Week 3 is here and getting the right defense in could be the difference between winning and losing a close game. We saw some potent defensive performances in Week 2, with the Buffalo Bills’ D putting up 18 points against the Miami Dolphins, and the Houston Texans (15) and Pittsburgh Steelers Ds (13) also looking very strong.
9 defenses broke 10 fantasy points in Week 2, and here are the Week 3 defensive projections, as per fantasy.nfl.com:
- 1, Cleveland Browns (vs. Giants) – 7.36
- 2, New York Jets (vs. Patriots) – 7.28
- 3, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (vs. Broncos) – 7.00
- 4, Las Vegas Raiders (vs. Panthers) – 6.83
- 5, Cincinnati Bengals (vs. Commanders) – 6.71
- 6, Los Angeles Chargers (@ Steelers) – 6.60
- 7, San Francisco 49ers (@ Rams )- 6.46
- 8, Buffalo Bills (vs. Jaguars) – 6.32
- 9, Pittsburgh Steelers (vs. Chargers) – 6.32
- 10, Green Bay Packers (@ Titans) – 6.25
- 11, Tennessee Titans (vs. Packers) – 6.24
- 12, Houston Texans (@ Vikings) – 6.21
- 13, Kansas City Chiefs (@ Falcons) – 6.04
- 14, Chicago Bears (@ Colts) – 6.00
- 15, Carolina Panthers (@ Raiders) -5.94
- 16, Detroit Lions (@ Cardinals) – 5.85
- 17, Dallas Cowboys (vs. Ravens) – 5.84
- 18, Baltimore Ravens (@ Cowboys) – 5.82
- 19, Denver Broncos (@ Buccaneers) – 5.76
- 20, Indianapolis Colts (vs. Bears) – 5.76
- 21, Miami Dolphins (@ Seahawks) – 5.73
- 22, Jacksonville Jaguars (@ Bills) – 5.67
- 23, New York Giants (@ Browns) – 5.63
- 24, New Orleans Saints (vs. Eagles) – 5.62
- 25, Philadelphia EaglesD (@ Saints) – 5.55
- 26, New England Patriots (@ Jets) – 5.54
- 27, Seattle Seahawks (vs. Dolphins) 5.54
- 28, Arizona Cardinals (vs. Lions) – 5.45
- 29, Atlanta Falcons (vs. Chiefs) – 5.42
- 30, Washington Commanders (@ Bengals) – 5.36
- 31, Los Angeles Rams (vs. 49ers) – 5.34
- 32, Minnesota Vikings (vs. Texans) – 5.32
While several of the league’s best defenses are unlikely to be available (such as the Jets, 49ers, Bills, Browns and Steelers), others with favorable matchups might be. With defenses, you are often picking which offense will struggle as much as which defense you favor, so let’s take a look at four potential streamers in Week 3.
Fantasy Football Week 3 Defense Streamers
#1, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (vs. Broncos) – 7.00 projected
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are 2-0 and their offense has been firing. While they had a tough fight against Detroit, they emerged 20-16 winners and much of that was thanks to a good defensive performance.
The Buccaneers have a favorable matchup in Week 3, as they face the Denver Broncos who are struggling to get in the endzone. The Broncos just lost 13-6 to the Pittsburgh Steelers, and rookie QB Bo Nix has thrown 384 yards, 0 TDs and 4 INTs in two games.
Rostered in 38.8% of leagues, you might be able to grab the Bucs D on waivers or in free agency later.
#2, Los Angeles Chargers (@ Steelers) – 6.60 projected
The LA Chargers have looked good under new head coach Jim Harbaugh, and while J.K. Dobbins is getting a lot of attention, the defense deserves some love. The 2-0 Chargers have only conceded 13 points across two games (26-3 vs. Panthers, 22-10 vs. Raiders) and play the low-scoring Steelers in Week 3.
Pittsburgh seems to have an allergy to 300-yard passing games and did everything they could offensively to let Denver back into the Week 2 game. This projects to be a low-scoring, defensive battle with lots of punts and offensive flags.
The Chargers D is rostered in 81.8% of leagues, so you will have to be quick and fortunate to land them here.
#3, Las Vegas Raiders (vs. Panthers) – 6.83 projeted
The Las Vegas Raiders defense contains one of the NFL’s premier defensive ends in Maxx Crosby. This makes them a plausible option in most games, but against the offensively struggling Carolina Panthers, this could get messy.
Carolina has seen enough of Bryce Young for at least a short while or could be trying to protect his future. Either way, Andy Dalton is set to start in Week 3. This could signal a better passing day, but the Panthers are expected to struggle.
If LV can lock down Diontae Johnson and Adam Thielen, this could be the highest-scoring defense in Week 3. Rostered in only 5% of leagues, the Raiders defense is there for the taking.
#4, New England Patriots (@ Jets) – 5.54 projected
While the Patriots are being much-overlooked in 2024, they are putting in some good displays and their defense has been tough. New England went to Cincinnati and beat the Bengals 16-10 before succumbing to a 23-20 loss to Seattle.
Thursday night sees the Patriots face the New York Jets, who have not really got going on offense just yet. Aaron Rodgers has 343 passing yards, 3 TDs and 1 INT across two games in 2024, while they rank 26th in the NFL for rushing yards with 169.
This feels like a low-scoring matchup, especially on a short week, and the Patriots could give their AFC East rivals a very tough game. Only 6.5% rostered, New England’s D could be a solid option in a pinch across leagues of 12 or more teams.