Last Thursday afternoon I experienced a brief moment of doubt. “There’s so much hype around this new NFL season,” I thought. “Can it really live up to it all?” Then Jalen Carter was ejected six seconds into that evening’s game for spitting on Dak Prescott and I once again realized that football will always entertain. And after a Week 1 slate in which, heading into Monday Night Football, 11 out of 15 games have been decided by one score or less, that continues to be true.
The return of NFL football also means the return of fantasy and, more importantly, the return of streaming fantasy defenses en route to a title. If you’re not familiar with what we do around here, here’s a quick rundown: we’ll first start with a couple heavily-owned defenses (we use Sleeper’s roster rate as our source of truth) that you should avoid starting if possible this week, typically due to a tough matchup or an ugly injury report.
Then, we’ll look at our top three defenses that are owned in less than 50% of leagues but look primed for a great performance that week. And finally, in case none of those options are available in your league, we also include three Honorable Mentions for good measure. Also, be sure to check out our Week 2 Rankings to see where each defense lands.
So, without further ado, let’s take a look at our picks for the best Fantasy Football Week 2 defense streamers (D/ST) off the Week 2 Waiver Wire.
TEAMS TO AVOID IN WEEK 2
Washington Commanders (69% rostered): The Commanders were started in roughly two-thirds of leagues in Week 1 heading into a home matchup with the Giants. They held New York to 231 total yards and six points, but only two sacks and no takeaways limited what could’ve been a huge performance to a solid ten fantasy points on the day, which has them tied for the seventh-best output through Sunday’s games. Despite a good start to the season, I’m fading Washington in Week 2 as they hit the road to face the Packers, who dealt Detroit’s defense a season-opening goose egg in Week 1 with 27 points scored and zero turnovers or sacks.
Houston Texans (71% rostered): Houston started the year off with a decent road performance against the Rams, allowing just 14 points with three sacks and a turnover but losing 14-9 as the offense failed to find the end zone. The Texans were hurt by some key penalties on defense, particularly an egregious hands to the face call on Derek Stingley that immediately led to the Rams scoring what turned out to be the game winning touchdown.
Looking ahead, Houston has solid matchups in Weeks 3 and 4 with Jacksonville and Tennessee, so they may be a stash candidate ahead of a Week 2 matchup with the Buccaneers. Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay offense didn’t set the world on fire in their opening week win over Atlanta, but they held the Falcons D/ST to just one point with 23 points scored, one sack allowed, and no turnovers. Emeka Egbuka recorded 67 yards and two touchdowns and proved to be a worthy WR2 until Chris Godwin returns from injury, and Baker Mayfield threw for three TDs in total while also finishing with nearly eight yards per carry on five scrambles.
FANTASY FOOTBALL WEEK 2 DEFENSE STREAMERS (D/ST)
LOS ANGELES RAMS (27% ROSTERED)
The Rams defense started off the season with a strong performance in a home win over the Texans, putting up 12 points while holding CJ Stroud to 188 yards and an interception and limiting every Houston pass catcher to 32 yards or less on the day. Los Angeles racked up three sacks and two turnovers, including a clutch peanut punch fumble by Nate Landman inside their own red zone to seal the game in the fourth quarter.
LA will take their 1-0 record on the road this week to face the Titans, who have allowed a league-high 14 points to opposing fantasy defenses through Sunday’s games after their 20-12 loss to Denver. In a tough matchup against one of the best defenses in the league, Cam Ward struggled in his NFL debut, completing 12 passes for 112 yards and surrendering six sacks and a lost fumble, one of two for Tennessee on the afternoon.
Sean McVay, while primarily an offensive mind, is a savvy, experienced leader who should have no problem helping to get his defense ready for a rookie quarterback with a lackluster offense around him. While LA’s three-sack performance against Houston came against arguably the league’s worst offensive line, Tennessee’s line isn’t much better, so Ward should be under constant pressure again as he was in Week 1. The Rams hit a tough stretch after Week 2 with the Eagles, Colts, 49ers, and Ravens, so they may just be a one-week pickup, but they should show out against Tennessee this week.
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (26%)
The Patriots fan in me has been very optimistic about this defense heading into 2025 after a dismal 2024 showing when they finished dead last in the league in sacks and tied for 30th in takeaways. New England brought in Mike Vrabel in the offseason and used the majority of their league-leading cap space to rebuild the defense, adding defensive tackle Milton Williams, linebackers Robert Spillane and Harold Landry III, and cornerback Carlton Davis III.
Week 1 was a mixed bag from this new-look Patriots defense — Geno Smith carved them up in the rain to the tune of 362 yards and a touchdown as they struggled to contain Brock Bowers and Jakobi Meyers downfield, but they did finish the day with four sacks and an interception and held Ashton Jeanty in check with just 38 yards on 19 carries. Of the new acquisitions, Landry had the best day, sacking Smith 2.5 times and hitting him four times on the day.
While I expect New England to ultimately be better than their performance on Sunday, this pick is mostly about their opponent. Miami entered their opening matchup with the Colts as slight underdogs but got their doors blown off, trailing 20-0 at halftime and falling into a 30-0 hole before a fourth quarter touchdown pass to De’Von Achane helped avoid a shutout. Tua Tagovailoa was sacked three times and threw two interceptions, but it really could’ve been worse as he was under constant pressure on virtually every dropback. And as I’m sure you’ve already seen, star wideout Tyreek Hill was not thrilled with how things were going.
As reactive in nature as we all are, the takes are already flying. Does Tyreek want out? Is Mike McDaniel on the hot seat? While those may be overreactions to one bad game, it’s an undeniable fact that Miami has major flaws on offense that may not be addressed before this week’s matchup with New England. And with the Patriots hoping to get CB1 Christian Gonzalez back in this matchup, Tua may need even more time to find an open man, which he likely won’t have with a shoddy offensive line and a New England defense that generated solid pressure on Sunday. I like the Patriots in this one to turn things around and send Miami into even further disarray.
DALLAS COWBOYS (5%)
After giving up 27.5 points per game in 2024, the Cowboys seemingly got even worse in the offseason after the Micah Parsons saga ended in a trade to Green Bay. They did manage to secure Kenny Clark in that deal as well as two future first round picks, but lost the heart and soul of their defensive unit in the process.
Expectations were tapered heading into an opening night matchup with the defending champion Eagles, but despite losing the game, Dallas mostly held their own on defense. They finished the night with just one fantasy point, allowing 24 points and recording just one sack and no turnovers, but held Philly’s stars in check to some extent — Jalen Hurts threw for only 152 yards (although he ran for 62 and two scores), Saquon Barkley finished with a 3.3 yards per carry average, and AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith combined for just four receptions for 24 yards.
Dallas could certainly use a win to begin righting the ship after a Week 1 loss, and lucky for them, they’ll return home to Jerry World to face the 0-1 New York Giants.
The Giants were utterly outmatched by Washington on Sunday, losing 21-6 and failing to find the end zone in Russell Wilson‘s debut in blue. Even with help from Washington’s six defensive penalties, they struggled to generate any sustained offense, and pass catchers not named Malik Nabers or Wan’Dale Robinson combined for just six receptions for 42 yards. Wilson completed less than 50% of his passes and finished with 168 yards while taking two sacks. In the run game, Tyron Tracy took a backwards step in his quest for a breakout sophomore season, totaling 24 yards on just 2.4 yards per carry.
The Giants offensive line is considered one of the worst in the league, which will be a breath of fresh air for Dallas after facing Philly’s highly-touted unit. The Cowboys should be able to generate consistent pressure on Wilson while limiting Tracy’s impact just as Washington did in Week 1. And Dallas’ ability to render Brown and Smith’s presence obsolete on Thursday night should bode well against an offense that seemingly only has two capable receivers. As long as Nabers and Robinson are well-shadowed and Wilson is feeling the heat up front, it should be a recipe for a multi-sack, multi-turnover day in Arlington.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Los Angeles Chargers (5%): The Chargers were the top scoring defense in football last year, and while they managed just two fantasy points in Week 1, they held the Chiefs offense to 21 points and pulled off a big win in Brazil. They’ll head to Las Vegas this week for yet another divisional matchup, this time with the Raiders, who put up 20 points against New England in Week 1 with a strong aerial attack but did surrender four sacks and an interception.
Indianapolis Colts (2%): The Colts pummeled Miami in Week 1, holding them scoreless for the first 54 minutes of gameplay in a 33-8 win. Indy will stay at home in Week 2 and welcome in the Denver Broncos, who beat Tennessee to start the year but turned the ball over four times in the process.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (16%): The Bucs snuck out of Atlanta with a close win in Week 1, holding the Falcons to 20 points but totaling just one sack and no turnovers. They’ll stay on the road and face a Houston offense that was unable to find the end zone against the Rams in Week 1 and surrendered 11 fantasy points to LA’s defense via three sacks and two turnovers.
