Buccaneers defense vs Falcons defense matchups: Week 8 fantasy projections and picks

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons will face off during Week 8 of the 2024 NFL season. In addition to this being an extremely important divisional clash, both defenses provide a lot of potential options to use in fantasy football lineups this week. Here's which one is a better pick in this head-to-head matchup.

Is the Buccaneers defense a good fantasy pick in Week 8?

Buccaneers defense

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense has built an identity for pressuing opposing quarterbacks with an aggressive blitzing scheme. The defense has totaled 19 sacks, with 17 of them coming across the past four weeks. This has also resulted in the team recording six of 11 turnovers in the past three games.

Tampa Bay has finished in the top three of defenses twice this season, and are a strong option to stream when playing in the right matchups. Kirk Cousins has been sacked 13 times and has thrown seven interceptions, so the Bucs should have opportunities to score fantasy points this week.

Is the Falcons defense a good fantasy pick in Week 8?

Falcons defense

The Atlanta Falcons defense has struggled to consistently pressure opposing quarterbacks, totaling just six sacks across the first seven games. The team has also forced just seven turnovers, but the Week 8 matchup could be a breakout game for the defense in fantasy football.

Baker Mayfield has been sacked 20 times this year, so the Bucs are averaging nearly three sacks allowed per game. He has also thrown seven interceptions, with five of them coming in the last two games. This creates a favorable situation for the Falcons defense, especailly with the Bucs missing wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin this week.

Buccaneers defense or Falcons defense: Who should I start in Week 8 fantasy football?

Who Should I Start

The Falcons defense is the recommended pick for Week 8 fantasy football lineups over the Buccaneers defense. The difference between the teams demonstrates how important weekly matchups are when setting fantasy lineups. While Tampa Bay has outperformed Atlanta, the Bucs have lower expectations for this particular week.

Sportskeeda's Who Should I Start tool predicts that the Falcons will score an additional fantasy point over the oppnents this week. Mayfield should provide plenty of opportunities to score defensive fantasy points, especially with the depleted offense that is missing some key weapons.