Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season is in the books, and we’ve already learned a lot. Saquon Barkley is still good, the Giants and Panthers are still bad, and Brazilian soccer fields are not fit for professional football. And when it comes to fantasy football defense streamers, we learned that there will always be surprises.
Case in point: the Bears and Vikings, owned in a combined 13% of Sleeper leagues heading into Week 1, put up the top two DST performances through Sunday’s games. On the flip side, the Washington Commanders were owned in 75% of leagues and finished with -3 points on the day after Tampa Bay boat raced them to the tune of 37 points and zero turnovers.
READ: FANTASY FOOTBALL WEEK 2 WAIVER WIRE ADDS
With one week down and 17 more to go, let’s see which defense streamers represent our best options (less than 50% owned on Sleeper) heading into Fantasy Football Week 2.
FANTASY FOOTBALL WEEK 2 DEFENSE STREAMERS (DST)
CHICAGO BEARS DST (3% ROSTERED ON SLEEPER)
@ Houston Texans | SNF
After an offseason full of optimism and additions to their offense, the Bears were chomping at the bit to see how it would all come to fruition in Week 1.
Caleb Williams didn’t exactly shine in his much-anticipated NFL debut, finishing with 93 yards passing and no touchdowns, but Chicago’s DST was the star of the day, returning a blocked punt and an interception for a touchdown and tacking on another INT, a fumble, and three sacks to finish with 25 fantasy points and propel Chicago to a 24-17 win.
Off their big home win, the Bears will hit the road this week to play in primetime on Sunday night. They’ll face another AFC South opponent with a second-year QB, but that’s really where the similarities end between the Titans and the Texans.
The Texans underwent their own offensive retooling this offseason, adding Stefon Diggs and Joe Mixon to an already-strong offense around CJ Stroud, last year’s Offensive Rookie of the Year. However, Houston’s reworked offense got off to a much better start than Chicago’s, as both Diggs and Mixon found the end zone in a 29-27 win over the Colts.
Despite their best efforts to become more well-rounded, Chicago still appears to be a team that has to win games with their defense. And after Houston’s defensive showing this week against Indy’s average offense, it’s clear that Houston will need Stroud and Co. to stay hot to improve to 2-0.
This is shaping up to be a great matchup with both team’s strengths going head to head, and we’ll see if Chicago really has what it takes to be a top fantasy defense in 2024. If they can keep getting consistent pressure like they did against the Titans and force Stround into ill-advised throws like this one, they should be in good shape.
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS DST (5% ROSTERED)
@ Carolina Panthers | 1PM
A season ago, the Chargers trotted out one of the worst statistical defenses in the league, finishing 28th in total defense, 30th against the pass, and 24th in scoring. They underwent a major overhaul heading into 2024, finally firing Brandon Staley and luring Jim Harbaugh back to the NFL. Harbaugh teams are always well-coached, especially on the defensive end, and LA proved that to still ring true in Week 1.
The Chargers DST finished with 15 points, good enough for the 4th-best fantasy performance of the day and a 22-10 win over their division rival. And unlike the Bears, Los Angeles’ schedule gets even easier this week as they’ll head to Charlotte to face Bryce Young and the Panthers.
About 16 months removed from being drafted number one overall, a pick the Panthers mortgaged the future of their franchise to acquire, Young is still looking like a bust. He completed just 13 of 30 passes against New Orleans in Week 1 for 161 yards and two interceptions, but he is far from the only issue with Carolina’s offense. The offensive line play is still subpar despite their offseason additions, and a 17-0 first quarter deficit eliminated any possibility of the run game keeping them afloat (not that it would have; Carolina amassed just 59 yards on the ground at an abysmal 2.9 YPC).
The Chargers may ultimately not be as good as they looked in Week 1, and the Panthers may not be as bad as they looked (ok, maybe they are). Regardless, LA should be able to pick up right where they left off against the Raiders and put up a solid fantasy performance in Week 2.
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS DST (43% ROSTERED)
@ New England Patriots | 1PM
Like the Chargers, the Seahawks aimed to turn around a poor defense from 2023 by hiring a defensive-minded head coach. They hired away Mike Macdonald from his defensive coordinator post in Baltimore.
They immediately looked more competent on defense, compiling three turnovers and two sacks en route to a 26-20 win over the Broncos. It wasn’t a domination by any means, but they played a clean game (zero defensive penalties) and it was good enough to net them 11 fantasy points, a 1-0 record, and a bit of momentum heading into what should be an even easier matchup than Denver.
The Patriots shocked the world (especially anyone in a survivor pool) in Week 1, holding Joe Burrow and the Bengals to 10 points in a road win. Despite the result, their offense wasn’t any more explosive than we expected them to be in what will definitely go down as a rebuilding year.
Jacoby Brissett threw for just 121 yards, and New England’s leading receiver was Austin Hooper with 31 yards on a pair of receptions. Their saving grace was the play of Rhamondre Stevenson, who, despite running behind one of the league’s worst offensive lines, racked up 120 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries.
It was a pretty good showing from New England, but not something I expect to continue as the season progresses. The Seahawks finished with just two sacks on Sunday but recorded nine additional QB hits and got plenty of pressure on Bo Nix. They should easily be able to continue this trend against a much worse offensive line and a much less mobile quarterback. If they can take care of business in the trenches and tack on a turnover or two, they should cruise to a 2-0 record and a solid fantasy performance.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Indianapolis Colts (2%): The Colts mustered up only five fantasy points against Houston on Sunday, finishing with four sacks but zero turnovers in a losing effort. They’ll attempt to turn things around this week against a Green Bay team that will be missing Jordan Love after his MCL sprain in Week 1.
Green Bay Packers (25%): The Packers were one of my favorite streaming options for Week 1, and put up a solid seven fantasy points despite allowing 34 points and over 400 yards of offense thanks to two sacks and three turnovers. They’ll return stateside this week to face the Colts, who looked decent against Houston last week.
Arizona Cardinals (0%): The Cardinals finished with ten fantasy points in Week 1 but could’ve been in a much better spot had they not blown a 14-point second-quarter lead to Buffalo. They’ll attempt to regroup at home against the Rams, who may be without Puka Nacua after he reaggravated a knee injury on Sunday night.
