Last week was as up and down as you can get. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were my bottom of the barrel pick but ended up with 26 points and ranked as the top D/ST for the week. The New York Jets and Carolina Panthers, on the other hand, did nothing for your fantasy teams. There are four teams on bye this week, so options continue to be limited. Stream these D/STs in Week 8.
Week 7 Results
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 26 Points (1st-Ranked D/ST)
- New York Jets: 2 Points (T-22nd)
- Carolina Panthers: 0 Points (T-27th)
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Week 8 D/ST Streamers
All D/STs are rostered in under 50% of Fantrax Leagues
Last week’s stashes: Detroit Lions, Atlanta Falcons
Cincinnati Bengals vs. Tennessee Titans
Fantrax Rostership: 46% (Other Platforms: 16% – 28%)
After a couple of down games, the Bengals are back. Cincinnati ranks as the D/ST7 on the season and averages 10.8 points. They play host to a Titans offense that averages 25 points per game over their last two contests. Looks can be deceiving, though.
The Titans only had six points heading into the fourth quarter against the Colts two weeks ago. A long punt return gave Tennessee excellent field position, and they only needed to go 28 yards to score their first TD of the game. They followed that up with a block punt that was returned for a TD. After that, they scored two FGs, but one of them was on a drive that started on the Colts 31. A similar story played out against the Browns last week. Tennessee scored their second TD of the first quarter after an interception put them on Cleveland’s 24-yard line. Though the rest of their scores were genuinely long-yardage drives.
Cam Ward has still done nothing. Ward’s stats over those two games look like a passable single-game finish. 283 passing yards, one TD, and two interceptions is not scary. The Titans offense ranks 31st in the league in DVOA while the Bengals defense ranks 10th. Cincinnati leads the league in sacks with 21, and they are generating pressure on 26.3% of opposing dropbacks. That’s the fifth-highest rate in the league per Pro Football Reference. They’re also averaging over a turnover per game. While Cam Ward is not a loose cannon, throwing picks left and right or taking tons of sacks per game, the Titans offense cannot be trusted. The Bengals should continue to pay off in Week 8 as a D/ST streamer. Upside may not be great, but the floor should be there.
Detroit Lions vs. Minnesota Vikings
Fantrax Rostership: 40% (Other Platforms: 13% – 23%)
While the Minnesota Vikings roll to 6-0, they have been in danger of losing all of their games. Even at home, coming off a bye, and facing a horrible Colts team, the Vikings only scored 16 points. Things could improve against another bad defense in the Lions, but how much damage can they really do? The Vikings rank 30th in offensive DVOA, and Kyler Murray is 28th in adjusted EPA/play out of 34 QBs. Murray has not taken many sacks or thrown many interceptions in his five starts, but he is not generating a ton of offense. The Vikings allow the eight most fantasy points to D/STs this season.
Detroit has been fairly successful against below-average opponents. The Lions have scored at least seven fantasy points in four of their six games this year. The only ones they dipped below that were against the Bills and Lions. Both teams rank top-12 in offensive DVOA. Detroit is tied for the league lead in sacks with 21. They’re also generating a pressure on a quarter of opposing QB dropbacks. The Lions D/ST has streamer potential against a putrid offense in Week 8.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Atlanta Falcons
Fantrax Rostership: 33% (Other Platforms: 6% – 18%)
Last week may not be repeatable, but it was not a fluke. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers enter Week 8 with the third-best defense by both DVOA and EPA/play. While the Buccaneers have only generated 16 sacks on the season – tied for 15th – they have caused 12 turnovers and allow the seventh-fewest yards per play. Despite facing offenses like the Bengals and Cowboys, the Buccaneers are above-average in so many categories.
The 26-point performance against the Panthers skyrocketed the Buccaneers to the D/ST3 on the season, but they were usable almost every week before that. They only scored fewer than seven fantasy points in one game, and they have at least nine fantasy points in five of seven games.
This week, the Buccaneers face a Falcons offense that has been very kind to D/STs. Part of that was some early-season struggles with Cooper Rush at QB. Things have cooled off since Michael Penix Jr. took over, but the Ravens and Bears D/STs scored double-digit points against them. The Buccaneers currently have a better defense than both of them. There is still risk against a capable divisional opponent, but the defensive talent exists. The Buccaneers should at least be on your roster in Week 8.
Make sure to check out all of our Week 8 Fantasy Football Rankings and Analysis!
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