Dolphins D/ST or Vikings D/ST: Who Should You Start?

Preliminary board

2026 Week 1 · deterministic head-to-head · Verdicts based on PPR scoring.

Verdicts sharpen as practice reports land.

Start the Vikings — the lineup-share and home-field edges are too wide to ignore.

Vikings D/ST is started in more leagues (started rank 15 to 31) and plays at home. the Dolphins's edge is opponent giveaways, 4.0 sacks allowed to 2.1. The gap is narrow.

Dolphins D/ST

D/STMIAvs LV

Projected Points

Start

Vikings D/ST

D/STMINvs GB

Projected Points

Sit

Why Dolphins D/ST

Start

Start — the No. 23 defensive matchup this week: LV gives up 4.0 sacks and 1.4 turnovers a game, and 4.2 pts projected vs LV.

  • LV's offense gives up 4.0 sacks and 1.4 turnovers a game (2025), well above league average.
  • Vegas has LV at 22.3 points as 3-point favorites.
  • Under-started: only 0% of leagues have them in, 31st among defenses, against a No. 23 matchup.

Why Vikings D/ST

Sit

Sit — a bottom-tier defensive matchup this week (No. 25): GB protects the ball (0.8 turnovers a game), and 4.1 pts projected vs GB.

  • GB's offense gives up 2.1 sacks and 0.8 turnovers a game (2025), below league average.
  • Vegas has GB at 23 points as 1.5-point favorites.
  • Over-started: 11% of leagues have them in, 15th among defenses, against a No. 25 matchup.

Head-to-head stats

MetricDolphins D/STVikings D/ST
Projected points
Projection rankProj.DST23Proj.DST25
Started in0% of leagues11% of leagues
Opponent sacks allowed / game4.0(2025)2.1(2025)
Opponent turnovers / game1.4(2025)0.8(2025)
Opponent implied total22.323.0
Home / awayAwayHome

Signal breakdown

  • 4.2 vs 4.1 projected PPR pointsDolphins D/ST +
  • Started rank 31 vs 15 (0% vs 11% of leagues)Vikings D/ST +
  • 4.0 sacks / 1.4 TO vs 2.1 sacks / 0.8 TO per game allowedDolphins D/ST +
  • Opponent implied 22.3 vs 23.0 pointsDolphins D/ST +
  • Away vs HomeVikings D/ST +

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