Week 8 Fantasy Football Sunday News and Notes

In today's Fantasy Life Newsletter, presented by Hims:

Bye-Mageddon dominated the headlines early in the week, but the true disaster in Week 8 is the QB apocalypse we are dealing with.

Below are the QBs who will be out in Week 8, along with their replacements:

Tyrod Taylor (knee) > Justin Fields (QB15). Just a few days after their owner threw Fields under the bus for not being able to complete a pass (tough, but fair), the Jets now awkwardly must return to their ex. As you can tell by our consensus ranks—QB15—he’s the best streaming option of the new starters. The Bengals give up the third-biggest fantasy boost to opposing QBs, and he’ll have Breece Hall and Mason Taylor to assist.

Michael Penix (knee) > Kirk Cousins (QB17). Apparently, the Falcons had Week 8 circled when they decided to hold Cousins hostage in Atlanta this year. He’ll get the start vs. a reeling Dolphins squad today. Even with the long layoff, I don’t think he’s a huge downgrade for the offense. Check the Watercooler down below for more Falcons passing game propaganda (🚁).

Jayden Daniels (hamstring) > Marcus Mariota (QB18). We hit on this one earlier this week, but you could do worse than streaming Mariota. He has a much tougher matchup than Fields vs. KC—the Commanders are 11-point road dogs—but the rushing upside is similar (and he has better weapons with both Deebo Samuel and Terry McLaurin back in the lineup).

Lamar Jackson (hamstring) > Tyler Huntley (QB24). There was some funny business going on with how the Ravens reported Lamar’s practice status on Friday, but that’s the league’s problem now. Our problem is now dealing with Huntley this week. The total has dropped from 50 to 45, but I still wouldn’t shy away from playing Derrick Henry and Zay Flowers today.

Bryce Young (ankle) > Andy Dalton (QB25). Hopefully, you don’t need to turn to Dalton, but this isn’t the worst thing in the world for Tetairoa McMillan. His Utilization significantly dropped in Week 7, so hopefully the Red Rifle can kickstart TMac.

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Editors’ Picks

And a Happy Tight End Day to one and all—except for those who roster Trey McBride, Brock Bowers and Sam LaPorta, who are on byes. Speaking of byes … OK, you’ve heard enough about Bye-Mageddon. Maybe byes and injuries have made your roster decisions for you. If not, check out our Week 8 Start ‘em/Sit ‘em article. Also, the Xfinity Start/Sit Tool, the latest expert rankings and Xfinity Best Projections can help with your lineup decisions. Also, here’s some ICYMI content:

Week 8 WR/CB Matchups

Week 8 Injury Report

AJB, Lamar, Nico … OUT. Ouch! Adam Ronis and Jorge Martin run down the latest injury news with fantasy football implications and include analysis on how to approach players who are in or out this week.

Week 8 NFL Sunday Blitz

So much has been made of what teams are on a bye, how about those who are playing? John Laghezza provides a quick rundown on all the Sunday action for fantasy managers to set their lineups.

Week 8 Cheat Sheet: Will James Cook Have Room to Run?

James Cook is definitely one of the best all-around backs in the NFL, but of late he hasn’t seen the targets that he usually gets. And against Carolina in Week 8, that might be a problem because the Panthers have been formidable against the run. Not so much against pass-catching RBs, though. Will Cook be able to cook in the Bills’ pass game?

Chris Allen mines the latest news, checks out if there could be any games that will have weather issues and even looks for some players who might be too high or too low in the rankings. It’s perfect before your last-minute lineup tinkering. ⬇️

COULD RAIN BE AN ISSUE IN CAROLINA AND KC?

DraftKings DFS Picks Week 8: Broncos Ride Mile High

What does Bo Nix do for an encore? After leading a 33-point comeback last week against the Giants, Nix and the Broncos have the Cowboys come to the rarefied air of Denver. This sets up pretty, pretty, pretty good for another Broncos offensive uprising.

Geoff Ulrich breaks down how Derrick Henry could be getting overlooked because of his DraftKings price tag, as well as dropping several moonshots that could hit at the end of your lineup for Week 8. 👇🏼

THIS BEARS STACK COULD BE FIERCE

Week 8 FanDuel DFS Picks: Breakout Game Incoming for Josh Allen

Josh Allen and his Bills teammates should be nice and rested after having their bye. Will the Carolina Panthers be able to run all over the Buffalo D to turn this into a shootout and we get gamebreaker Josh?

Geoff Ulrich analyzes the FanDuel Sunday slate and drops some nuggets on players to target when setting your Week 8 lineup, including keeping an eye on a high-dollar TE who could still deliver because of the game environment. ⬇️

THIS TEXANS GAME STACK COULD GO BIG AT HOME

Around the Watercooler

The latest fantasy nuggets, silliness and NFL gossip from our merry band of football nerds to fuel your Sunday gameday lineup tinkering.

🪑 No Europe games to interfere with our live start/sit show at 10 a.m. ET.

🚁 The WR going for 100+ and 2TDs today. Full moon tonight?

🐝 Trade deadline buzz. There’s no way the Jags can move BTJ, c’mon.

🧱 Deploy Pete’s stack in DFS today.

🚗 When it comes to this Jet, cooterdoodle is buying. And in Week 8 scared Money, she drops Cars movie references and TE Week, too.

🏞️ We’ve heard about the Colts offense, this week the defense steps forward.

☄️ Get FantasyLife+ ($100 value) free for a year with when you download Comet.

🏈 Troy Franklin goes off, and more bold predictions for Week 8.

💥 Find your Smashes and Stashes right here.

🤔 If you’re still stuck on how to handle Bye-Mageddon, here’s a quick guide.

🚀 The broken rocket ship reference is worth the click.