Week 8 Studs/Duds
Shootouts, surprise breakouts and a quarterback carousel nobody saw coming. Here’s who carried your lineup on Sunday and who sank it.
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Now, on to the picks…
🔥 STUD QB: Joe Burrow (CIN)
Burrow turned a 43-36 overtime shootout with the Titans into his best game of the season, then ran in the game-winner himself.
38-of-48 for 462 yards and five TDs, plus a rushing score in overtime
Four or more TD passes in three straight games (4, 4, and now 5)
30-plus pass attempts in every game this season, the kind of volume that has made him one of the league’s most reliable passers
Three interceptions barely dented the fantasy day, and Atlanta, one of the NFL’s softest defenses against quarterbacks, comes next. The draft case was that a healthy Burrow could contend for overall QB1, and he’s making a real push.
🧊 DUD QB: Jared Goff (DET)
Goff walked into the Vikings: the toughest defense in the NFL against fantasy quarterbacks, and Minnesota’s blitz scheme had him lost from start to finish.
18-of-25 for 176 yards, his first game under 200 passing yards this season
Sacked four times, under pressure nearly every dropback until Detroit gave up on the pass in the second half
His first interception of the year, after a clean sheet through six games
The touchdown streak survived, and Miami is a much friendlier draw in Week 9. Chalk this one up to the matchup, not the quarterback.
🔥 STUD RB: Tyler Allgeier (ARI)
With Bam Knight (concussion) ruled out mid-game, and Jeremiyah Love (ankle) leaving early, Allgeier was Arizona’s last healthy back in the second half. He made the most of it against Dallas.
11 carries for 147 yards and a TD, plus 5 catches for 44 yards and another score
Broke runs of 63 yards (for a TD) and 52 yards; the long run set up a sideline tightrope touchdown catch
Through Love’s two previous absences, he had 57 yards on 26 carries. He nearly tripled that on 11 totes Sunday
Don’t expect 13 yards per carry again. But with the Cardinals’ backfield banged up, he could step into an expanded role in Week 9. If he was dropped in your league, he’s definitely worth a waiver look.
🧊 DUD RB: J.K. Dobbins (DEN)
With RJ Harvey out, Dobbins managers expected a big workload against the Chiefs. Instead, rookie Jonah Coleman showed he’s the future of the Broncos’ backfield.
Dobbins: 7 carries, 13 yards, zero targets, and he wasn’t on the field at the goal line
Coleman: 11 carries and 5 targets, the first Broncos back to reach 100 scrimmage yards this season, with a 51-yard catch that set up his own game-winning TD
The short-yardage role that saved Dobbins’ Week 7 is now Coleman’s, and Dobbins is averaging just over three yards per carry this year
Sean Payton spent the preseason praising Coleman’s three-down profile and comparing him to Dobbins. Now the comp is taking the job. Even a Week 9 date with Carolina, one of the softest run defenses in the league, can’t rescue Dobbins without high-value touches.
🔥 STUD WRs: Tee Higgins & Ja’Marr Chase (CIN)
Burrow was dealing, and his two stars delivered: a combined 21 catches, 296 yards and three touchdowns.
Higgins: 10-of-11 for 155 yards and two TDs, his third 140-plus-yard game in his last four
Chase: 11-of-16 for 141 yards and a TD, his first 100-yard game of the season and his sixth score
The duo combined for a 56 percent target share, a pass funnel that pays off in high-scoring games
Atlanta, one of the friendliest defenses for opposing wideouts, is up next. This is the league’s top pass-catching duo targeted in fantasy drafts, and it’s at full strength.
🧊 DUD WR: Zay Flowers (BAL)
No catches? C’MON DUDE. Flowers went 0-for-5 in Baltimore’s loss to Buffalo, though most of the issues started under center, not down the field.
Lamar Jackson left after one play with a thumb injury, and backup Tyler Huntley exited with a toe injury in the second quarter
Four of his five targets came from rookie UDFA Joe Fagnano, and none were converted, even the catchable ones
He was rolling before Sunday: 10-plus targets per game in Huntley’s starts, six-plus catches in four straight, and 8-137-1 just last week
Baltimore plays Jacksonville on a short week with Fagnano possibly making his first career start. The matchup isn’t the problem. The quarterback is, and that drops Flowers into WR3 territory for now.
🔥 STUD TE: Brock Bowers (LV)
Bowers caught 7-of-10 targets for 92 yards and two scores against the Jets, his first multi-TD game of the season and the third of his career.
Five touchdowns in six games, and he has yet to finish below 70 yards
Eight or more targets in every game this season
Owned the red zone: won an end zone hand fight for a 12-yarder, then broke tackles on a 2-yard score. That fits his league-best 40.5 percent red zone target share among TEs last season
San Francisco, one of the tougher defenses against tight ends, is next. With a floor like this at tight end, you start him and don’t look back.
🧊 DUD TE: Kyle Pitts (ATL)
Last season’s overall TE2 caught 2-of-5 targets for six yards as Atlanta was shut out by Tampa Bay.
Michael Penix completed just eight passes and threw four interceptions, so there wasn’t enough production to go around
His 20 percent target share would usually return TE2 numbers, so the opportunity was there
The bigger long-term worry is route participation: just 20 routes on 37 dropbacks in Week 7, with Charlie Woerner and Austin Hooper both rotating in
It stings more because Tampa has been one of the friendlier tight end matchups. If he has a get-right spot, Week 9 against Cincinnati might just be it… or at least his owners hope so.
That’s the list. Set your lineups, check those Week 9 matchups, and we’ll see you tomorrow.
-Joe
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