Are you ready for some football?
Of course you are.
We have successfully navigated the cold, dark months of the offseason, where there’s nothing to do besides watch the grass grow and occasionally talk to our families. Now, the sun is finally shining again—because on Wednesday the Seattle Seahawks host the New England Patriots in the first regular-season game of the 2026 campaign.
And that means that another season of fantasy football is here.
Hallelujah.
Just as with the other positions in fantasy, Week 1 lineup decisions where team defenses are concerned should be pretty straightforward. If you drafted an elite defense that has a shaky matchup in Week 1, you should have known that going in—just bite the bullet and roll them out. If you’re streaming matchup plays, then in theory you already know which favorable matchup you will be availing yourself of this week.
Don’t worry—we’ll all be confused and flailing wildly soon enough.
Gonna be another fun season.
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THE NO-DOUBTERS
Jacksonville Jaguars (vs. Cleveland Browns)
Every September, we learn that some defensive matchups we thought would be awesome wind up being awful—and vice-versa. A lot can change on an NFL offense from season-to-season. But it can be said with the utmost of confidence that the Cleveland Browns will be terrible offensively in 2026, because NFL teams without quarterbacks tend to be. The Jaguars also tend to force teams to the air—Jacksonville has the best run defense in the league last season. In 2025, only the Las Vegas Raiders allowed more fantasy points per game to defenses than the Browns.
Los Angeles Chargers (vs. Arizona Cardinals)
The Chargers really don’t get enough credit for how well the team played defensively in 2025—the Bolts were a top-10 defense across the board and top-five in terms of yards allowed. Now, the Chargers open the season against an Arizona Cardinals team that was a goldmine for opposing defenses a year ago. The Redbirds allowed 59 sacks last year (second-most in the NFC), and the team gave up the seventh-most fantasy points per game to the position.
Pittsburgh Steelers (vs. Atlanta Falcons)
The Steelers have long been a consistently productive fantasy defense, and while the team had its ups and downs in 2025 Pittsburgh still finished a respectable eighth in fantasy points. Now, the Steelers will have a healthy T.J. Watt on the edge, and while Pittsburgh has legitimate questions in the secondary a Falcons team that will be starting Tua Tagovailoa at quarterback appears ill-equipped to exploit them. Look for Pittsburgh’s pass-rush to tee off. And for Tagovailoa to have a rough day in the Steel City.
Los Angeles Rams (vs. San Francisco 49ers)
Things could admittedly get weird for the Rams in the season-opener—this is a game being played in Australia on a Friday morning that will air in the United States on Thursday night because time travel. But this is a classic example of “if you drafted them, start them.” The Rams were sixth among defenses in fantasy points last year before adding Pro Bowl cornerback Trent McDuffie. And adding reigning Defensive Player of the Year and single-season sack king Myles Garrett. And adding some defensive tackle named Aaron Donald.
Philadelphia Eagles (vs. Washington Commanders)
The Eagles were once again stout defensively last year—Philly finished the season as a top-five scoring defense and was fifth in fantasy points at the position. There are potential issues along the defensive front with Jonathan Greenard banged-up to begin the season, but the team still has no shortage of talent at all three levels, and while the Commanders are hopeful 2026 will look more like 2024 than 2025, the Eagles defense is going to party at home like it’s 1999.
Denver Broncos (at Kansas City Chiefs)
On average this summer, the Denver Broncos were the third defense drafted, and with good reason—the team was second in the NFL in total defense in 2025, finished as a top-10 fantasy unit and led the league in sacks with 68. Starting out the season in primetime at Arrowhead against the rival Chiefs isn’t an ideal matchup to kick things off, but Kansas City has question marks on offense, including the health of quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Give Denver a go—and hope they help you finish Week 1 with a bang.
STREAMERS OF THE WORLD, UNITE!
Tennessee Titans (vs. New York Jets)
No one is going to confuse the Titans with the ’85 Bears anytime soon—Tennessee fielded a bottom-five scoring defense in 2026 and ranked outside the top-20 in yards allowed, and that defense isn’t exponentially better on paper this year than last. But neither is a New York Jets offense that is now led by Geno “Oh No!” Smith at quarterback. At the helm of the Raiders offense last year, Smith was sacked more times (55) than any signal-caller in the league and led all quarterbacks with 17 interceptions. Other than that, he was fine.
New York Jets (at Tennessee Titans)
The flip side of a bad game. Good times. Like the Titans, the Jets struggled defensively in 2025—Gang Green ranked 25th in the league in yards allowed and surrendered more points per game than any team in the AFC. However, the Titans had a tendency to make opposing defenses look good last season—the Titans were 31st in yards per game, 30th in points per game and surrendered the fourth-most fantasy points per game to defenses. The first team to score 13 here wins. Should make for great television.
Las Vegas Raiders (at Miami Dolphins)
The Raiders were not a good defensive team in 2025—Vegas surrendered the eighth-most points per game on the way to the NFL’s worst record. The Raiders invested a lot in that defense in the offseason though, bolstering the front and replacing both starting linebackers. This has less to do with the Vegas defense than it does their opponent in Week 1—the Dolphins have the most talent-deficient offense in the league, and that offense has spent most of the summer struggling mightily.
Green Bay Packers (at Minnesota Vikings)
The Packers fell apart down the stretch last season, and defensive lapses after edge-rusher Micah Parsons tore his ACL played a big part. The team will be without Parsons for at least the first month of this season as well, and after trading Rashan Gary the pass rush is a major question mark. With that said, the Vikings allowed more fantasy points per game to defenses last year than any team in the NFC, and while there’s a new quarterback in the Twin Cities that quarterback is not Fran Tarkenton.
Chicago Bears (at Carolina Panthers)
The Bears made the playoffs last year more in spite of the defense than because of it—Da Bears were the fourth-worst defense in terms of yards allowed and the 10th-worst defense in terms of points allowed. But the Bears were also highly opportunistic, piling up a league-high 33 takeaways on the way to a ninth-place finish in fantasy points. The Panthers were a playoff team last year, but with an 8-9 record—among 2025 playoff teams, only the Chargers were a better fantasy matchup for opposing defenses.
CAVEAT EMPTOR, FOLKS
Houston Texans (vs. Buffalo Bills)
The Texans have one of the best defenses in the NFL—full stop. Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter are arguably the best duo of edge-rushers in the game. A secondary that finished last year sixth in the league against the pass is loaded with talent. Houston was the first defense off the board in many fantasy drafts this summer. But know when you trot them out there in Week 1 that their fantasy output will be below-average (and then some)—the Bills gave up the sixth-fewest fantasy points per game to defenses a year ago.
Gary Davenport is a two-time Fantasy Sports Writers Association Football Writer of the Year. Follow Gary on X at @IDPGodfather.
