Bengals D/ST or Patriots D/ST: Who Should You Start?
Preliminary board2026 Week 1 · deterministic head-to-head · Verdicts based on PPR scoring.
Verdicts sharpen as practice reports land.
Start the Patriots — the lineup-share and opponent giveaway edges are too wide to ignore.
Patriots D/ST is started in more leagues (started rank 9 to 26) and faces the more giveaway-prone offense (2.1 sacks and 1.6 turnovers allowed per game to 2.4 and 0.9). the Bengals's edge is home field, home to away. The gap is wide.
Bengals D/ST
D/STCINvs TB
4.44.44.4 Projected Points
Toss-Up
Patriots D/ST
D/STNEvs SEA
4.74.74.7 Projected Points
Sit
Why Bengals D/ST
Toss-UpToss-up — a middling defensive matchup (No. 21 this week): at home, and 4.4 pts projected vs TB.
- TB's offense gives up 2.4 sacks and 0.9 turnovers a game (2025), near league average.
- Vegas has TB at 23.5 points as 3.5-point dogs.
- Under-started: only 1% of leagues have them in, 26th among defenses, against a No. 21 matchup.
Why Patriots D/ST
SitSit — a bottom-tier defensive matchup this week (No. 19): Vegas has SEA at 24 points, and 4.7 pts projected vs SEA.
- SEA's offense gives up 2.1 sacks and 1.6 turnovers a game (2025), near league average.
- Vegas has SEA at 24 points as 3.5-point favorites.
- Over-started: 58% of leagues have them in, 9th among defenses, against a No. 19 matchup.
Head-to-head stats
| Metric | Bengals D/ST | Patriots D/ST |
|---|---|---|
| Projected points | 4.44.44.4 | 4.74.74.7 |
| Projection rank | Proj.DST21 | Proj.DST19 |
| Started in | 1% of leagues | 58% of leagues |
| Opponent sacks allowed / game | 2.4(2025) | 2.1(2025) |
| Opponent turnovers / game | 0.9(2025) | 1.6(2025) |
| Opponent implied total | 23.5 | 24.0 |
| Home / away | Home | Away |
Signal breakdown
- 4.4 vs 4.7 projected PPR pointsPatriots D/ST +
- Started rank 26 vs 9 (1% vs 58% of leagues)Patriots D/ST +
- 2.4 sacks / 0.9 TO vs 2.1 sacks / 1.6 TO per game allowedPatriots D/ST +
- Opponent implied 23.5 vs 24.0 pointsBengals D/ST +
- Home vs AwayBengals D/ST +
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