IDP Matchup Plays: Living the Stream: Week 3

We're just two weeks into the 2025 NFL season, and already the water has gotten choppy. Swollen rapids have come from nowhere. IDP boats are taking on water.

Pittsburgh Steelers edge-rusher T.J. Watt has as many sacks in 2025 as you do. Indianapolis Colts linebacker Zaire Franklin has nine total tackles in two games and ranks outside the top-50 in The Godfather's Default IDP Scoring.

To say that things are not going according to plan is an understatement.

But while underperforming players and 0-2 starts are far from ideal, this cannot be overstated—making panic moves while in an early skid will make it longer far more often than end it. Watt didn't forget how to sack quarterbacks. Even if Franklin doesn't start peeling off 15 tackles every week, his numbers really only have one direction to go two weeks in.

There are plenty of fantasy managers who have little recourse but to Live the Stream this week. There have been injuries up front on defense. Linebackers whose role isn't what we expected. And with the vast majority of underperforming defensive backs, the right time to bail and find a guy who will get you points is "now."

But before you buy a ticket on the S.S. Living the Stream (See? Now all the wandering, inane aquatic metaphors make sense, because boats), make sure it's the best way to traverse the treacherous depths of Week 3 and get a win.

The only thing more frustrating than whiffing on a matchup play is watching the guy who should have been in the lineup turn things around on the bench.

Week 3 IDP Matchup Plays

EDGE Joey Bosa, Buffalo (vs. Miami)

There was a time when you wouldn't find Bosa anywhere near a column like this—like his brother, he was an IDP DL1 who has surpassed 10 sacks in four different seasons. Injuries derailed Bosa's ascent to superstardom, but he told reporters that the move to Buffalo in the offseason has been just what he needed.

"The energy is just super fun, and I feel like I've connected with these guys a lot in a short period of time," Bosa said. "It already feels like I've been here for years. Just it being a new situation, a fresh start for me. I feel like I'm just trying to make the most of it and trying to have fun. When you're winning and you're playing well, it's easy, easy to have fun, so it'd be great to keep that rolling."

Bosa has gotten off to a hot start in his new home—four total tackles are nothing to write home about, but one sack and three forced fumbles are another story altogether. The Miami offensive line is about what we expected it to be—the Dolphins have given up eight sacks in two games. Bosa's comeback tour continues Thursday night.

EDGE Samson Ebukam, Indianapolis (at Tennessee)

In his first season with the Indianapolis Colts in 2023, Ebukam set career-highs in total tackles (57) and sacks (9.5) on the way to a top-25 IDP finish among defensive linemen. A torn Achilles in training camp last year ended Ebukam's 2024 season before it began, but he told reporters he intended to pick up in 2025 where that breakout campaign left off.

"Not going to tell you any numbers or anything like that, but I just want to be better than I was," he said. "That's it. I mean, every now and then you will (think about it), because of what type of injury it is,'' he said. "I am not going to sit here and lie to you. At the same time, the more I use it, the more I trust it, the more explosive I'm becoming.''

Ebukam's start to the season has been up-and-down. But the 30-year-old is one of just three Colts players who have logged a sack in 2025. He has played the most snaps of any edge-rusher on the team, and this week, the undefeated Colts take on a Tennessee Titans team that has allowed 11 sacks in two games.

LB Mack Wilson Sr., Arizona (at San Francisco)