Fantasy Football Defensive Matchup Rankings for Week 3

There aren't a ton of players in fantasy football that are considered "must-start" options each and every week. Fantasy owners are often faced with tough decisions on who to start and, more often than not, a player's matchup is going to be one of the deciding factors.

With that being said, here is how all 32 teams stack up as fantasy football matchups in Week 3 of the 2019 NFL season. If you have players on a team ranked in the top-5 on this list, you likely want to start them this week, but if your options rank 20 or lower, you might want to reconsider.

32. Washington Redskins vs Chicago Bears

31. New York Jets @ New England Patriots

No team has allowed fewer yards or points this season than the New England Patriots. They haven't exactly been tested by a good offense though, and their string of soft matchups continues with Luke Falk starting at QB for the New York Jets in Week 3.

30. Kansas City Chiefs vs Baltimore Ravens

29. Houston Texans @ Los Angeles Chargers

28. Los Angeles Chargers vs Houston Texans

27. Cincinnati Bengals @ Buffalo Bills

26. Miami Dolphins @ Dallas Cowboys

25. Los Angeles Rams @ Cleveland Browns

24. Jacksonville Jaguars vs Tennessee Titans

The Tennessee Titans' defense got off to a hot start to the year by holding the Cleveland Browns to 13 points in Week 1. And while they didn't perform quite as well in Week 2 (19 points to the Indianapolis Colts), the results were still encouraging. They've been beatable on the ground, giving up 5.0 yards per carry, but they've allowed the league's second fewest passing yards while limiting opponents to the third fewest net yards per pass attempt. Jaguars players could be in for a less-than-stellar fantasy output on "Thursday Night Football."

23. Tennessee Titans @ Jacksonville Jaguars

22. Green Bay Packers vs Denver Broncos

21. Denver Broncos @ Green Bay Packers

20. Cleveland Browns vs Los Angeles Rams

19. Atlanta Falcons @ Indianapolis Colts

18. Pittsburgh Steelers @ San Francisco 49ers

After a shaky 2018 season, the San Francisco 49ers' defense has shown some real improvement to open 2019, and they rank second in Football Outsiders' defensive DVOA rankings. They're one of only eight teams holding their opponents to less than 5.0 yards per play, and they're giving up bottom-10 fantasy production to both QBs and RBs. The Mason Rudolph-led Pittsburgh Steelers' offense is not likely to find their rhythm this week.

17. New Orleans Saints @ Seattle Seahawks

16. Oakland Raiders @ Minnesota Vikings

15. New England Patriots vs New York Jets

14. San Francisco 49ers vs Pittsburgh Steelers

13. Indianapolis Colts vs Atlanta Falcons

12. Philadelphia Eagles vs Detroit Lions

11. Seattle Seahawks vs New Orleans Saints

10. Detroit Lions @ Philadelphia Eagles

9. Arizona Cardinals vs Carolina Panthers

8. Buffalo Bills vs Cincinnati Bengals

7. New York Giants @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers

6. Baltimore Ravens @ Kansas City Chiefs

5. Carolina Panthers @ Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals' combination of poor defense and a fast-paced offense makes this matchup a fantasy gold mine. They've allowed two of the seven highest single-game fantasy scores to QBs so far this season, and even with Cam Newton likely out, Kyle Allen and the Carolina Panthers' offense should still be able to produce in this spot.

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs New York Giants

3. Minnesota Vikings vs Oakland Raiders

2. Chicago Bears @ Washington Redskins

1. Dallas Cowboys vs Miami Dolphins

The 102 points the Miami Dolphins have allowed to open the year is 13 more than any other team has allowed across the first two weeks of any season since 2000. They have allowed top-10 fantasy production to opponents at QB (most), RB (second most), WR (seventh most), TE (second most) and even kicker (ninth most), and this looks like it's going to be a matchup to exploit all season.

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Jason Schandl is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Jason Schandl also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Jaymun. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.