Defense (DST) Streamers For Week 8 Fantasy Football: Add The Bengals D & More

Last week's defense (DST) streamers were a mixed bag. The Cleveland Browns delivered a solid performance as my top streaming recommendation. The Jets did not look good against the Dolphins and allowed Miami to get their first win of the season. Somehow, the Panthers were even worse. Despite only giving up 64 passing yards to Baker Mayfield, Carolina was gashed on the ground repeatedly, to the tune of 258 rushing yards. Time will tell whether that game was an anomaly or indicative of a mid-season collapse for Carolina.

Turning our attention to Week 8 now, the bye teams are the Texans, Saints, Giants, and 49ers. Houston and San Francisco are widely rostered defenses, so those managers will be hitting the waiver wire, making this a fairly competitive week for streaming.

Week 8 Defense (DST) Streaming Strategy For Fantasy Football

It is worth watching to see if the Houston manager drops them heading into their bye. They are coming off of two disappointing games, so there is a chance they are dropped in a higher number of leagues than expected. If they are, they are worth adding this week if you can spare the roster spot. After their bye, Houston will face the Chargers, Browns, and Colts in their next three games and will be a great starting option in each of them.

For this article, I will only consider DSTs that are rostered in fewer than 50% of leagues on Yahoo. When selecting a streaming defense, the upcoming week is by far the most important, but I will also point out when there are favorable upcoming schedules that will allow you to roster the same defense for a few weeks.

When figuring out which defense I want to start in any given week, I am primarily looking for DSTs with the ability to create sacks and turnovers rather than minimizing points allowed to the other team, although those two things are correlated. I think this is one of the bigger mistakes fantasy managers make when thinking about fantasy defenses. As you will see in this article, I am generally focused on three things: offensive line play, QB turnover rates, and game script.

Defense (DST) Streamers For Week 8 Fantasy Football

Jacksonville Jaguars - 40% rostered

The Jags are back from their bye and get to face Daniel Jones and a broken Colts offense. Indy dropped their third straight game and only managed 10 points against the ferocious Minnesota defense. Jacksonville is not as strong defensively, but they are one of the better run defenses in the league, which will help to limit what the Colts do best. If they can force Indy to have to lean on Jones, that is likely to work out in their favor.

In his last four games, Jones has just one passing TD against four interceptions and 13 sacks taken. He has not been playing good football, and I struggle to see how that changes in this game. Jacksonville ranks fourth in rushing success rate allowed and seventh in pass rush win rate. Limiting Jonathan Taylor and getting pressure on Daniel Jones is the exact recipe you want against the Colts' offense.

Jacksonville is at home and favored by 7.5 points in this game, so they check all the boxes that I look for in a streaming defense. It also doesn't hurt that Indy is among the worst rush defenses in the league, which should allow the Jags to possess the ball and dominate the clock, further limiting the opportunities for the Colts offense.

Cincinnati Bengals - 24% rostered

The Bengals continued their impressive defensive play in Week 7, shutting down the Ravens offense and are likely to finish the week as a top-five fantasy defense. In Week 8, they will take on the Tennessee Titans, who remain one of the best matchups for opposing defenses. The Tennessee ground game got going in Week 7 against the Browns, but Cam Ward continues to struggle. He threw for just 181 scoreless yards to go along with an interception and a sack. As I've written about in previous weeks, Ward does a good job of avoiding a ton of sacks, but he does put the ball in harm's way.

Cincinnati has been better against the pass than they have been against the run, but I'm not entirely convinced the Titans have figured out their rushing attack. Prior to Week 7, Tennessee had only rushed for more than 100 yards as a team twice. I will need to see sustained success before I will consider them anything other than a plus matchup for opposing DSTs.

The Bengals are at home and favored by 10 points, which aligns with the game script that I am expecting. Cincy's offense has been playing well and should be able to put up points in this game and force the Titans to keep up, which I don't think they will be able to do.

Washington Commanders - 1% rostered

If you need a defense that is available in virtually every league, the Commanders are my choice. Like Jacksonville, Washington is also coming off its bye and has a favorable matchup against the very injured Eagles offense. Jalen Hurts is out for the foreseeable future, Lane Johnson retired, DeVonta Smith is struggling with a recurring hamstring injury, Dontayvion Wicks was ruled out for Week 7, Saquon Barkley has missed time and is a trade candidate, and the list goes on and on. This is quickly becoming a lost season for Philly, so don't be surprised if I feature their opponent as a streaming DST option regularly in the future.

Tanner McKee wasn't a disaster in his first start, but he wasn't great, and he took three sacks. I haven't seen the Eagles play in Week 7 at the time of writing because they are on Monday Night Football, but that is honestly another point in Washington's favor. Philly will be on a short week with an inexperienced QB, while Washington will be coming off their bye, giving them the biggest possible rest advantage.

I also have my eye on Sonny Styles, Washington's rookie linebacker who is quickly emerging as a force on the defensive side of the ball. My analysis rarely focuses on individual defensive players, but Styles seems to be making multiple big plays every week. I note this because I did not consider the Commanders a talented defense coming into the season, but I am convinced they have one of the brightest young playmakers in the league, which makes me a little bit more comfortable streaming them if I don't get one of my top streaming targets.