Fantasy Football Week 2 D/ST Start/Sit: Eagles, Colts, Chiefs, Cowboys, Dolphins, Commanders

With most fantasy football positions, start/sit decisions aren’t as hard as you’d think. “Start your studs” is a catchphrase for a reason: The right answer is usually to simply start the better player. However, that’s not true at all for defenses. 

For fantasy defenses, matchup is the most important factor to consider, even above a unit’s actual talent. Just last week, we saw the Jets, the consensus best defense in the league, score negative points thanks to a matchup with the 49ers. Meanwhile, we saw a mediocre Bears defense drop 26 fantasy points in a matchup with Will Levis and the Titans. Keep that in mind when choosing which defense to trust, and read on for my thoughts on six defenses on the borderline of starting lineups for Week 2.

For more help with Start/Sit decisions, check out FantasySP’s NFL Start/Sit tool!

Fantasy Football Defenses To Start Week 2

Philadelphia Eagles vs. Atlanta Falcons

It’s hard to overstate how rough things looked for Kirk Cousins in his Falcons debut. The veteran is clearly not fully recovered from the Achilles injury he suffered in Week 8 of last year. He could hardly move and was clearly struggling to generate power off of his right plant leg.

Cousins’ lack of mobility impacted the Falcons’ playcalling as well. They ran all but two of their plays out of either the shotgun or pistol formations, with every single shotgun play being a pass and 81% of the pistol plays being runs. Even worse, they didn’t run play-action, which Cousins took great advantage of in Minnesota, once. 

Unsurprisingly, this led to bad results for the Falcons’ offense, which finished with just 10 points and 226 yards in Week 1 against the Steelers. The Eagles’ defense isn’t as good as Pittsburgh’s, but they should still be able to take advantage of Cousins’ immobility with at least a few sacks.

Indianapolis Colts @ Green Bay Packers

I was shocked to see that the Colts are only rostered, let alone started, in under a quarter of leagues this week. This is a massive mistake by fantasy managers. And you don't just have to take my word for it: According to our Week 2 Fantasy DST Projections, the Colts are the top defense for this week.

But why are the Colts, a mediocre-at-best defense, projected so highly, especially against the Packers? The answer is simple: Malik Willis. As I broke down in my Week 2 DST Streaming article, it’s hard to overstate how terribly Willis has played in his short NFL career. Matt LaFleur is a good offensive coach, but there’s only so much he will be able to do. Start the Colts with confidence against Willis and Green Bay this week. 

Washington Commanders vs. New York Giants

For the third recommendation in a row, we have a questionable defense going against a very questionable offense. Great offense beats great defense, but mediocre defenses often beat mediocre offenses. 

After Week 1, calling the Giants’ offense mediocre is an insult to mediocre. Daniel Jones picked up where he left off with a 25% pressure-to-sack rate, as well as a disgustingly low 4.4 yards per attempt. Devin Singletary performed adequately in his New York debut, but he’s certainly not going to carry this offense. This play isn’t risk-free, as the Commanders’ defense is bad, but I’m willing to bank on the Giants’ offense being worse. 

Fantasy Football Defenses To Sit Week 2

Miami Dolphins vs. Buffalo Bills

Honestly, I wouldn’t have expected to have to say this. There aren’t any defenses worth starting against Josh Allen, and this Miami unit isn’t even particularly impressive. But the Dolphins are currently being started in 46% of leagues, an absurdly high number given that their game is in just a few hours.

Honestly, I might recommend not starting a defense at all over playing the Dolphins against Josh Allen on a short week. If you’re part of the 46%, now is the time to make a change. 

Kansas City Chiefs vs. Cincinnati Bengals

This pick is all about risk. There’s a solid chance the Chiefs have a good outing this week. They’re a great defense, and the Bengals’ offense looked putrid on Sunday. But the Bengals’ offense still has some elite talents, and they have a history of starting slow before putting it all together all at once. With the number of streaming options available this week, it’s not worth risking that happening by starting the Chiefs.   

Dallas Cowboys vs. New Orleans Saints

This is potentially my most controversial pick of the article. After all, the Cowboys are the reigning DST1, while the Derek Carr-led Saints offense has never been particularly frightening. Our own projections have Dallas ranked as the fourth-best defense for this week, while the FantasyPros expert consensus has them sixth. 

But, as with the Chiefs, this is simply a question of risk. We just saw the Saints drop 47 points in Week 1. That may have been because the Panthers are simply that bad, but there’s a non-zero chance that new OC Klint Kubiak has revolutionized New Orleans’ offense into an elite unit. With zero teams on bye this week and plenty of offenses we can confidently call terrible, there’s no reason to risk that. Don't get too cute, but any solid streaming option is a better play than the Cowboys' D this week.