Best Week 8 Defense Streamers - Fantasy Football DST Pickups and Starts

The top Week 8 defense streamers - fantasy football D/ST pickups, streamers and starts for 2025. Target these fantasy DST streaming options with strong matchups.

Streaming the right defense can pay significant dividends for your fantasy matchup. Those who targeted the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs were given a substantial boost in their starting lineup in Week 7.

In this piece, we will highlight four top streaming options that are widely available in all formats for Week 8, including the Cincinnati Bengals facing an undermanned Jets team and the Chicago Bears traveling to Baltimore to face the slumping Ravens.

Who should fantasy managers look to target on the waiver wire and plug into their starting lineup? Let's dive in!

Top Week 8 Defense Streamers (D/ST)

Only defenses rostered in fewer than 65% of fantasy football leagues are considered potential streamers.

Cincinnati Bengals vs. NYJ
20% Rostered

While the Cincinnati Bengals sit near the bottom in every defensive metric this season, they have one of the best matchups on paper, which puts them in streaming territory. They will face the New York Jets, who are coming off two disappointing offensive performances. In Week 6, the Jets scored only 11 points with only 82 yards of total offense.

Last Sunday, their struggles persisted, scoring just six points against the Carolina Panthers. While the Jets may look to promote Tyrod Taylor to the QB1 position, he could struggle as Justin Fields did, as their top wideout, Garrett Wilson (knee), could miss his second-straight game.

Taylor struggled in relief last weekend, tossing two interceptions.

Intercepted by Jaycee Horn again!

CARvsNYJ on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/PbFU8goAAi

— NFL (@NFL) October 19, 2025

The Bengals have the highest upside to come close to posting a shutout on this list, despite allowing 31 points last Thursday.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. NO
35% Rostered

While the Buccaneers narrowly fit the parameters of this streaming article, they could be available in shallower leagues. The Buccaneers, like the Bengals, have not been overly productive this season, allowing 25.0 points per game and 328.0 total yards per game.

However, facing a Saints team that tallied the eighth-fewest total yards per game and scored the fourth-fewest yards per game, the Buccaneers seem primed for a productive showing. Like the Bengals, they have some risk, but their matchup is too favorable to pass up.

San Francisco 49ers at HOU
25% Rostered

The 49ers are coming off one of their most impressive showings of the season as they allowed just 10 points to the Atlanta Falcons last Sunday night. In this game, the 49ers tallied two sacks and held Atlanta quarterback Michael Penix Jr. to just 241 yards. In addition, they also shut down Atlanta's star running back, Bijan Robinson, as he tallied just 40 yards on the ground.

Sam Okuayinonu speed-to-power pic.twitter.com/0iVy4n8I0F

— Jordan Elliott (@splash_cousin) October 21, 2025

They have a prime matchup in Week 8, facing the Houston Texans. C.J. Stroud has struggled to maintain consistency all season and could be without his top wideouts, Nico Collins (concussion) and Christian Kirk (hamstring). Given that Houston has struggled to score all season, they could face even more trouble without their top playmaker.

Chicago Bears at BAL
20% Rostered

The final streaming option we will look at is the Chicago Bears. The Bears will face a Ravens team that is coming off a much-needed Week 7 bye. With Lamar Jackson (hamstring) sidelined, the Ravens struggled to move the ball downfield, scoring just 13 points over their last two games. During this stretch, Cooper Rush threw four interceptions.

While the Bears will carry much more risk if Jackson can turn the corner, they are worth holding on to your bench for now, as they could emerge as a top-5 play if the former MVP misses another contest. This is a situation to closely monitor.

If Jackson were to suit up, the Bears could still have sneaky appeal in deeper 14+ team formats, given that they have not allowed 25 or more points since Week 2. Through seven weeks, the Bears have averaged the seventh-most FPTS/G among defensive units and have forced a league-leading 11 interceptions.

Week 8 Defense Rankings and Tiers

Read more defense news and updates for Week 8

Who Should I Start Tool

You can also see the Who Should I Start tool here.

Week 8 Defense Decisions. Today's focus is on specific team defenses - The Cincinnati Bengals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Chicago Bears, San Francisco 49ers. These are some of the most common searches for fantasy football lineups in Week 8.

Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player's name. In the second box, search for the second player's name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Start? button to see who the recommended starts are based on weekly fantasy football matchups.

Improvements For Who Should I Start? You may have noticed that our Who Should I Start? tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your fantasy football matchups each week. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, stats, projections, strength of schedule, player news, and enhanced search results with data to compare with a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!

How It Works. Each week, our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked. If someone is out for the week, they will not appear in the search results.

Scoring Formats. Fantasy football managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's PPR scoring, Half-PPR scoring, or Standard (Non-PPR) scoring. The second thing you want to do is to select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circles), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.

Popular Week 8 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 8 (2025)? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Start? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at this week. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.

Popular Week 8 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons

Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Start tool for Week 8 for defenses like the Cincinnati Bengals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Chicago Bears, San Francisco 49ers:

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