Even if every single Week 1 game sucked, it would’ve been incredible just to have football back in our lives. Luckily, however, Week 1 didn’t suck at all.
Sure, a few teams put up uninspiring performances (looking at you, Browns), but we had some great games with even better finishes, including an OT thriller in Detroit, a game-clinching defensive stop in Houston, and a game in Carolina that featured two of the last four No. 1 overall picks — not to mention 96 points and 13 touchdowns.
Our Week 1 DST picks, however, left a bit to be desired. The Bills managed a solid eight points in a win over Houston, and the Cowboys finished with seven in a primetime loss to the Giants, but the Packers put up just two points as they blew a late lead in Minnesota.
Week 2 brings some intriguing matchups as well: Detroit heads to Buffalo to face the Bills on Thursday night, Houston hosts Cincinnati in the early window, and the Jags and Broncos face off in Denver at 4:05 EST. Some of the most highly owned and many of the top-performing defenses from Week 1 have tough matchups this week, so the DST waiver market will be hot.
So, let’s check out the best fantasy football Week 2 defense streamers (D/ST) you should be targeting on the Week 2 Waiver Wire.
FANTASY FOOTBALL WEEK 2 DEFENSE STREAMERS (D/ST)
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (10% ROSTERED)
Last week in Melbourne, the 49ers and Rams employed very different strategies to combat the long travel needed for the international contest.
The 49ers arrived in Australia a week before the game, allowing their bodies to recover from the long flight and adjust to the local time zone. They practiced at the time the game would be played (10:30 AM local time) and got themselves accustomed to their new environment. LA, on the other hand, arrived just 24 hours before kickoff and tried to play without ever acclimating to the local time.
The results were clear — the Rams looked sluggish, tired, and, basically how you’d expect a group of grown men to look after a 16-hour flight. San Francisco dominated en route to a 27-7 victory to start the season 1-0.
The Niners didn’t rack up a ton of fantasy-relevant stats on defense, recording two turnovers and no sacks, but they held the Rams in check all game long, limiting them to seven points and under 300 total yards of offense. LA was two for nine on third down and never developed any sort of rhythm on offense. Whether that was primarily due to their travel strategy or San Francisco’s defense is anyone’s guess, but I choose to believe that circadian rhythm only contributes so much to a football game.
San Francisco’s defense was close to the bottom third of the league last year in fantasy scoring, but injuries played a large part in those struggles. Fred Warner, who played in just six games last year before a season-ending ankle injury, led the team with 11 tackles and a PBU; Nick Bosa, who played in just three games before a season-ending torn ACL in 2025, had two TFLs; and Dre Greenlaw, who briefly left for Denver last year before returning to the team where he spent the first six years of his career, had six tackles in his return to the Niners.
As a reward for their long travel in Week 1, the 49ers get to stay home for the next three weeks, starting with this week’s matchup against Miami. The Dolphins have one of the bleakest outlooks of any team in the NFL this year, with a preseason win total of just 4.5.
Miami started off the year 0-1 with a 27-13 loss to the Raiders, who put up 14 points on defense via two turnovers and five sacks on Sunday. Malik Willis ended up with a passer rating of just 66.9, and Miami’s running backs were held to under three yards per carry on the day.
Questionable travel planning aside, Los Angeles’ offense is one built on stars and years of high-level experience, and the 49ers stifled them for a full 60 minutes. Miami’s offense, meanwhile, is basically De’Von Achane alongside a bunch of practice squad guys being held together with duct tape. Assuming they use their extended layoff to get readjusted to Pacific Standard Time, the 49ers should have no problem dominating the Dolphins and improving to 2-0 in the process.
CINCINNATI BENGALS (2%)
This one feels like an overreaction, but I’m officially drinking the orange Kool-Aid after one week.
Cincy was one of the worst defenses in the league last year — 31st in total yardage, dead last against the run, and 30th in scoring, allowing almost 29 points per game. They were slightly above the league average in turnovers, but their 35 sacks were tied for 22nd, a ranking that was expected to take even more of a hit after losing Trey Hendrickson and Joseph Ossai in free agency.
All of which made the Bengals’ Week 1 win even more surprising. Yes, they made some much-needed defensive additions in the offseason, including signing Boye Mafe, who had a sack in Week 1, and Bryan Cook, who had six tackles in the win, but sacking Baker Mayfield four times and forcing four fumbles, two of which were recovered by Mafe and Cook, was not on most people’s bingo card. The Bengals were targeting the ball seemingly every tackle and got their star-studded offense multiple extra possessions in a 33-27 win.
Cincinnati’s issues have long been tied to poor defensive and O-line play, but if they can continue winning the sack battle and turnover battle both by four-to-one margins, those issues may be a thing of the past and we may be looking at a contender once again.
I’m hesitant to put too much stock in Cincinnati’s defense considering their struggles in recent years, but I’m cautiously optimistic as they head into a Week 2 matchup with Houston. The Texans looked surprisingly competent in Week 1 despite losing to Buffalo, as CJ Stroud threw for 274 yards and two TDs and new acquisition David Montgomery found the end zone three times.
Now for the bad — Stroud did lose two fumbles, including the late strip sack that iced the game for the Bills, and Montgomery finished with just three yards per carry on the ground. Nico Collins was solid as expected, but despite ten other Texans catching at least one pass, very few other pass catchers made a real impact in the game.
It wouldn’t shock me completely if Houston came to play in this game and Cincy’s defense turned back into a pumpkin, but I’m going off what I have so far, and what I saw from the Bengals in Week 1 was very impressive.
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (4%)
Tampa Bay ranked middle of the pack in fantasy scoring last year, finishing 27th against the pass but 5th against the run. Their 37 sacks were tied for 18th, and their 23 turnovers forced were tied for seventh, but a poor scoring defense and just two touchdowns on the year limited their fantasy impact.
Tampa lost to Cincinnati in Week 1, but their offense’s aforementioned four turnovers were a primary factor in that result. The Bucs finished with nine points, but most of that came from a third quarter pick six from Josiah Trotter, as they had just one sack (also Trotter) and no other turnovers on the day.
A second-round pick out of Missouri, Trotter was a force in his NFL debut, finishing with 11 tackles (two TFLs), a sack, and the above pick-six that got Tampa within a score late in the third.
The Bucs also made a few high-profile free-agent additions to their defense over the summer, signing Alex Anzalone (7 tackles in Week 1), A’Shawn Robinson (5 tackles, 1 QB hit), and Al-Quadin Muhammad (2 QB hits) in the offseason. The result wasn’t a win in Week 1, but it was a relatively promising showing against a very strong offensive attack on the road.
Things get much easier for Tampa Bay in Week 2 as they head home to host the Cleveland Browns. Deshaun Watson and the Browns got shellacked by Jacksonville in Week 1, getting shut out for the first 37+ minutes and not finding the end zone until a garbage-time score with less than two minutes left.
Watson was terrible, throwing a pick and taking five sacks in the loss, while Quinshon Judkins managed just 33 yards on less than three yards per carry on the ground. Cleveland was expected to be bad this year and was a heavy underdog in this Week 1 contest, but what they put on the field in Jacksonville was even worse than expected.
The Bucs desperately want to avoid falling to 0-2, and luckily for them, Week 2’s matchup provides them a great opportunity to do exactly that. They’re available in almost all leagues and are a great pickup in a favorable matchup.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Dallas Cowboys (4%): Dallas came into this year with high expectations but weren’t incredible in Week 1 against the Giants. They’ll look to bounce back at home against Washington.
Green Bay Packers (15%): The Packers blew a late lead in Minnesota to start the year 0-1 but will look to rebound with a road win over the Jets this week.
Atlanta Falcons (2%): Atlanta looked solid against the Steelers with two sacks, a turnover, and just 14 points allowed; they’ll look to hold Carolina’s offense in check in Week 2.
