Detroit Lions D/ST is a legit fantasy football sleeper for Week 2

The Detroit Lions were not able to sack Patrick Mahomes in Week 1, but they did make the Chiefs' signal caller uncomfortable on a regular basis. Some big drops by Chiefs' receivers may have changed the narrative, but allowing just 20 points to the defending champions is a massive step for one of the league's worst defenses last year.

The Lions' defense will look to keep that momentum rolling in Week 2 against the Seattle Seahawks. The bitter taste of last year's matchup at Ford Field, a 48-45 loss where Seattle's offense never had to punt, lingers for Lions' defenders. Add in Week 17 of the 2021 season in Seattle, and the Lions have allowed 99 points to the Seahawks over the last two meetings.

The Seahawks are coming off dismal loss to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 1. In the second half, they had just two net yards of total offense as starting tackles Abraham Lucas and Charles Cross left the game with injuries.

Lucas (knee) was placed on IR this week, and Cross (toe) looks certain to miss Sunday's game. That sound you just heard is Aidan Hutchinson rubbing his hands together at the prospect of facing a lackluster backup right tackle for the Seahawks. And that leaves out how the crowd noise at Ford Field will impact inexperienced visiting players on Sunday.

Detroit Lions D/ST is a legit fantasy sleeper for Week 2 vs. Seahawks

It took Brian Branch's pick-six to help get it done, but the Lions posted eight (ESPN scoring) or nine (Yahoo! scoring) fantasy points in Week 1. Facing two backup offensive tackles, zero sacks is not happening on Sunday against the Seahawks.

Geno Smith is a fairly mobile quarterback, but he's not exactly Justin Fields or Mahomes in that regard. The Lions should, as long as they can stop the run and put the Seahawks' offense off-schedule, practically fall into 3-5 sacks on Sunday. The questions from there are takeaways and how many points they allow to Seattle.

Aidan McGrath of FanDuel/numberFire had a bold fantasy prediction for the Lions' defense in Week 2.

"The Detroit D/ST Will Finish Top Six
The Lions' young defense wasn't able to bring Mahomes down for a sack in Week 1 but were at least able to generate pressure during the game. They should have an easier go of things against Seattle this week and could convert enough of those pressures into sacks and turnovers to turn in a top-six performance among fantasy D/STs."

- Aidan McGrath, FanDuel

For fantasy managers who are still for a defense to stream in Week 2, the Lions are widely available as of early Friday afternoon (4.1 percent rostered in ESPN leagues; nine percent rostered in Yahoo! leagues). There's downside, but it's only based on recent prior matchups against the Seahawks. Right here and right now, don't ignore this defense as a top fantasy sleeper this week.