What an absolutely gonzo week it was for team defenses in fantasy. Bonkers. Gaga, even.
There were nine non-offensive touchdowns scored on Sunday of Week 3 alone—the most in a single week since 2020. Per Zachary Pereles of CBS Sports, it was the first time in NFL history that that there were multiple interception return touchdowns, multiple fumble blocked field goal return touchdowns and multiple punt return touchdowns in the same week.
Philadelphia’s comeback win over the Los Angeles Rams was sealed when a blocked field goal was returned for a touchdown by defensive tackle Jordan Davis. In Minnesota, Vikings cornerback Isaiah Rodgers had a pick-six and a fumble returned for a touchdown. In Seattle, Tory Horton set a Seahawks franchise record with a 95-yard punt return for a score.
That’s just scratching the surface—five team defenses posted at least 15 fantasy points in Week 3. The Vikings posted 30—good for a finish inside the top-five fantasy “players” of the week overall.
It was all kinds of fun. But fantasy managers shouldn’t start trying to chase wacky weeks from team defenses. As the wise and sage Admiral Ackbar once said, “It’s a trap!”
Week 3 was a fantastic one-off. But it was a one-off, the kind of week that only comes along once every handful of years. Rather than trying to win Powerball, fantasy managers should be making educated bets on defense this week—because three weeks into the season, we’re starting to get a real idea of which teams are fantasy bonanzas for opposing defenses. The matchups to target. The path to a Week 4 victory.
James Conner is expected to miss the remainder of the 2025 season with an ankle injury, putting Trey Benson in line for an RB1 workload. Fantasy managers should be doing everything they can to land him off waivers.
THE NO-DOUBTERS
Denver Broncos (vs. Cincinnati Bengals)
Fantasy managers who paid up to make the Broncos the first defense drafted on average in fantasy this year can’t be especially happy with their return on investment so far—after Sunday’s loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, the Broncos are outside the top-10 fantasy defenses for the season. But from a fantasy perspective Denver’s five sacks and a takeaway against the Bolts last week was actually a decent stat line, and an angry Broncos team hosts Jake “The Turnover Machine” Browning Monday night.
Buffalo Bills (vs. New Orleans Saints)
The Bills are 3-0, but the defense hasn’t done much for fantasy managers this year—two lousy outings sandwiched around a decent showing in Week 2 against the New York Jets. But after showing some fight at home the first two weeks, the Saints traveled to Seattle last week and remembered how bad they were—New Orleans generated next to no offense until the scrubs were in. On the road again in an environment just as hostile against a worse defense, the Saints are marching right into another beatdown.
Pittsburgh Steelers (vs. Minnesota Vikings)
The Steelers didn’t have a defensive or return touchdown in Week 3, but Pittsburgh was still a top-three fantasy defense for the week after racking up four sacks and a whopping five takeaways in a win over the New England Patriots. Yes, the Minnesota Vikings completely demolished the Bengals in Week 3, but this writer isn’t ready to trust Carson Wentz as an NFL starter again—let alone a tackle who played for the first time in a year last week going up against Steelers edge-rusher T.J. Watt.
Los Angeles Chargers (at New York Giants)
The Chargers don’t get the run that teams like the Bills and Ravens do in the AFC, but it can be argued no team in the conference has had a more impressive start to the season—three wins in as many tries in the division, including two over playoff teams from 2024. Any offensive momentum the Giants built in Dallas evaporated in Sunday night’s clunker against the Kansas City Chiefs, and there are already rumblings that Big Blue is ready to switch quarterbacks. Doing so against the Bolts would be, um, unwise.
Minnesota Vikings (at Pittsburgh Steelers)
Listen, the Vikings aren’t going to pile up five takeaways, four sacks and a pair of defensive touchdowns every week. And this is the first overseas game of the year, so there’s always a chance that this game just gets weird. But in Andrew Van Ginkel and Jonathan Greenard, the Vikings have a formidable duo of edge-rushers. Minnesota has improved their pass defense compared to a year ago. And the Steelers offense is, um, bad—Pittsburgh is averaging less than 250 yards of offense per game.
Houston Texans (vs. Tennessee Titans)
There is no joy in Mudville right now—the Texans are winless and sport the worst scoring offense in the NFL. But the Texans defense has been trying to keep that anemic offense in games—Houston is sixth in the league in scoring defense, allowing just 17 points per contest. Rookie quarterback Cam Ward is on pace to be sacked (and this is a real number) 85 times this season, and the Titans have allowed the second-most fantasy points per game to opposing defenses this year.
Eric Samulski breaks down his fantasy football defense rankings for Week 4 of the NFL season
STREAMERS OF THE WORLD, UNITE!
Green Bay Packers (at Dallas Cowboys)
The Packers’ first loss of the season wasn’t the fault of the defense, but Green Bay has also been a better NFL unit than fantasy one—they rank just inside the top-12 in fantasy points three weeks in. The Cowboys are reeling after getting thumped in Chicago and losing star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb in the process, but Dallas can still put points on the board. The Packers win, and if you have them rostered roll them out. But their “No Doubter” status in on hiatus for the Micah Parsons revenge tour.
Detroit Lions (vs. Cleveland Browns)
Remember when folks worried about the Lions after they were boatraced at Lambeau Field in Week 1? Since then, Detroit has walloped the Chicago Bears and went into Baltimore and stunned the Ravens. The Detroit defense has been quiet from a fantasy perspective, but that says a lot more about their opponents than it does the Lions defensively. Now the Lions get to head back to Ford Field to take on a Browns team that ranks 30th in scoring and has surrendered the fifth-most fantasy points to defenses after three weeks.
Seattle Seahawks (at Arizona Cardinals)
This isn’t about the fact that Seattle is second in fantasy points among defenses, although it’s worth noting that Week 3 was the second straight week the Seahawks scored a non-offensive touchdown. Granted, their opponents haven’t been offensive dynamos, but only the Green Bay Packers have allowed fewer points than Seattle—the Seahawks haven’t allowed more than 17 points in a game this season. The Cardinals have been inconsistent at best on offense this season—if this game was in Seattle the ‘Hawks would be a No-Doubter.
New England Patriots (vs. Carolina Panthers)
From an NFL perspective, New England’s defensive effort in Week 3 might have been their best of the season. From a fantasy perspective, it was the worst—one interception was the team’s only big play against the Pittsburgh Steelers. However, the Patriots are still a top-10 fantasy defense three weeks in, and while the Carolina Panthers blew out the Atlanta Falcons last week that’s about as repeatable as all of last week’s touchdowns. The Panthers are not a good team—and a top-10 fantasy matchup for opposing defenses.
Chicago Bears (at Las Vegas Raiders)
To be clear, the Bears have not been especially good defensively—the 387 (yikes) yards of offense they are allowing is fourth-most in the league, and they are tied for the third-most points allowed per game. But the Bears had a pick-six in Week 1 and put the clamps on the Dallas Cowboys in Week 3. The Bears are better on defense than many think. The Raiders on offense? Exactly as bad as they look. The play-calling is baffling. Ashton Jeanty is invisible. And Vegas is third in the league in fantasy points per game allowed to defenses.
CAVEAT EMPTOR, FOLKS
Baltimore Ravens (at Kansas City Chiefs)
The Ravens may well be one of the best teams in the AFC when the dust settles at the end of the season—regardless of their current record. Their schedule to start the season has admittedly been brutal. And the Kansas City offense has been a shadow of what we have come to expect from Patrick Mahomes and Co. But the Baltimore defense feasted on the lowly Browns but was torched by the Buffalo Bills and the Detroit Lions. Kansas City has given up the sixth-fewest fantasy points per game to defenses, and this game is at Arrowhead. Pass.
Gary Davenport is a two-time Fantasy Sports Writers Association Football Writer of the Year. Follow Gary on X at @IDPGodfather.
