Week 8 Top 10 Fantasy Defenses: Sunday Leaders
Information cutoff: November 2, 2026 at 5:02 AM Central. This is the Week 8 Sunday edition. Bears at Seahawks remains pending Monday night, so both defenses from that game are excluded. Houston, New Orleans, the New York Giants and San Francisco were on bye.
Scoring model: one point per sack, two per interception, two per fumble recovery, six per defensive or special teams touchdown, two per safety and two per blocked kick. Points allowed gives 10 for zero, seven for 1 through 6, four for 7 through 13, one for 14 through 20, zero for 21 through 27, minus one for 28 through 34 and minus four for 35 or more. No yardage adjustment is used. This is the Roll Coverage standard model, with the Raiders kickoff return touchdown added from the FantasyPros special teams record because Roll Coverage identifies kickoff return touchdowns as a known limitation.
1. Jacksonville Jaguars, 20 points
Week 8 at home against Indianapolis: seven points allowed, four sacks, two interceptions, one fumble recovery and one defensive touchdown. The math is four for points allowed, four for interceptions, two for the recovery, four for sacks and six for the touchdown. Jacksonville won 42 to 7, and the official team report confirmed the four sacks, two interceptions and 92 yard interception return touchdown. The strongest counterargument is that defensive touchdowns are volatile. Fantasy action: start at Baltimore on Thursday in Week 9 if your league rewards pressure and takeaways.
2. Pittsburgh Steelers, 19 points
Week 8 at home against Cleveland: six points allowed, eight sacks, no interceptions, two fumble recoveries and no touchdown. The seven point scoring tier plus eight sacks and four recovery points produced 19. Eight sacks are the strongest sustainable signal in the entire table because pressure can create future turnover chances. The counterargument is immediate availability: Pittsburgh is on bye in Week 9. Fantasy action: hold only if bench space permits.
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 18 points
Week 8 at home against Atlanta: zero points allowed, no sacks, four interceptions, no fumble recovery and no touchdown. The shutout tier gave 10 and the interceptions added eight. Tampa Bay's official recap confirmed its first shutout since the 2023 season finale and four interceptions of Michael Penix Jr. The strongest counterargument is that both a shutout and four interceptions are rare. Fantasy action: Tampa Bay is playable at Chicago on Sunday night in Week 9, but do not project another 18 points.
4. Buffalo Bills, 14 points
Week 8 at home against Baltimore: 10 points allowed, four sacks, one interception and two fumble recoveries. The four point scoring tier plus four sacks and six takeaway points made 14. The balanced path matters because Buffalo did not need a touchdown. The counterargument is a Week 9 Monday trip to Minnesota, where the points allowed tier can be less forgiving. Fantasy action: start Buffalo in most formats, with lower expectations than this finish.
5. Washington Commanders, 13 points
Week 8 at home against Philadelphia: 10 points allowed, five sacks, one interception and one fumble recovery. The result again came without a touchdown. Five sacks are a useful repeatable base, while two takeaways added four points. The strongest counterargument is a Week 9 visit from the Rams, an offense that can protect the football and move the scoring tier. Fantasy action: Washington is a matchup dependent streamer rather than an automatic hold.
6. Green Bay Packers, 11 points
Week 8 at home against Carolina: 19 points allowed, six sacks, one interception and one fumble recovery. The one point scoring tier plus six sacks and four takeaway points produced 11. Six sacks create a more stable foundation than a touchdown based finish. The counterargument is that New England can change protections after allowing pressure on Sunday. Fantasy action: Green Bay remains a viable Week 9 road streamer against the Patriots.
7. Los Angeles Rams, 10 points
Week 8 at home against the Chargers: nine points allowed, two sacks, two interceptions and no fumble recovery or touchdown. The four point scoring tier, four interception points and two sacks produced 10. The Rams created a useful result without an extreme sack count. The counterargument is that two interceptions can swing quickly from week to week. Fantasy action: the Rams are a reasonable Week 9 streamer at Washington.
8. Las Vegas Raiders, 9 points
Week 8 at the Jets: 33 points allowed, two sacks, one interception and one special teams touchdown. The minus one scoring tier, two sacks, two interception points and six for Dylan Laube's kickoff return touchdown produced nine. The strongest counterargument is that the entire useful finish depended on a return score while the defense allowed 33. Fantasy action: do not chase the score at San Francisco in Week 9 unless the matchup changes materially.
9. Dallas Cowboys, 8 points
Week 8 at home against Arizona: 33 points allowed, five sacks, one interception and one fumble recovery. The minus one scoring tier was overcome by five sacks and four takeaway points. Pressure gives Dallas some future upside, but allowing 33 shows how much the scoring tier can erase. The strongest counterargument is a Week 9 trip to Indianapolis and a more balanced offense. Fantasy action: treat Dallas as a risky streamer.
10. New England Patriots, 8 points
Week 8 at Miami: 19 points allowed, five sacks, one interception and no fumble recovery or touchdown. The one point scoring tier plus five sacks and two interception points produced eight. The sack base is encouraging because it does not rely on a touchdown. The counterargument is a Week 9 visit from Green Bay, which raises the risk of losing the points allowed bonus. Fantasy action: New England is a low confidence streamer, not a must start.
Sustainability and Week 9 action
Jacksonville had the best complete result, while Pittsburgh and Green Bay supplied the strongest sack signals. Tampa Bay's shutout and Las Vegas's kickoff return score are the clearest regression candidates. Buffalo and Washington combined pressure with multiple takeaways and did not need touchdowns. The practical Week 9 choices are Jacksonville for Thursday, Tampa Bay at Chicago, Buffalo at Minnesota, Green Bay at New England and the Rams at Washington. Pittsburgh is unavailable on bye. This canonical article will be updated after Bears at Seahawks is final.
Sources checked
Official NFL Week 8 schedule and game status, checked November 2, 2026 at 5:02 AM Central: https://www.nfl.com/schedules/2026/by-week/week-8
Official NFL Week 9 schedule, checked November 2, 2026 at 5:02 AM Central: https://www.nfl.com/schedules/2026/by-week/week-9
Roll Coverage Week 8 defense and special teams results and stated scoring model, checked November 2, 2026 at 5:02 AM Central: https://rollcoverage.com/fantasy/dst-weekly
FantasyPros Week 8 defense and special teams statistics, used to verify the Raiders special teams touchdown, checked November 2, 2026 at 5:02 AM Central: https://www.fantasypros.com/nfl/stats/dst.php?range=week
Official Jaguars Week 8 report, checked November 2, 2026 at 5:02 AM Central: https://www.jaguars.com/news/game-report-2026-week-8-jaguars-42-colts-7
Official Buccaneers Week 8 recap, checked November 2, 2026 at 5:02 AM Central: https://www.buccaneers.com/news/falcons-bucs-week-8-recap-postgame-report-2026
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