Fantasy football will turn you into an angry, bitter soul if you let it. Most of us derive more pain from the losses than pleasure from the wins. Some of us feel hatred toward the players, coaches or officials we hold responsible for our fantasy failings.

It’s no way to live.

Fantasy football is, after all, a game. Yes, there’s money and pride at stake. But this is supposed to be fun, dammit. The sport of football is enjoyable, so let’s have fun with it.

I’m trying not to dwell on the negative and to find joy in the NFL and fantasy seasons. For instance, I’m doing my best to appreciate that …

• The Dolphins are averaging nearly 35 points per game and are nearly as fun to watch as the “Greatest Show on Turf” Rams.
• Fifth-round rookie Puka Nacua, who has 4.6 speed and never had a 1,000-yard season in college, is blossoming into an NFL superstar.
• Adam Thielen drank deeply from the Fountain of Youth and is pacing for a career-best season at age 33.
• Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce are giving us the pleasure of watching one of the two greatest QB-TE combos of all time. (Hat tip, Tom Brady/Rob Gronkowski.)
• With more than 125 receiving yards in five consecutive games, A.J. Brown has turned into an uncoverable force of nature.
• Christian McCaffrey is on pace to score 27 touchdowns.
• Myles Garrett and T.J. Watt, two future Hall of Famers, are at the height of their powers and wrecking offenses on a weekly basis.

These things are cool regardless of whether you have any of these guys on your fantasy team(s). Savor it. This is the stuff you’ll be telling your football-loving grandkids about someday.

Don’t let Arthur Smith or anyone else steal your football joy.

As always, feel free to use these tiered rankings as a tiebreaker for your difficult lineup decisions. Beneath the tiers, I’ll offer a few brief thoughts on some of the borderline start/sit guys and some other interesting cases. Here are a few notable players this week.

• Weekly Fantasy Football Expert Rankings
• Fantasy Football Start/Sit Advice
• Fantasy Football Trade Tools
• Waiver Wire Picks

Check out the rest of our fantasy football content

Fitz’s Fantasy Football Week 8 Tiers & Rankings

Kirk Cousins has now played two games without injured WR Justin Jefferson. In Week 6, Cousins posted a QB24 finish, failing to capitalize on a seemingly good matchup vs. the Bears. In Week 7, Cousins posted a QB6 finish in a seemingly bad matchup against the 49ers. What should we make of that? I’m inclined to trust Cousins this week against a Green Bay pass defense that ranks 25th in DVOA and is dealing with some injuries in its secondary.

As of Thursday afternoon, Brock Purdy remained in concussion protocol, leaving his availability very much in doubt for Sunday’s game against the Bengals. Based on the amount of time concussed players have spent in the protocol this season, it seems a near-lock that Purdy will be out and Sam Darnold will start at quarterback for the Niners. If that’s indeed the case, I’ll be ranking Darnold aggressively. He’s one of the more talented backup QBs in the league, and the offensive machinery around him is first-rate. The 49ers’ passing game ranks No. 1 in DVOA. Darnold averaged an impressive 8.2 yards per attempt in six appearances with the Panthers last season, throwing seven TD passes and three INTs. Darnold also runs a bit, which helps. He’s a viable streaming option in a week where there are only about 11 appealing QB options.

The idea of starting Desmond Ridder in a 1QB league is probably enough to put an “I just sucked on a lemon” look on your face, but hear me out. Ridder faces a Titans defense that’s giving up 8.0 yards per pass attempt (fourth-highest in the league) and has a 17.2% pressure rate (fifth-lowest). The Titans’ offense probably isn’t going to be able to play keep-away from the Falcons with a combination of Will Levis and Malik Willis at QB. Ridder has averaged 19.7 fantasy points over his last three starts. Lemonade, anyone?

I’m below consensus on Sam Howell this week, and I think I have a fundamentally different view of Howell and his matchup with the Eagles than most other rankers do. Howell is QB11 in fantasy scoring, but he’s only QB15 in fantasy points per game. Against the Falcons and Giants the last two weeks, Howell has completed 55.4% of his throws and averaged 6.2 yards per attempt. He threw for 290 yards and ran for 40 more against the Eagles four weeks ago in a game the Commanders lost in overtime, 34-31 — a performance that seems to have encouraged other rankers about Howell’s outlook in the rematch. I tend to think the Eagles will adjust and make Howell’s life unpleasant on Sunday. The Eagles chased the all-time single-season sack record last year and are tied for third in sacks this year. Howell has taken a league-high 40 sacks in seven games. The Eagles have allowed the 10th-most fantasy points per game to QBs, but they’re allowing only 6.5 yards per pass attempt, which suggests they are by no means a good matchup for opposing quarterbacks. Maybe Howell smashes this week, but I think he’s a poor percentage play for fantasy.

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