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Unless most of the teams in your league carry a backup defense, more than half of the league should be available to you every week. Perhaps instead of playing one above average defense every week, regardless of matchup, we should instead target the widely available waiver wire defenses with the best matchups in any particular week? You can always make exceptions if your rent-a-defense gets hot - heck, you might find a team worth starting all year by accident. Even if you don't, good matchups will continue to get greater in number as more QBs get injured or yanked as the season goes on. You can steal some points from bad weather come December. Each week I'll list the startable fantasy defenses on most waiver wires and rank them.
**New England and Chicago have great matchups in Week 3 but are assumed to be rostered**
Week 2 Results
New England (at Miami) - 7 sacks, 4 INT, 2 DEF TD, 0 pts allowed
An orgy of D/ST production. Congrats if you got the Patriots they might help you win your league
A Look Ahead: NYJ @BUF @WAS - all huge games for D/St production coming
Carolina (vs Tampa Bay) - 3 sacks, 1 safety
Tampa can go into a shell on offense now with a better defense, and Cam Newton did the defense no favors. An acceptable, but disappointing results
A Look Ahead: @ARI, @HOU, JAX - We’re laying off of the Panthers after Kyler Murray took care of the ball vs the Ravens
Dallas (at Washington) - 1 sack
Welp at least there’s Miami up next week
A Look Ahead: MIA @NO GB - and the Saints backup quarterback in Week 4. The Cowboys are still a consideration
New York Jets (vs Cleveland) - 3 sacks, 1 INT
Not a disaster, but once Sam Darnold got mono and CJ Mosley as announced as out, we wanted the other side of this matchup
A Look Ahead: @NE BYE @PHI - Back to the waiver wire
Houston (vs Jacksonville) - 4 sacks, 1 fumble recovery
You’ll take it, but it was a small stat line considering that they were facing a rookie backup quarterback. The offense was stuck in neutral all day and this was a close to the vest low scoring affair
A Look Ahead: @LAC CAR ATL - Maybe Week 4 if Cam Newton isn’t back
Tennessee (vs Indianapolis) - 3 sacks, 1 INT, 1 fumble recovery
Actually not bad in the Week 2 landscape of D/ST production, but the long run given up to Jordan Wilkins late cost Tennessee the game
A Look Ahead: @JAX @ATL BUF - Minshew fever is sweeping the nation! Tennessee is still a consideration for Week 3
Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda
Atlanta (vs Philadelphia) - 3 sacks, 2 INT, 1 fumble recovery
The Eagles offense was grounded without three of their top six pass catchers, but they still could have won if Nelson Agholor catches a ball behind the defense late in the game
Green Bay (vs Minnesota) - 1 sack, 2 INT, 2 fumble recoveries
It’s time to consider the Packers D/ST a solid weekly play
Week 3 Candidates
**New England and Chicago have great matchups in Week 3 but are assumed to be rostered**
Dallas (vs Miami)
This is simple. The defense facing the Dolphins is the #1 D/ST every week
A Look Ahead: @NO GB @NYJ - Teddy Bridgewater could be an excellent D/ST matchup if he continues to hold onto the ball for too long
Green Bay (vs Denver)
The Packers defense is for real and Joe Flacco is not. Lambeau Field usually gives this unit some special powers to boot.
A Look Ahead: PHI @DAL DET - No obvious great matchups here, but the Packers defense has the look of a group that will make some plays every week
Tampa Bay (vs New York Giants)
Todd Bowles has made the Tampa defense respectable again. Daniel Jones, Welcome to the NFL.
A Look Ahead: @LAR @NO CAR - We will be watching Teddy Bridgewater to see if the Saints are an offense to target while Drew Brees is out.
Arizona (vs Carolina)
Kyle Allen once beat out Kyler Murray to start at Texas A&M. If the Cardinals offense can stake the defense to a lead this one could be good for Chandler Jones and company.
A Look Ahead: SEA @CIN ATL - We may come back to them after Patrick Peterson returns in Week 7
Buffalo (vs Cincinnati)
The Bengals offense withered in the heat at home last week, and the Bills defense has been solid.
A Look Ahead: NE @TEN BYE - We may come back to Buffalo later this year
Tennessee (at Jacksonville) **Thursday**
Derrick Henry stomped on the Jaguars faces the last time these two teams played. Gardner Minshew might cause some teams backup quarterback envy, but he still could pay off as a D/ST quarterback to target if Tennessee can build a lead on the road.
A Look Ahead: @ATL BUF @DEN - We might target Joe Flacco, or whoever replaces Flacco, in Week 6.
San Francisco (vs Pittsburgh)
The offense might not lose *that* much with Mason Rudolph if they have an actual game plan, although the 49ers defense has been a pleasant surprise and the offense is coming to life against a vulnerable Steelers secondary that at least added Minkah Fitzpatrick.
A Look Ahead: BYE CLE @LAR - Bye bye
Week 4 Preemptive Pickups
**New England has a good matchup in Week 4 but is assumed to be rostered**
Los Angeles Chargers (at Miami)
Dallas (at New Orleans)
Denver (vs Jacksonville)
Houston (vs Carolina)