Best Fantasy Football D/ST Streaming Options for Week 2: Chargers, Colts, Texans, Jaguars
Ted takes a look at some widely available defenses that could help your fantasy football team in Week 2.
Week 1 of the NFL season is in the books, and it was ugly. Teams combined to throw fewer passing touchdowns than in any of the last six years, and we saw a whole lot of truly putrid offensive performances. In most cases, that's bad for fantasy football ... but not when we're streaming defenses. Heading into Week 2, there are multiple teams that look like they will be great to target every single week. Let's take a look at who is lucky enough to face them this week:
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Week 2 Fantasy Football Defense Streaming Options
Los Angeles Chargers (12.4% Rostered) @ Carolina Panthers
In 2023, the Panthers averaged 13.9 points and 265.3 yards per game, both the worst in the league. In Week 1, they managed just 10 points on 190 yards. Along the way, Bryce Young and Co. turned the ball over three times (two interceptions and a fumble) and gave up four sacks. Whatever step forward this offense was hoping to take over the offseason, it sure hasn't happened yet.
Meanwhile, the Chargers held the Raiders to just 10 points, racking up three turnovers (two fumbles and one interception) and four sacks of their own. They still aren't one of the best defenses in the league, but this Chargers' unit can clearly take advantage of a bad offense, and they get potentially the NFL's worst in Week 2. Our Week 2 fantasy football projections have them as the DST2 overall and tied for the fewest projected points allowed at 16.
Indianapolis Colts (6.4% Rostered) @ Green Bay Packers
You may be wondering why we would ever target a team against the Packers, who came into the season projected to have a very good offense. The answer is simple: Malik Willis. With Jordan Love almost certainly out with a leg injury suffered at the end of the Packers' season opener in Brazil, Matt LaFleur has announced that the former Titan will be the Packers' starting quarterback.
For his career, albeit in a small sample size, Malik Willis has been an absolute fantasy goldmine for opposing defenses. His career pressure-to-sack rate is 33.3%. His career adjusted net yards per pass attempt is 1.61. For context, Zach Wilson's is 4.29, and Bryce Young's is 3.56. Unless LaFleur and the Packers' staff can work a miracle, it's not going to be pretty for him on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the Colts' defense isn't the greatest, but they posted by far the highest pressure rate of any team in Week 1 with 36.8%. This allowed them to rack up four sacks of C.J. Stroud, which can be converted to about 10 on Willis. Our Week 2 fantasy football projections have the Colts as the DST4, and that might not be high enough.
Houston Texans (34.4% Rostered) vs. Chicago Bears
A week ago, I would not have recommended playing a defense against Caleb Williams and this Bears offense. But the first-overall pick's NFL debut was so truly awful that he's now worth targeting until proven otherwise. Caleb and the Bears finished with a league-worst 2.8 yards per play in Week 1. They also had by far the fewest yards of the week, with 148. And they somehow achieved all this ineptitude without even turning the ball over. That's not likely to last, as the former Heisman winner had a healthy 5.7% turnover-worthy play rate, according to PFF.
In their season debut, the Texans' defense was able to hold Anthony Richardson and the Colts to just 199 yards, giving up a few huge plays but mostly keeping things in check. If Caleb and Co. don't take a step forward, Houston's defense is more than good enough to have a solid outing.
Jacksonville Jaguars (19.8% Rostered) vs. Cleveland Browns
It brings me great joy to report that Deshaun Watson is still terrible. He led the Browns to just 3.3 yards per play on Sunday, taking six sacks and throwing two interceptions along the way. He now has 11 interceptions to just 15 passing touchdowns in his Browns career.
Meanwhile, the Jaguars' defense in Week 1 did a surprisingly good job holding back the explosive Miami offense (aside from one or two big plays). They sacked Tua Tagovailoa three times and allowed a respectable 20 points (although they did give up 400 yards). This is definitely the riskiest play of the bunch, but the Browns' offense was so inept in Week 1 that it is worth a shot.
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