Week 8 had a mix of upsets, expected victories and blowouts. The orchestrator of the week’s largest upset was one of the week’s most pleasant surprises. A much-maligned position also had their moment in the sun on Sunday. It wasn’t all rainbows and sunshine, though. Two losing teams were the most eye-catching disappointments in Week 8. Finally, a second-year quarterback continues to struggle, which is noteworthy going forward.

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Fantasy Football Week 8 Surprises

Jameis Winston Rescued Cleveland’s Fantasy Value

The Browns had 18 points or fewer in all seven games before Sunday. They’d also eclipsed 300 yards only once and 250 twice. The Browns were an unmitigated disaster with Deshaun Watson as the starter.

The Browns hung 29 points and 401 yards of offense on the Ravens in Week 8. Jameis Winston’s first start of the year was unquestionably a massive success. The Browns had four pass-catchers with over 60 yards, three over 75, two over 80 and Cedric Tillman paced the team with 99. Tillman also had two touchdowns, and David Njoku reached paydirt.

Jerry Jeudy tallied five receptions and 79 receiving yards on eight targets, but Elijah Moore bested him with eight, 85 and 12. According to Pro Football Focus (PFF), Jeudy led the team in routes with 43, followed by Tillman’s 40, Njoku’s 35 and Moore’s 33. Njoku is a set-it-and-forget-it TE1 from now on. Tillman is a priority waiver claim. However, Moore and Jeudy are also viable bench options in 12-team leagues or larger. While Moore ran fewer routes than Jeudy in Week 8, the former’s superior targets per route run make him the more intriguing waiver addition.

Nick Chubb‘s stock is up, too. He handled 16 of Cleveland’s backfield’s 23 rush attempts and ran 19 routes versus 13 for Pierre Strong and six for D’Onta Foreman. Chubb had an underwhelming 52 rushing yards and zero receptions. Still, his usage was encouraging, and Winston’s ability to guide the offense to points is a boon for Chubb’s scoring potential. Chubb is a buy candidate as a volume-driven RB2/flex choice with more upside if he regains his pre-surgery form down the stretch.

National Tight End Day Lived Up to the Hype

The fantasy football season is long and winding. The early-season concerns about tight ends might have been misplaced. After 11 tight ends had at least 10.0 half-point per reception (half PPR) points in Week 7, 15 reached that threshold this week.

The tight ends exploded on National Tight End Day. Travis Kelce‘s 10 receptions were the most at the position, while George Kittle‘s 128 receiving yards paced tight ends. There were 14 tight ends with at least five receptions, 15 with at least 50 receiving yards and 15 with a touchdown. Cade Otton and Kyle Pitts each had a position-high two receiving touchdowns. Trey McBride (nine receptions for 124 yards), Sam LaPorta (six for 48 and a touchdown), Brock Bowers (five for 58), Mark Andrews (five for 36 and one), Dalton Kincaid (four for 31 and one) and Njoku (five for 61 and one) also all deserved to be shouted out. Gamers can let out a sigh of relief about tight ends.

Fantasy Football Week 8 Disappointments

J-E-T-S Stink, Stink, Stink

Sunday was a get-right matchup for the Jets. Instead, they lost to the Patriots. Mind you, it wasn’t merely a loss to the Patriots. It was a loss to the Patriots after Drake Maye was ruled out with a concussion, and Jacoby Brissett replaced him.

A week after permitting 409 yards of offense and 37 points to the Steelers, they coughed up 247 and 25 to the Patriots. Gang Green’s defense is only elite in misplaced media hype. Gamers shouldn’t be afraid of using quality fantasy players against them.

The offense is also unserious. The Jets ran a pitiful 57 plays. Their play volume is a nightmare for their fantasy options. According to RotoViz’s pace app, the Jets were tied for the fifth-fewest plays per 60 minutes (63) through Week 7.

Garrett Wilson had a stellar showing with eight targets, five receptions and 113 scoreless yards. The same couldn’t be said for Davante Adams. The veteran wideout had six targets, four receptions and 54 scoreless yards. Wilson and Adams are in the WR2 bucket.

Breece Hall had a solid but unspectacular contest, toting the rock 16 times for 80 scoreless yards and adding one nine-yard reception on three targets. Hall’s underlying data was discouraging, though. He had only 59.3% of the backfield’s rush attempts, ran 14 routes versus five for Braelon Allen and also ceded a two-yard rushing touchdown to Allen. Hall is an RB1, but he’s not a world-beater after Allen resurfaced to cut into his workload. Moreover, as the season slips further away, the Jets could theoretically save some tread on Hall’s tires by feeding his big-bodied rookie teammate a few more touches.

The Seahawks Crashed and Burned in Week 8

The Seahawks had 10 points on Sunday and scored their only touchdown at 8:02 in the fourth quarter when down 31-3. The Bills dominated Seattle’s defense, but Seattle’s offense didn’t have a day to write home about.

Geno Smith had a team-high 16 rushing yards, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba was Seattle’s only player with over 35 receiving yards, securing six receptions for 69 scoreless yards. The Seahawks missed DK Metcalf, and their offense might continue to struggle as long as he’s unable to play because of his knee injury. The answer to the question of who would step up in Metcalf’s absence in the passing-catching corps was no one.

Gamers can chalk up Kenneth Walker‘s lousy effort as a hiccup. Still, he could suffer if Metcalf can’t return against the Rams this week. JSN is an unexciting PPR scammer, and Tyler Lockett is a bench option who might actually be more useful when Metcalf is healthy than without his talented running mate.

Miscellaneous Note

Anthony Richardson is a Gift for Opposing Defenses

Anthony Richardson is a train wreck. A week after completing 41.7% of his passes, he completed 31.3% against the Texans in Week 8. The second-year quarterback has completed only 20 of 56 pass attempts (35.7%) for 304 yards, one touchdown and one interception in two games since reprising his starting role after missing two games with an injury.

Somehow, it got worse for Richardson. He also took a career-high five sacks against Houston. Richardson’s previous high was four in his first career start. Gamers should excitedly start defenses against the Colts as long as Richardson starts. He’s also a nightmare for Indianapolis’s pass-catching options.

Will the Colts follow in Carolina’s footsteps and bench their young starting quarterback for a capable backup? Maybe. Joe Flacco would enhance the fantasy value of Michael Pittman and Josh Downs.

Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.