There are two big pieces of QB injury news from Week 2 to know about for DST streaming purposes:
- 49ers rookie QB Trey Lance suffered a season-ending ankle injury that required surgery. Jimmy Garoppolo took over for him, and likely will for the rest of the season. Garoppolo is quite strong for a backup. During his tenure as the 49ers’ starter in 2019-2021, Garooppolo wasn’t a particularly attractive DST target, thanks to his low turnover rate, middling sack rate and well, being relatively good at football.
- Chargers QB Justin Herbert suffered a rib cartilage fracture in Week 1. For a full analysis check out this video from Dr. David Chao, but the fantasy takeaway is that there’s a good chance Herbert plays through the injury, after a 10-day break between games. A Justin Herbert who isn’t 100% is still a QB to stay away from for fantasy defenses, but if Chase Daniel ends up starting, that’s more interesting. Daniel has started a handful of games over the years, and taken a lot of sacks in those games.
With the bad news out of the way, let’s get to the good news: there’s a lot to like about this week’s DST streaming options.
Ranks
There are several widely available teams with good outlooks this week, including two teams under 10% rostership in my top tier. Meanwhile, some of the most popular teams you would have had to actually draft (like Buffalo) have tough matchups. Rostership numbers are from Yahoo. You can find me on Twitter.
| Rank | Team | Vs. | O/U | Spread | PA | Sacks | Turnovers | TD | FPTS | Rost% |
| The Start Them With Confidence Tier | ||||||||||
| 1 | CLE | PIT | 38.5 | -5 | 16.75 | 2.4 | 1.2 | 0.09 | 6.74 | 66% |
| 2 | CHI | HOU | 40.5 | -3 | 18.75 | 2.4 | 1.2 | 0.10 | 6.43 | 4% |
| 3 | SEA | ATL | 42 | -2 | 20 | 2.7 | 1.2 | 0.10 | 6.42 | 2% |
| The Still a Fine Choice Tier | ||||||||||
| 4 | DAL | @NYG | 39.5 | 2.5 | 21 | 2.7 | 1.2 | 0.10 | 6.24 | 41% |
| 5 | NO | @CAR | 40.5 | -3 | 18.75 | 2.1 | 1.2 | 0.10 | 6.12 | 60% |
| 6 | SF | @DEN | 46 | -1 | 22.5 | 2.9 | 1.2 | 0.09 | 6.11 | 98% |
| 7 | NYG | DAL | 39.5 | -2.5 | 18.5 | 2.4 | 1.1 | 0.08 | 6.08 | 6% |
| 8 | ATL | @SEA | 42 | 2 | 22 | 2.6 | 1.3 | 0.10 | 6.08 | 0% |
| 9 | HOU | @CHI | 40.5 | 3 | 21.75 | 2.7 | 1.2 | 0.10 | 6.07 | 1% |
| 10 | LV | @TEN | 45.5 | -2 | 21.75 | 2.8 | 1.2 | 0.09 | 6.04 | 4% |
| The Surely You Can Find Something Better Tier | ||||||||||
| 11 | PIT | @CLE | 38.5 | 5 | 21.75 | 2.9 | 1.1 | 0.09 | 6.02 | 68% |
| 12 | TB | GB | 41 | -2.5 | 19.25 | 2.3 | 1.1 | 0.09 | 6.01 | 95% |
| 13 | LAC | JAC | 48 | -7 | 20.5 | 2.1 | 1.3 | 0.10 | 5.85 | 64% |
| 14 | PHI | @WAS | 49 | -6.5 | 21.25 | 2.4 | 1.2 | 0.09 | 5.77 | 32% |
| 15 | NE | BAL | 43 | 3 | 23 | 2.9 | 1.1 | 0.09 | 5.77 | 61% |
| 16 | BAL | @NE | 43 | -3 | 20 | 1.8 | 1.2 | 0.10 | 5.51 | 83% |
| 17 | DEN | SF | 46 | 1 | 23.5 | 2.5 | 1.2 | 0.09 | 5.41 | 92% |
| 18 | CIN | @NYJ | 45 | -4.5 | 20.25 | 1.7 | 1.2 | 0.10 | 5.38 | 70% |
| 19 | KC | @IND | 49.5 | -6.5 | 21.5 | 2.0 | 1.2 | 0.09 | 5.37 | 36% |
| 20 | MIN | DET | 52.5 | -6 | 23.25 | 2.2 | 1.2 | 0.10 | 5.26 | 17% |
| 21 | NYJ | CIN | 45 | 4.5 | 24.75 | 2.5 | 1.2 | 0.09 | 5.26 | 2% |
| 22 | CAR | NO | 40.5 | 3 | 21.75 | 1.8 | 1.2 | 0.10 | 5.23 | 4% |
| 23 | LAR | @ARI | 50.5 | -4 | 23.25 | 2.2 | 1.1 | 0.09 | 5.12 | 97% |
| 24 | GB | @TB | 41 | 2.5 | 21.75 | 1.8 | 1.2 | 0.09 | 5 | 86% |
| 25 | TEN | LV | 45.5 | 2 | 23.75 | 1.6 | 1.2 | 0.10 | 4.6 | 14% |
| 26 | BUF | @MIA | 52 | -5.5 | 23.25 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 0.09 | 4.55 | 100% |
| 27 | JAC | @LAC | 48 | 7 | 27.5 | 2.2 | 1.2 | 0.09 | 4.46 | 1% |
| 28 | ARI | LAR | 50.5 | 4 | 27.25 | 2.1 | 1.2 | 0.10 | 4.45 | 2% |
| 29 | MIA | BUF | 52 | 5.5 | 28.75 | 2.3 | 1.2 | 0.09 | 4.27 | 22% |
| 30 | WAS | PHI | 49 | 6.5 | 27.75 | 2.2 | 1.1 | 0.09 | 4.13 | 7% |
| 31 | DET | @MIN | 52.5 | 6 | 29.25 | 2.1 | 1.2 | 0.09 | 4.02 | 1% |
| 32 | IND | KC | 49.5 | 6.5 | 28 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 0.09 | 3.93 | 80% |
Matchups
- CLE vs PIT: Traditionally, Mitch Trubisky is a dangerous QB to target. He provides a lot of upside, but he also has the capability to burn you. But that hasn’t happened this season, and the memory of his 6-TD game in 2018 is distant. As long as Trubisky keeps playing like this, the Steelers will be a strong DST target every week.
- CHI vs HOU: Last week, the Broncos were one of my top picks against Houston. Davis Mills did not disappoint, taking 3 sacks and failing to score a touchdown. This week it’s the same story: the Texans are on the road again, this time visiting the Bears, who are certainly good enough to take advantage of such a great matchup.
- SEA vs ATL: Last week, the Falcons put up a respectable 27 points against the Rams (20 on offense), but LA still turned in a strong fantasy showing thanks to three turnovers and three sacks. I don’t see a reason to expect any better from Atlanta on the road in Seattle this week.
- DAL @ NYG: Daniel Jones and the Giants avoided turnovers and took home a win against the Panthers last week, but they did it with only 19 points. Now they get to face a Dallas team that sacked Joe Burrow six times and held Joe Mixon under 60 rushing yards last week. The run-first nature of the Giants with a healthy Saquon Barkley means the Cowboys’ upside might be limited, but I don’t think they have much downside either.
- NO @ CAR: While he didn’t give up any turnovers or many sacks, Baker Mayfield led the Panthers to just 16 points against the Giants in Week 2. Now they face a better Saints defense, so I expect the Panthers to do even worse.
- SF @ DEN: Russell Wilson has yet to really find his footing with the Broncos, who have scored exactly 16 points in both games (though that was worth a win against the terrible Texans). It’s not going to be any easier this week against a strong 49ers defense, and the sack upside Wilson provides makes this a pretty good week for San Francisco.
- NYG vs DAL: The Cowboys, led by Cooper Rush in Dak Prescott‘s absence, managed a win against the Bengals last week, but credit for that mostly goes to their defense. The offense only managed 20 points, and Vegas is expecting even less from them this week, on the road in New York.
- ATL @ SEA: Geno Smith and Drew Lock both can’t really score points, but Smith is the starter in Seattle because he’s less liable to turn the ball over. This is a pretty good spot for the Falcons, despite taking their own poor offense on the road, because I would be interested in starting most defenses against this Seattle offense.
- HOU @ CHI: The Justin Fields-led Bears want to run the ball, but they can’t seem to score points that way. So they either have to throw more and open the door to turnovers and sacks, or keep it on the ground and keep scoring less than 20 points. I’m expecting the latter. Either scenario is good news for a Texans defense that held Russel Wilson to just 16 points last week.
- LV @ TEN: The Titans got completely destroyed by the Bills on Monday Night Football. The Bills might be the best team in football, but putting up just 7 points is meaningful in any matchup. The Raiders’ defense is more average, but I expect this Titans team to struggle in an average matchup.
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Jacob Herlin is a Data Scientist for FantasyPros. For more from Jacob, check out his archive and follow him @jacoblawherlin.
