Start Saints D/ST over Cardinals D/ST — Week 1 Start/Sit Verdict

Start the Saints — the lineup-share and opponent scoring edges are too wide to ignore.

Saints D/ST is started in more leagues (started rank 23 to 32) and faces the lower-scoring offense (27.8 implied points to 28.5). the Cardinals's edge is opponent giveaways, 3.8 sacks allowed to 3.0. The gap is narrow.

Cardinals D/ST

D/STARIvs LAC

3.43.43.4 Projected Points

Toss-Up

Saints D/ST

D/STNOvs DET

2.82.82.8 Projected Points

Sit

Why Cardinals D/ST

Toss-Up

Toss-up — a middling defensive matchup (No. 28 this week): LAC gives up 3.8 sacks and 1.2 turnovers a game, and Vegas has them at 28.5 points.

LAC's offense gives up 3.8 sacks and 1.2 turnovers a game (2025), well above league average.
Vegas has LAC at 28.5 points as 11.5-point favorites.
Under-started: only 0% of leagues have them in, 32nd among defenses, against a No. 28 matchup.

Why Saints D/ST

Sit

Sit — a bottom-tier defensive matchup this week (No. 31): Vegas has DET at 27.8 points, and 2.8 pts projected vs DET.

DET's offense gives up 3.0 sacks and 0.9 turnovers a game (2025), near league average.
Vegas has DET at 27.8 points as 7-point favorites.
Over-started: 2% of leagues have them in, 23rd among defenses, against a No. 31 matchup.

Head-to-head stats

Metric	Cardinals D/ST	Saints D/ST
Projected points	3.43.43.4	2.82.82.8
Projection rank	Proj.DST28	Proj.DST31
Started in	0% of leagues	2% of leagues
Opponent sacks allowed / game	3.8(2025)	3.0(2025)
Opponent turnovers / game	1.2(2025)	0.9(2025)
Opponent implied total	28.5	27.8
Home / away	Away	Away