Fantasy Football Recap Week 8: 16 Things You Need To Know

We have nearly reached the halfway point in the NFL season as Week 8 wraps up. Though not too many games were close this Sunday, we did have one overtime contest and a walk-off field goal. The Carolina Panthers recorded their first victory and, sadly, we saw another rash of injuries. There were some new faces making waves and veterans setting their season high. It’s time to recap what we saw.

Top Players

DeAndre Hopkins found the end zone. Then he found it again and again. Heading into Week 8 without a touchdown this season, Hopkins finished the day with three receiving scores. He totaled 128 yards on only four receptions. The Titans defeated Atlanta behind a breakout performance from their rookie quarterback.

A.J. Brown continued to stack up stellar fantasy performances. On Sunday, he found the end zone twice. Brown pulled in all eight of his targets for 130 yards. It was his sixth consecutive 100+ receiving yard day.

CeeDee Lamb paced all wide receivers in Week 8. He made a dozen grabs and piled up 158 receiving yards. Lamb had a pair of scores leading Dallas to a runaway victory over the Los Angeles Rams.

Dallas Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb over his last two games:
- 21 targets
- 19 receptions
- 275 receiving yards
- 2 receiving touchdowns

— RJ Ochoa (@rjochoa) October 30, 2023

Dak Prescott threw four touchdowns for the first time since December 2021. Topping 300 yards passing for the first time this year, Prescott completed 25 of 31 attempts. Dallas soundly defeated the Rams as Prescott completed passes to nine different teammates on Sunday.

Flop Players

Cooper Kupp has come back to Earth. After returning with a fury by collecting 100+ receiving yards in each of his first two starts, Kupp has cooled off dramatically. On Sunday, Kupp was held to 21 yards on four catches. The week before he had 29 yards. Back-to-back duds have come as a real disappointment to fantasy managers. He should bounce back, but it doesn’t get a lot easier for him facing Green Bay next week.

Tony Pollard delivered another disappointing performance in a Dallas rout. Pollard did manage 53 yards rushing on 12 carries but failed to find the end zone yet again. Pollard has not scored a touchdown since Week 1. His 53 yards represented his highest total in four games. He caught only one pass on Sunday which was a season-low.

Patrick Mahomes lost to the Denver Broncos for the first time in his career. The league’s premier quarterback turned the ball over three times against the Broncos’ defense. He failed to throw a touchdown for the first time since Week 12 of 2021, which was also against Denver.

Pop Players

Will Levis exploded onto the scene in his first NFL start. The rookie quarterback staked his claim to the position after throwing for twice as many passing touchdowns in one game as Ryan Tannehill has in six weeks. Levis joined Marcus Mariota and Fran Tarkenton as the only quarterbacks to throw four touchdowns in their first career start.

Will Levis now has more TDs today than Ryan Tannehill has this season

— Justin Graver (@titansfilmroom) October 29, 2023

Jake Ferguson tied his season high in PPR scoring. He caught four Dak Prescott targets for 47 yards. He was on the receiving end of an 18-yard touchdown strike. Ferguson now has double-digit outputs in three of his seven games this year.

Rashid Shaheed was a big play machine on Sunday. Collecting 153 yards receiving and a touchdown on just three catches, he provided an explosive threat for the Saints offense. Shaheed has seen 17 targets over his last three games.

Trey McBride took advantage of Zach Ertz’s absence. Playing his first game without Ertz, McBride caught double-digit passes for the first time in his brief career. He saw 14 targets from Josh Dobbs and scored his first career touchdown. McBride finished the day with 95 yards. He will be a hot pickup on the waiver wire this week and is an excellent option for tight-end needy teams.

Drop Players?

Darren Waller was forced out of the battle of New York in the first quarter after sustaining a hamstring injury. He was soon ruled out of the game. With Waller’s history of hamstring injuries, this is sure to raise concern for fantasy managers.

Tyrod Taylor exited in the second quarter on Sunday. He was swiftly ruled out with a rib injury. Taylor was reportedly taken to a local hospital for evaluation.

Kenny Pickett was knocked out of the Steelers’ loss in the second quarter after injuring his ribs. Though he tried to return to the game, he was later declared out for the duration of the game. His status for Thursday’s game is unclear.

Matthew Stafford suffered a thumb injury in the third quarter of the Rams’ defeat against Dallas. He was replaced by Brett Rypien after being ruled out.

Kirk Cousins left the Vikings’ victory in the third quarter with what was originally being called an ankle injury. He was quickly ruled out for the remainder of the game. Cousins is believed to have torn his Achilles tendon. If so, he will miss the rest of the season. An MRI is scheduled for Monday to confirm.

Vikings locker room was pretty emotional. Multiple players, leaders, tearing up over how much Kirk Cousins has meant and means to them and to the locker room.

“I can’t describe it,” Harrison Smith said. “You really just have to experience it to know.”

— Alec Lewis (@alec_lewis) October 29, 2023