Bengals D/ST or Colts D/ST: Who Should You Start?

Preliminary board

2026 Week 4 · deterministic head-to-head · Verdicts based on PPR scoring.

Verdicts sharpen as practice reports land.

Start the Bengals — the lineup-share and opponent giveaway edges are too wide to ignore.

Bengals D/ST is started in more leagues (started rank 15 to 29) and faces the more giveaway-prone offense (1.3 sacks and 0.7 turnovers allowed per game to 1.0 and 0.3). the Colts's edge is the projection, 4.6 to 4.4. The gap is wide.

Bengals D/ST

D/STCINvs JAX

Projected Points

Sit

Colts D/ST

D/STINDvs WSH

Projected Points

Toss-Up
JAX@
CINSun, Oct 4, 1:00 PM ETView the game →
IND@
WSHSun, Oct 4, 9:30 AM ETView the game →

Why Bengals D/ST

Sit

Sit — a bottom-tier defensive matchup this week (No. 23): JAX protects the ball (0.7 turnovers a game), and Vegas has them at 24.5 points.

  • JAX's offense gives up 1.3 sacks and 0.7 turnovers a game, below league average.
  • Vegas has JAX at 24.5 points as 2.5-point dogs.
  • Over-started: 22% of leagues have them in, 15th among defenses, against a No. 23 matchup.

Why Colts D/ST

Toss-Up

Toss-up — a middling defensive matchup (No. 20 this week): WSH protects the ball (0.3 turnovers a game), and Vegas has them at 26 points.

  • WSH's offense gives up 1.0 sacks and 0.3 turnovers a game, below league average.
  • Vegas has WSH at 26 points as 1.5-point favorites.
  • Under-started: only 1% of leagues have them in, 29th among defenses, against a No. 20 matchup.

Head-to-head stats

MetricBengals D/STColts D/ST
Projected points
Projection rankProj.DST23Proj.DST20
Started in22% of leagues1% of leagues
Opponent sacks allowed / game1.31.0
Opponent turnovers / game0.70.3
Opponent implied total24.526.0
Home / awayHomeAway
Start/Sit record1–10–0+1 toss-up

Recent form

Bengals D/ST — last 3 weeks

Week 3vs PIT
Week 2vs HOU
Week 1vs TB

Colts D/ST — last 3 weeks

Week 3vs HOU
Week 2vs KC
Week 1vs BAL

Signal breakdown

  • 4.4 vs 4.6 projected PPR pointsColts D/ST +
  • Started rank 15 vs 29 (22% vs 1% of leagues)Bengals D/ST +
  • 1.3 sacks / 0.7 TO vs 1.0 sacks / 0.3 TO per game allowedBengals D/ST +
  • Opponent implied 24.5 vs 26.0 pointsBengals D/ST +
  • Home vs AwayBengals D/ST +

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