Photo: USA Today Sports

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.

**Buffalo and New Orleans have great matchups but are assumed to be rostered**

Week 1 Results

Minnesota (vs Tampa Bay) - 1 sack

Maybe they need more work on installing the Brian Flores defense. The Vikings shut down the Buccaneers' running game, and Baker Mayfield was forced to take mostly short gains in the passing game, but Minnesota wasn’t able to make any big plays. Along with three Kirk Cousins turnovers, it cost them the season opener.

A Look Ahead: @PHI LAC @CAR - We won’t use the Vikings D/ST until they get a good matchup coming off of a good week.

Washington (vs Arizona) - 3 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries

You’ll take it, but Joshua Dobbs was more sound with the ball than expected, even though he was learning the names of some of his teammates.

A Look Ahead: @DEN BUF @PHI - We won’t stick with the Commanders on the road this week against a Broncos offense that is super safe with the ball.

Atlanta (vs Carolina) - 2 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, 2 INT

Jessie Bates was a good free-agent pickup, eh? It’s not an exaggeration to say he was the difference in this one, teaching the rookie Bryce Young a lesson by basically jumping the same route twice, and he also punched the ball out of Miles Sanders' hands to account for the Falcons' third takeaway.

A Look Ahead: GB @DET @JAX - Jordan Love will check into the Bates Motel this week, but he was good enough to say we should throw the Falcons back.

Jacksonville (at Indianapolis) - 4 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries, 1 INT

Anthony Richardson was better than expected, but he was still a rookie in his first NFL game. The Jaguars defense did allow the Colts to move the ball, but they were able to fluster Richardson enough to put up a nice fantasy D/ST day.

A Look Ahead: KC HOU ATL - We may come back to the Jaguars in Week 3, but drop them to dodge Mahomes.

Seattle (vs LA Rams) - Nada. Zilch. Bupkis.

So much for the 12th man and the Legion of Boom. The Giants D/ST was the only other unit to put up a goose egg in Week 1.

A Look Ahead: @DET CAR @NYG - It will be a while before we trust Seattle again.

Green Bay (at Chicago) - 4 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, 1 INT, 1 DEF TD
Chicago (vs Green Bay) - 1 sack

Jordan Love looked ready for prime time, or at least ready to face the Bears defense. Justin Fields played mostly dink and dunk passer, didn’t run by design, and threw a pick-six to Quay Walker, who displayed a heroic effort for folks who played the Green Bay D/ST

A Look Ahead GB: @ATL NO DET - We’ll stick with the Packers this week and hope they can get Desmond Ridder out of his comfort zone.
A Look Ahead CHI: @TB KC @DEN - No thanks.

Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda

Arizona (at Washington) - 6 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries, 1 INT, 1 DEF TD

The Cardinals defense was supposed to be one to target for offensive plays, and they ended up being the best rent-a-defense this week. We underrated their front seven, and Washington let Sam Howell try to move the ball deep in his own end late in the first half with disastrous results.

Indianapolis (vs Jacksonville) - 2 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, 1 INT, 1 DEF TD

This wasn’t a great performance by the Colts defense, but the let-the-play-finish approach from the refs led to a Tank Bigsby fumble when he thought the play was over that DeForest Buckner recovered for a score.

Week 2 Candidates

Green Bay (at Atlanta)

The Packers defense is legit good, but we need them to have Jordan Love and company stake them to a lead on the road to get the Falcons out of their run-first shell and keep the ball in Desmond Ridder’s hands for this one to hit.

A Look Ahead: NO DET @LV - The Saints aren’t a great matchup on paper, but if the Packers are good to us two weeks in a row, we’ll stick with them.