After dealing with multiple teams on byes over the last few weeks, Week 8 is an oasis of availability for fantasy managers. That doesn’t mean starting just anyone based on where they were drafted way back in August. Here are the riskiest and safest plays of Week 8. And below we dive into a few notable players.
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Fantasy Football Outlook
Miles Sanders (RB – CAR) vs. Houston Texans
On the other side of this fixture is another disappointing running back. Sanders has finished as a top-20 RB once through five games this season. In the Week 5 game against Miami, which Sanders missed due to injury, Chuba Hubbard filled in admirably, rushing 19 times for 88 yards and a touchdown as well as hauling in his only target.
This week, Frank Reich talked about being more open to a committee approach moving forward. It makes sense given the evidence we’ve seen. Sanders isn’t a difference maker at the moment, and Hubbard has some juice.
The Texans have been solid against the run, allowing only 3.9 yards per carry. If you’ve had to cope without Sanders for the last two weeks, it might be worth trying to find a way to wait out this week as well.
Jordan Love (QB – GB) vs. Minnesota Vikings
After starting off the season with a pair of top-six fantasy performances in the first three weeks, Love has rather crashed back down to Earth recently with performances good for QB12, QB24, and QB12 again. He has also thrown for less than 200 yards in both of his last two appearances despite the return of Christian Watson.
The Vikings’ defense has been a pleasant surprise this season, allowing 5.1 yards per attempt on defense. That’s good enough to rank 13th in the league. The unit has also forced two interceptions in each of their last two games.
Love’s propensity to drive the ball downfield plays into the blitz-happy Vikings’ hands. It could be a messy day for Love.
Matthew Stafford (QB – LAR) vs. Dallas Cowboys
There are weeks to play Stafford, and then there are weeks in which it’s best to take a time-out and find a better streaming option. The veteran QB faces one of the leagues best defenses this week after having to deal with Pittsburgh’s beastly defensive line last week. Stafford completed less than 50 percent of his passes in Week 7, and he hasn’t completed more than 15 passes since Week 5.
The Cowboys have allowed the second-fewest points on defense at just 16.6 per game. They have also allowed the second fewest first downs per game at 18.6. With games against the Packers and Seahawks ahead, it’s better to wait on better matchups for Stafford.
Alexander Mattison (RB – MIN) vs. Green Bay Packers
After a few weeks in which it seemed like Cam Akers wasn’t going to be a problem for Mattison, the prior saw 10 carries and three targets on Monday Night Football. Mattison is clearly still the RB1 of the offense, but he’s been horribly inefficient this year, averaging 4.0 yards per carry while frequently getting stuffed at the line of scrimmage.
Mattison saw only eight carries on MNF in what was a worrying game for fantasy managers. The Packers have allowed 4.5 yards per carry on defense, the eighth most. Still, it’s difficult to trust Mattison to capitalize.
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