If you are one of those hooligans who streams defenses each week, you’ve come to the right place. We’ll be looking for 50% rostered or less in Yahoo! Leagues.
Green Bay Packers (GB, 22%) vs. Det
I’d write a whole thing justifying why I’m recommending a defense that just got gashed for 38 points but if you’re reading this, you likely already have made peace with the fickle nature of defenses. Green Bay goes from being displaced in Jacksonville (Aaron Rodgers’ record in hot-AF Florida is … well, it’s not great) to their much cozier confines at Lambeau. But what’s even cozier is their matchup. The disjointed Lions mustered just 17 points before the 49ers took their foot off the gas in the 4th quarter of what was a blowout to that point. Detroit heads to Green Bay as 11-point underdogs and the 2nd-lowest predicted point total of the week. Mmm. Smells like a “get right” game for Rodgers.
Arizona Cardinals (Ari, 6%) vs. Min
Look, we liked this Cards defense more than most heading into the season. But even we weren’t expecting 5 sacks from Chandler Jones. It does show you what this unit is capable of, however. Pairing Jones (a perennial threat for 20 sacks a season) with J.J. Watt (who can still play at a high level, putting up 3 QB pressures and 2 TFL of his own on Sunday) makes life tough on O-lines. Speaking of O-lines, Minnesota has one of the weakest units according to our O-line expert Ross Tucker. Minnesota gave up 3 sacks in Week One to the Bengals. Favored by 4.5 and at home, look for multiple sacks from this Arizona unit, but just so-so points allowed.
New Orleans Saints (NO, 31%) @ Car
It’s not easy to render Aaron Rodgers, Davante Adams, and Aaron Jones irrelevant. But that’s exactly what this Saints D did in Week One, holding the Packers to just 3 points. DC Dennis Allen consistently keeps this unit in the top half of scoring defenses each year. After finishing 6th last year in DST scoring, his unit looks to be just as good, if not better. Their Week Two matchup is favorable, as Sam Darnold and Carolina mustered just 19 points at home against the Jets.
