What You Need to Know From Week 8

Photo: USA Today Sports

ATL @ CAR

1. Curtis Samuel scored a rushing touchdown as a red zone running back plus caught a long fleaflicker touchdown, he’s fantasy relevant and the team is making good on desires to use him more.
2. D.J. Moore did nothing until the last drive, and his floor gets a lot lower by Samuel getting better.
3. Calvin Ridley left with a hurt foot, but it’s not believed to be serious. He’ll have three extra days to recover before the Week 9 game against Denver.
4. Brian Hill outplayed Todd Gurley who scored but otherwise came up small in a good matchup. Monitor this to see if it becomes more of a committee.
5. Hayden Hurst continues to be helped by Julio Jones being out there and is a consistent high floor TE1 now.
6. Mike Davis ran well despite the so-so fantasy results, he’s worth holding as a Christian McCaffrey injury hedge now that he’s proven he can be a strong fantasy play if given the chance.
7. Teddy Bridgewater did nothing except the fleaflicker touchdown. That really undermines our confidence in him as a streamer or 2QB/Superflex play.

MIN @ GB

1. AJ Dillon is out with covid, Jamaal Williams is also out as a close contact (although he looked good in this game again). Aaron Jones is unlikely to play so it’ll be Tyler Ervin and probably practice squad back Dexter Williams against the 49ers on Thursday.
2. Dalvin Cook is a fantasy god.
3. Davante Adams is a fantasy god.
4. Robert Tonyan Jr has staying power even with Jace Sternberger getting targets and Davante Adams back. Tonyan’s production had a strong negative correlation with Davante Adams production/presence going into this game.
5. Minnesota showed again that as long as they are in it, the passing game won’t get much work. The wind didn’t help matters, but know that this is not a reliable pass offense for fantasy if the defense (with seven rookies on the field in this game!) plays well.
6. Jaire Alexander was on Justin Jefferson, not Adam Thielen. It could be a sign that the Packers were tired of watching Thielen beat Alexander, a sign of respect for Jefferson, or both.

TEN @ CIN

1. Corey Davis is an anagram for Covid’s year. He’s been fantasy relevant every time he has played, but potentially at the cost of Jonnu Smith not getting consistent targets and AJ Brown having a lower weekly floor
2. Joe Burrow had four backup offensive linemen in (not that the Bengals starters were starter quality this year) and he wasn’t sacked once. If this trend continues it could be a nice second half for this passing game.
3. Welcome back Auden Tate, who hoovered up short targets and took over that role in the passing game for A.J. Green, whose fantasy usefulness might be really drying up this time.
4. With the addition of Tate, it appears Joe Burrow can support three fantasy relevant wide receivers week in, week out.
5. Giovani Bernard and Samaje Perine showed the potential value of Joe Mixon when he returns by combining for three scores.
6. Ryan Tannehill couldn’t have a huge game against a defense that let Baker Mayfield complete 21 passes in a row last week.

NYJ @ KC

1. The Chiefs didn’t even try the Jets run D, which was smart. Don’t worry about the bad results for the Chiefs backs, this is an aberration and there will be plenty to go around against Carolina
2. Mecole Hardman nudged ahead of Demarcus Robinson (who did have a long score and revive desperation play value while Sammy Watkins is out) in snaps and had his biggest game of the year. He could be getting close to everyweek start territory if this holds after Watkins returns
3. Denzel Mims looked good early, but barely got a chance to do anything after that. He may come on if Sam Darnold gets healthier, but it looks like Jamison Crowder is going to be the only Jet we trust, along with maybe Braxton Berrios in deep PPR leagues while Crowder is out - check on Crowder’s status this week as it was reported that he had a setback in his return from a groin injury.
4. Patrick Mahomes II made facing the Jets pass defense look like a 7 on 7 drill. He’s still got it despite a few games lately that revolved around the running game.

IND @ DET

1. Jonathan Taylor hurt his ankle and played poorly in this one and it’s not clear whether the second is completely attributable to the first. We’ll watch practice reports this week. Either Taylor really is hurt and Jordan Wilkins will get run vs. Baltimore, or Taylor is ok, but that opens the door to Wilkins getting more playing time through merit.
2. Kenny Golladay left with a hip injury that will be measured in weeks absence. Marvin Jones has WR3/Flex value, Marvin Hall desperation play value, and TJ Hockenson’s floor gets even higher and solidified on this news.
3. The Colts defense was stifling against the run. We’ll see how they stand up against the test of the Ravens running game that racked up over 200 rushing yards against the usually stout Steelers.
4. Matthew Stafford’s best fantasy games are going to come when his team is struggling to keep up with the competition. That might not be this week against Minnesota.
5. Philip Rivers is getting better and his schedule after the matchup with the Ravens this week makes him rosterable as depth in the second half of the season.
6. Nyheim Hines showed some desperation play value and upside with his second two touchdown game of the year, and both showed off his unique skills - one dazzling open field run after a short catch and a go route lined up as a wide receiver that Rivers dropped in the bucket.
7. Mo Alie-Cox’s return turned the Colts tight end situation into a three-headed monster again, but Trey Burton’s score will keep him the best play heading into the matchup with Baltimore.

PIT @ BAL

1. J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards were so successful in a crucial tough matchup that John Harbaugh might be forced to rethink whether Mark Ingram starts when he’s healthy enough to play.
2. Marquise Brown was frustrated enough to take his case to social media, briefly before deleting his plea for more targets. We’ll see if the squeaky wheel gets the grease vs. the Colts.
3. Chase Claypool’s playing with confidence beyond his years again and Diontae Johnson is dealing with another injury. But you’ll still start both vs. Dallas.
4. Ben Roethlisberger took what the defense gave him, which was a lot of Juju Smith-Schuster and Eric Ebron on short passes. Expect more vertical shots against the Cowboys.
5. The Steelers have the recipe to thwart Lamar Jackson - lots of pressure to force to make quick decisions. They got four turnovers, although if a long touchdown run hadn’t been wiped off of the board by penalty, Jackson still would have had a good fantasy day.

LAR @ MIA

1. Tua barely got a chance to throw in the defense and special teams driven win, we’ll see about target distribution and quality against the Cardinals this week.
2. Darrell Henderson left with a thigh injury and Cam Akers looked good in his stead, but Malcolm Brown still got a lot of work. This backfield will remain a puzzle with no solution for fantasy.
3. Jared Goff was terrible when challenged and the Dolphins might have given the rest of the league another blueprint to solve this offense. Volume salvaged his fantasy day, but another rough November could be ahead.
4. Is Miami’s defense turning into an elite unit? If so, the running game should get a boost, but Myles Gaskin will miss 2-3 weeks with a knee injury, giving Matt Breida and new addition DeAndre Washington a chance for fantasy relevance.

NE @ BUF

1. Buffalo’s running game had its best contest of the year. Zack Moss is more valuable with the goal line work (he converted two scores), but Devin Singletary’s value is also up.
2. Jakobi Meyers is looking good as the best short and mid-range target for Cam Newton and he should be on a roster in every PPR league.
3. Damien Harris is looking good as the Patriots lead back and he has a place in lineups as an RB2 in good matchups. The possibility of scores against the Jets makes Week 9 one of those.
4. Cam Newton fumbled with the game on the line, but he was why they were in the game in the first place. His fantasy value is coming back.
5. Don’t worry about Josh Allen. The passing game was held down by the wind and the running game success. The next three games could become high-scoring quarterback duels (SEA ARI LAC).
6. Don’t ever bench Stefon Diggs, who still had a solid day in terrible conditions for downfield passing.

LV @ CLE

1. The wind shut down both passing games and made this an old school affair.
2. Josh Jacobs ran hard and racked up 31 carries, only a goal line stand by Cleveland kept him from getting in the scoring column.
3. Kareem Hunt was good but the Browns couldn’t string many drives together. Harrison Bryant had a costly fumble and was a disappointment. Both should go back to being second stringers after the bye.

LAC @ DEN

1. Phillip Lindsay should play over Melvin Gordon, but the Broncos coaches will be the last to realize this.
2. Drew Lock found himself in a miraculous second half comeback. Jerry Jeudy and Noah Fant would be the biggest winners if Lock starts to play well, but Albert Okwuegbunam, DaeSean Hamilton, and KJ Hamler all caught scores in this one too.
3. Joshua Kelley was phased out for Troymaine Pope and Justin Jackson was clearly the best back in the Chargers backfield. With no return date set yet for Austin Ekeler, Jackson is set up to have lasting value.
4. Mike Williams reminded us that with Justin Herbert, his downs are worth enduring to catch his ups.
5. Justin Herbert keeps producing like an elite fantasy quarterback, although he and the whole team let up once they were up 24-3 and there are a few throws he’d surely like to have back.

NO @ CHI

1. The Saints matchup against the pass continued to bear fruit - this time creating three fantasy relevant Bears receivers. Anthony Miller led the team in targets, and Darnell Mooney arrived with a score and solid game to give the always excellent Allen Robinson some help.
2. Nick Foles was almost bad enough to be benched and almost good enough to win. He and Matt Nagy are airing some tension between the two of them and it won’t be shocking if Foles is replaced by Mitchell Trubisky at some point.
3. Drew Brees was effective enough against a tough defense on paper using mainly Alvin Kamara and Jared Cook. The eventual return of Michael Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders could make him a fantasy QB1.
4. Latavius Murray was quiet returning to one of the his scenes of triumph last year and is leveling off as more of an injury hedge than flex play.
5. Jimmy Graham was a dud, but Foles didn’t look his way when he had post up position in the end zone and the weak defenses on left on the schedule could still give him sustained value yet.

SF @ SEA

1. George Kittle broke a bone in his foot and will go on injured reserve. We may not see him again this year. Jordan Reed and Ross Dwelley have desperation play value.
2. Jimmy Garoppolo hurt his ankle again and will go on injured reserve. We might have seen his last game in a 49ers uniform. Nick Mullens has desperation play value and he was productive in garbage time.
3. Tevin Coleman hurt his knee again and we’ll have a JaMycal Hasty, Jerick McKinnon backfield against the papier mache Packers run defense on Thursday. The 49ers still don’t see to trust McKinnon to carry the load.
4. Deejay Dallas was the only healthy Seattle back and while he wasn’t impressive, the quality of the offense set him with two scores and made him a great fantasy play.
5. One week after Tyler Lockett won matchups for us it was DK Metcalf’s turn.
6. Brandon Aiyuk came through as expected against the Seattle secondary and should be in lineups until further notice.

DAL @ PHI

1. Travis Fulgham is the truth and should be an every week start for you if he wasn’t already.
2. Be excited about Jalen Reagor (as long as Carson Wentz plays better) and maybe Dallas Goedert, who only caught one ball but clearly has a lot more to offer than Zach Ertz.
3. Carson Wentz did enough to win but played mostly bad football. He could still trend up after the bye getting a lot of his top weapons back.
4. Boston Scott looked good, but turnovers and sacks taken by Wentz kept him from really getting on track and kept this a close game for a lot longer than it should have been.
5. Ben DiNucci looked so overwhelmed that the Cowboys are going to Cooper Rush or Garrett Gilbert this week. It’s understandable to bench all Cowboys against the Steelers.

TB @ NYG

1. Daniel Jones missed an open Darius Slayton all night, don’t bail on Slayton yet. Jones still made enough throws to take the game to overtime if the Giants had gotten a call on a two-point conversion to end the game. Jones might have some depth value against a weaker second half schedule.
2. Sterling Shepard and Evan Engram are consistent enough parts of the pass offense to be high floor weekly PPR plays.
3. Mike Evans is looking healthier, caught a terrific touchdown, and should be in lineups going forward after a recent value scare.
4. Leonard Fournette was the lead back as this game unfolds, but mostly this was a game that reminded us of 2019, when the Tampa backfield was mostly frustrating for fantasy.
5. Tom Brady was good not great, but Antonio Brown’s arrival should change that. Rob Gronkowski has leveled off as one of the few set it and forget it tight ends (again).
6. Wayne Gallman was serviceable but had no idea what to do when he broke into the open field a couple of times. He scored and appears to give the lead back role on this team more value than Devonta Freeman. We’ll see if he can force more of a committee when Freeman returns from his ankle injury.