The key with defenses is finding defenses that will face a lot of passing plays. Fantasy point-scoring events like interceptions and sacks occur exclusively on passing plays, and fumbles actually occur more on passing plays than running plays. Defensive touchdowns are difficult to predict, but they're also more likely to occur on passing plays with 53 pick sixes last year compared to only 33 scoop 'n scores.

One of the best ways to identify defenses that will face a lot of passing plays is identifying Vegas favorites, preferably home favorites. And obviously the lower the opponent's implied point total, the better the matchup for the defense.

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Let's start off with a couple of the usual suspects, Seattle and Carolina. Both teams are a touchdown favorite or more at home, and both are facing teams with an implied team total in Vegas of 18 or less. Both teams have obviously been elite defensive units going back at least a couple of seasons, and they currently rank first and sixth in Football Outsiders' DAVE rankings, which are a mix of performance in the first two games and preseason projections. Because there is a very chalky defensive play outside of those two units (which we'll get to in just a moment), Seattle and Carolina shouldn't be super-heavily owned this week. That yet-to-be-discussed chalky play is priced superbly on FD, so the Seahawks and Panthers defenses should be low owned enough to use even in GPPs there.

The chalk this week is the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins are a 9.5-point favorite at home against Cleveland, and the Browns have the second lowest implied total at 16. Defenses facing the Browns this season have scored 12 and 10 fantasy points through two weeks, and those defenses didn’t have the pleasure of facing a rookie quarterback making his first career start on the road like the Dolphins will against Cody Kessler. Miami only ranks 23rd in the FO DAVE rankings, so they're not an elite unit. But then again, they don't need to be in this matchup. As mentioned, they're priced very well on FD, but they're priced more than reasonably on DK as well. They're a good cash game option on either site, but they'll be heavily owned, so look elsewhere in GPPs.

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This category is reserved for good defenses that may be overlooked in a given week for whatever reason, providing you with the opportunity to roster a really good unit with a low ownership rate. The only team that somewhat fits that bill the week would be the Chiefs. To be clear, the Chiefs defense has struggled through two weeks, but they were expected to be a good unit coming into the season. That's reflected in the preseason projection-including DAVE rankings which stll have KC as a top 10 defense.

The Chiefs are a home favorite this week against the Jets, who have an implied total of 20. Ryan Fitzpatrick ranks 35th of 45 in completion percentage since the start of 2015 (min. 100 attempts), and a low completion percentage correlates somewhat with interceptions. And the Jets are really banged up at receiver with both Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker ailing. Decker is likely to play but missed some practice early in the week, and Marshall is a game-time decision. Marshall is dealing with a foot injury, so he's not likely to be as effective as he normally is if he plays.

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Let's start here with the Buccaneers who are 4.5-point favorites at home against the Rams whose 18.75 implied total is the fourth lowest of the weekend. The Bucs got torched in Arizona last week and were only average in Week 1, but both of those games were on the road. Perhaps more importantly, those games were against Matt Ryan and Carson Palmer, not Case Keenum. The Bucs rank 16th in Football Outsiders’ DAVE rankings, so this defense is probably better than they’ve shown through two weeks. A return home to face Keenum should provide better results.

If you want to go as cheap as you can on DK, consider Dallas at $2,500. The Cowboys are a seven-point favorite at home against the Bears who have an implied total of 19. Dallas was projected to be a middle-of-the-road defense, and that's exactly what they've been through two weeks according to the DAVE rankings. Chicago is also banged up in important spots with Brian Hoyer starting for Jay Cutler and Alshon Jeffery questionable with a knee injury.

If you want to go as cheap as possible on FD, look at the Bengals at $4,500. They're a three-point favorite home to Denver who also has an implied total of 19. Cincy ranks 11th in th DAVE rankings, so this is an above average unit that can be had for a reasonable cost in a favorable Vegas situation.