Fantasy Football Week 8 D/ST Start/Sit: Lions, Ravens, Browns, Bills, Eagles
Ted breaks down which defenses you can trust in your Week 8 fantasy football lineups.
Welcome to this week’s fantasy football DST start/sit breakdown! As always, let’s start by taking a look back at last week’s results. Last week’s Start selections thrived, as the Bengals (15 points), Rams (17 points), Jaguars (11 points), and Colts (nine points) all finished in the top 12 defenses for the week. Meanwhile, my Sit picks — Houston, Baltimore, and San Francisco — averaged just 5.7 points. I will take those results every day of the week and twice on Sundays.
Hopefully we can keep rolling with more wins this week! With zero teams on bye, we have tons of options. Let’s get started!
For more help with your toughest Start/Sit decisions, check out FantasySP’s NFL Start/Sit tool!
Fantasy Football Defenses To Start Week 8
Detroit Lions vs. Tennessee Titans
I’m going to use this first blurb to link to my streaming defense article for this week. All four of the teams listed there (the Lions, Chiefs, Texans, and Chargers) are great starting options for this week.
As for the Lions in particular, their defense has taken a massive step forward to start the 2024 season. PFF actually has them graded as the single best defensive unit in the league, a big jump up from 19th in the 2023 regular season. They also rank sixth-best in EPA per play against and ninth-best in points per game allowed. That second stat is even more impressive when you consider that each of their opponents is going all out to keep up with their explosive offense.
For this week, Detroit gets to match up with the Titans, who have been the most generous matchup for opposing fantasy defenses through seven weeks of the season. Yes, a lot of the credit for that fact goes to Will Levis, the king of inexplicable turnovers. But Mason Rudolph hasn’t exactly been lighting the world on fire, either. Fire up the Lions with confidence, even without Aidan Hutchinson.
Baltimore Ravens @ Cleveland Browns
This is a no-brainer, but I fear some managers may be overthinking it, as the Ravens are currently only being started in 65% of leagues. I wonder if perhaps people are confusing “Jameis Winston will be good for the Browns’ weapons in fantasy” with “Jameis Winston is a good quarterback.”
While undeniably an upgrade from Deshaun Watson, Winston is not someone to avoid with your fantasy defenses. He has a 3.4% interception rate for his career — only Mac Jones "beat" that number among qualified quarterbacks in 2023. And it's not like Winston has improved his decision-making with age: He posted a 6.4% interception rate in 2023 and 4.3% in 2022. Even if he leads the Browns to more than their miserable 15.6 points per game average, he’s going to throw a pick or two along the way. Combine that with the fact that the Browns lead the league in pressure rate allowed, and I love Baltimore’s chances to have a solid week.
Fantasy Football Defenses To Sit Week 8
Cleveland Browns vs. Baltimore Ravens
The Browns just keep ending up in the Sit section of this article, as some managers are still treating them like the elite defensive unit they were last year. But things change fast in the NFL, and this year’s edition of the Cleveland defense is a massive step down from its predecessor. The Browns rank essentially average in EPA per play allowed and actually give up more points per game than the average team. Some of this is due to their offensive woes, but, as I said earlier, those aren’t going anywhere.
Even if Cleveland’s defense were still elite, I wouldn’t recommend starting them this week. The Ravens’ offense has reached a new level with the addition of Derrick Henry, not to mention Lamar Jackson playing at a higher level than he did last year (when he won a near-unanimous MVP). Baltimore leads the league in points per game, yards per game, and yards per play. They're the straight-up best offense in the league
With that in mind, this is my plea to the over 30% of managers currently starting the Browns’ defense: Pick literally anyone else. Our Week 8 DST Projections actually have them ranked 32nd out of 32 NFL teams.
Buffalo Bills @ Seattle Seahawks
The Bills are currently being started in just over half of fantasy leagues, but I wouldn’t recommend trusting them this week. For one, Buffalo’s defense isn’t exactly a dominant unit this season. They rank just 15th in yards per play and 16th in EPA per play — essentially exactly average. They do rank above average in points per game (eighth), but they are solidly below average in yards per game (20th).
Meanwhile, Seattle has been very solid under new OC Ryan Grubb. They’re throwing the ball early and often with the highest pass rate over expected in the NFL, and that has led them to rank in the top 10 in both yards and points per game. This isn’t the worst of matchups or the worst of defenses, but in a week with zero times on bye, you should be able to find a better option for your fantasy lineups.
Philadelphia Eagles @ Cincinnati Bengals
Here we have another team currently being widely played despite a rough matchup, as the Eagles are projected to be started in nearly half of fantasy leagues. That’s not a move I would recommend, as the Bengals’ offense has been absolutely cooking over the last few weeks.
Since Tee Higgins returned in Week 3, the Bengals are averaging 27.5 points on 355 yards per game. Those numbers would rank them seventh and 10th for the season, respectively. And that yardage total would be even higher if Cincinnati didn’t start an easy win over the Browns last week with a kickoff return TD.
Meanwhile, Philadelphia’s defense is nothing special. They rank seventh-best in points per game but also barely below-average in EPA per play. Facing off a red-hot Joe Burrow and Co., they’re best left on benches (or the waiver wire) for this week.
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