If you’re a fan of upsets and shocking endings, week 8 in the NFL was perfect for you! From a last second hail Mary pass to win the game to last place teams beating first place teams, this week had it all. Nearly every game went down to last minute, with lead changes back and forth, almost every team had a chance to win late in the game. Week 8 was national TE day, featuring the most catches by TEs on a single day in NFL history. So lets check out who made it big in fantasy, and who did not in this week’s edition of Studs & Duds.
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Quarterbacks
Studs:
Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles – Hurts was an efficient 16 of 20 for 236 yards, 1 TD and no INTs in Cincinnati. The Eagles are finally playing how many expected, with Hurts being a big reason why. I’m sure having his top 2 WRs back from injuries helps. Hurts’ passing stats may look a little modest, but his 3 short rushing TDs is what boosted him to fantasy’s QB1 in week 8.
Bo Nix, Denver Broncos – Denver has been the biggest surprise team thus far to me, and rookie QB Nix is a big part of that unexpected success for the Broncos. In week 8 against the Carolina Panthers, Nix completed 28 of his 37 pass attempts for 284 yards and 3 TDs and added to a rushing TD to his already good looking stat line.
Kirk Cousins, Atlanta Falcons – If the Falcons could just play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers every week, Cousins would put up all time records. In the two games they’ve played, Cousins passed for 785 yards and 8 TDs. In week 8 he was an efficient 23 of 29 for 276 yards and 4 TDs.
Honorable Mentions:
Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers – 18 of 26 for 260 yards and 1 TD; 8 carries for 56 yards and 1 TD
Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams – 25 of 34 for 279 yards and 4 TDs, 1 INT
Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars – 21 of 32 for 308 yards and 2 TDs, 1 INT
Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers – 37 of 50 for 330 yards and 3 TDs, 2 INTs
Duds:
Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears – I hate to do this to the rookie, but Williams has been playing so well that week 8 was a real let down. He only completed 10 of his 24 passes for 131 yards. His 41 rushing yards was the only glimmer of something positive for Williams fantasy owners. He did finish the day with a good drive, at least.
C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans – Stroud threw for a respectable 285 yards, but only 1 TD keeps his fantasy value minimal.
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Wide Receivers
Studs:
CeeDee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys – The Cowboys have targeted Lamb 31 times in the last 2 games, and for good reason. Lamb caught 20 of those passes for 235 yards and 2 TDs. Week 8 was the better of the two weeks, where Lamb had 13 receptions for 146 yards and 2 TDs, his first 100+ yard game of the season, in the Cowboy’s loss to the 49ers, making him fantasy’s WR1 this week.
Ladd McConkey, Los Angeles Chargers – This rookie WR had his break out game the Chargers’ front office anticipated when they drafted him. McConkey hauled in all 6 of his targets for 111 yards and found pay dirt twice, great for fantasy owners who had him in their line up.
Cedric Tillman, Cleveland Browns – Cleveland was just full of surprises Sunday, beating the Ravens 29-24. The 1 win Browns went with veteran Jameis Winston behind center while Deshaun Watson is out with injury. They really should have made this move earlier, but with Winston now distributing the ball, and WR Amari Cooper being traded, Tillman has started to make his mark in the league. After getting 12 targets last week, Tillman was targeted 9 more times in week 8, catching 7 of them for 99 yards and 2 TDs.
Honorable Mentions:
Josh Downs, Indianapolis Colts – 4 receptions for 109 yards and 1 TD
Calvin Austin III, Pittsburgh Steelers – 3 receptions for 54 yards and 1 TD; punt return for a TD
Marvin Harrison Jr., Arizona Cardinals – 6 receptions for 111 yards and 1 TD
Duds:
Amari Cooper, Buffalo Bills – I realize Cooper is still trying to get a grasp of his new offense, but he’s now had a full week of practice and 1 reception for 3 yards is the definition of a dud week.
Rashod Bateman, Baltimore Ravens – Last week, Bateman was fantasy’s WR1, while this week Bateman was bouncing balls off his face mask, only bringing in 1 of the 5 targets thrown at him for 28 yards.
DJ Moore, Chicago Bears – Other than week 5 against the lowly Carolina Panthers, Moore has been a disappointment for fantasy owners. In week 8, Moore caught 2 of Caleb Williams’ 10 completions, for 27 yards.
Running Backs
Studs:
James Cook, Buffalo Bills – Although Cook has been good all season, he eclipsed 100 yards for the first time in week 8, rushing for 111 yards on 17 carries and 2 TDs in the Bills thrashing against the Seattle Seahawks, making him this week’s fantasy RB1.
Josh Jacobs, Green Bay Packers – With QB Jordan Love hobbling around until they ultimately brought him out and replaced him with back up Malik Willis, Jacobs shouldered the weight to help the Packers get by Jacksonville 30-27. He rushed 25 times for 127 yards and 2 TDs, only the 2nd time this season Jacobs has rushed more than 20 times.
Tyrone Tracy Jr., New York Giants – While fellow RB Devin Singletary has been dealing with injury, Tracy has been establishing himself as a lead back for the Giants. Unfortunately, he left the game in the 4th quarter due to concussion protocol after rushing 20 times for 145 yards and 1 TD.
Honorable Mentions:
De’Von Achane, Miami Dolphins – 10 carries for 97 yards; 6 receptions for 50 yards and 1 TD
Rhamondre Stevenson, New England Patriots – 20 carries for 48 yards and 2 TD
Joe Mixon, Houston Texans – 25 carries for 102 yards and 1 TD; 4 receptions for 32 yards
Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit Lions – 11 carries for 127 yards and 1 TD
Duds:
I don’t feel like any RB with reasonable expectations for the week, met the criteria of being considered a dud.
To get all the latest gear for these players and more, go check out the NFL Shop now!
Tight Ends
Studs:
Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons – In the last 4 weeks, Pitts has finally started to be the TE that Atlanta thought they were drafting back in 2021. Granted, up until this year, Pitts, along with the rest of Atlanta’s pass catchers, have suffered through some pretty bad QB play prior to acquiring Kirk Cousins this year. Here in week 8, Pitts caught 4 of his 5 targets for 91 yards and 2 TDs to help Atlanta out last Tampa Bay 31-26, and earn himself fantasy’s TE1 title for the week.
Cade Otton, Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Fantasy managers who were able to grab Otton off the waiver wire last week got rewarded with a 9 reception, 81 yard, 2 TD day from the 3rd year TE. The Bucs were without both star WRs Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, so it was a perfect storm for Otton to have a big day. Otton now has 17 receptions on 20 targets for 181 yards and 2 TDs in the past 2 weeks.
George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers – Kittle is having a really good season thus far, both on the field and fantasy wise, with a 40-503-6 stat line through 8 games. Week 8 was his best game yet, eclipsing 100 yards for the first time this season, as he hauled in 6 of his 7 targets for 128 yards and 1 TD.
Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs – After being on the duds list a number of times early in the season, and even last week, Kelce got back on track against the Raiders bringing in 10 of his 12 targets for 90 yards and his first TD of the season.
Honorable Mentions:
Adam Trautman, Denver Broncos – 4/4 receptions for 85 yards and 1 TD
Tucker Craft, Green Bay Packers – 3/3 receptions for 78 yards and 1 TD
Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals – 9/11 receptions for 124 yards
David Njoku, Cleveland Browns – 5/7 receptions for 61 yards and 1 TD
Duds:
Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers – One might think that Freiermuth would benifit from Russell Wilson being under center, but that wasn’t the case in week 8. He caught both of his targeted passes for only 19 yards.
Jake Ferguson, Dallas Cowboys – If you just looked at the box scores and saw that Ferguson caught 6 of his 8 targets, you might think he had a productive day. Unfortunately for Ferguson fantasy owners, those 6 catches only went for 23 yards. The 49ers weren’t able to slow down WR CeeDee Lamb, but they swarmed and contained Ferguson all night.
Defense/Special Teams
Studs:
Detroit Lions – Despite losing their best defensive player for the year in Aidan Hutchinson, the Lions still held Tennessee to 14 points, collecting 1 sack, 2 INTs, 2 fumble recoveries and took a punt return to the house.
Pittsburgh Steelers – Pittsburgh is a team who’s defense will keep them in most games, helping them get to a 6-2 record through 8 weeks. In week 8 they did just that sacking the QB 4 times, came up with an INT, recovered a fumble and took a punt return to the house.
Duds:
Minnesota Vikings – Minnesota has been solid defensively all year up until last Thursday night in LA against the Rams where they gave up 28 points. They did have an INT, which is the only defensive stat Minnesota recorded.
Thanks for checking out this weeks addition of fantasy’s biggest studs and duds. I hope you enjoyed this article and possibly found it useful in setting next weeks line ups. As always, I enjoy your feed back, so feel free to leave any thoughts below!
I am French and I don’t understand anything about American football. However, I must say that you did a tremendous job in classifying all these players according to their performance. However, I’m not surprised to see that Philadelphia arrives often. I heard from my American friends that they had a great football team. I encourage you to continue to report these things as accurately as you do right now!
angelce903,
Thank you for checking out my weekly addition of Fantasy Football Studs & Duds, even though American football isn’t a big interest of yours. I appreciate your thoughts, and yes, Philadelphia is pretty good when they have all of their players healthy and on the field.