their pass rush is looking fierce and could generate a handful of sacks against a Steelers offensive line that had no answers for the 49ers in Week 1.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Matchup: vs. Chicago Bears

numberFire Projection: 8.97 (D/ST2)

Perhaps the funniest Week 1 outcome was the Post-Tom-Brady Tampa Bay Buccaneers upsetting the 2022 NFC North Champion Minnesota Vikings in overtime. The Tampa Bay D/ST played strong football against the Vikings, limiting their potent offense to just 17 points in the outing.

While the offense is in a transitional phase after losing the greatest quarterback of all time, the Bucs' defense still has a number of the players that helped them win a Super Bowl just three seasons ago. With defensive-minded head coach Todd Bowles leading the team, Tampa Bay generated three turnovers in Week 1 and notched their first two sacks of the year on Kirk Cousins.

They'll get a far friendlier opponent in Week 2 as they prepare to take on the Chicago Bears, whom we targeted with the Packers' D in Week 1. Bears quarterback Justin Fields still takes too many sacks, absorbing 4 for a net loss of 27 yards in the opener. The team's offensive line actually held up surprisingly well given their already-concerning injuries, but could crumble against the Bucs' Vita Vea- and Shaq Barrett-led front. Fields also threw an interception while trying to make up for a three-score deficit in the fourth quarter and committed a fumble on one of his sacks -- the kinds of plays we like to see when thinking about D/ST scoring.

numberFire's model has the Bucs D/ST scoring the second-most points among D/STs in Week 2, trailing only the dominant Dallas Cowboys with their matchup against the Aaron Rodgers-less New York Jets. They're still available in many leagues but could be a hot target on waiver wires due to their strong matchup.

New York Giants

Matchup: at Arizona Cardinals

numberFire Projection: 8.82 (D/ST3)

Sunday night was one of the worst offensive showings we've seen in recent memory for the New York Giants, who did not score a point against the Dallas Cowboys in a 40-0 shutout. As bleak as the offense looked on Sunday night, though, the Giants' defense had a quietly solid first outing of the year.

In spite of frequently dealing with terrible field position due to constant turnovers and three-and-outs from their offense, the Giants' defense actually only allowed the Cowboys to score 27 points -- the Cowboys scored touchdowns on a blocked field goal attempt and on an interception return to bring the final score up to 40-0. Only giving up 27 points despite the Cowboys having an average starting field position at their own 38.2 yard line (the second-best in the league) is kind of a feat in itself.

Their matchup this week should be far less challenging than their Week 1 tilt. The Arizona Cardinals entered the season with the longest Super Bowl Odds by far of any team in the league and are currently sitting at +55000 odds. They didn't do anything to change critics' minds in Week 1 after losing to a Washington Commanders team that also doesn't look too good.

The Cardinals are still expected to have journeyman quarterback Joshua Dobbs, who took three sacks and fumbled three times, under center in Week 2. Arizona's passing offense ranked fourth-worst in numberFire's adjusted metrics in Week 1, putting up just 132 yards against a middling Washington defense. The three teams that fared worse in that regard -- the Giants, Steelers, and Bengals -- all played against potentially elite defenses in Week 1, so it wouldn't be a stretch to consider Arizona's Week 1 performance the worst of the bunch in that context.

It is particularly telling that the Giants are 6-point favorites over the Cardinals according to the FanDuel Sportsbook's NFL odds for Week 2 even after their shutout loss in Week 2. Their poor Week 1 outing should mean the Giants D/ST will stay on waiver wires late into the week as well, meaning you can scoop them up closer to Sunday's action while you manage your season-long rosters.

Interested in playing NFL DFS? Head over to FanDuel’s daily fantasy football lobby to see all the offerings for this week's slates.

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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.