Check out the Week 8 action in Jeff Mans’ Game Recaps.
Davante Adams has 25 receptions, on 30 targets, for 206 yards and two scores the last two weeks including 12 receptions for 74 yards in Week 8. #ThatIsAll
Doug Baldwin hasn’t hit 40-yards in 4-straight games and five of six outings. He also hasn’t scored in 4-straight. #WeAllSawThisComing
Peyton Barber had one touch in Week 8. Even with Jacquizz Rodgers down (foot) it looks like he won’t have a role any different in Week 9 than he did in Week 8. Hello Antone Smith who is likely to lead the backfield if Rodgers is indeed out with his sprained foot (he was spotted in a walking boot).
Cole Beasley has at least 53 yards in every games this season and in all but one has caught at least four passes. #SlowAndSteady
Kelvin Benjamin caught two passes for 73 yards in Week 8. He’s now scored once in five games and has been held to three or fewer catches in 3-of-5. #IWarnedYou
Dez Bryant returned from injury and was incredibly inefficient with four receptions on 14 targets. Fantasy owners won’t care since he caught four balls for 113 yards and a score, but it was an uneven performance to say the least though he was on the field for 69 of 77 snaps. #StayHealthyBryant
Amari Copper caught 12 balls for 173 yards and a score, though watching the game I could have sworn he caught 15 passes for 275. Seems like the Raiders committed a penalty on every play (they set a league record with 23). I know for certain that Cooper let a long ball go right through his hands or he would have been over 200 yards.
Kirk Cousins has thrown for 300-yards in 4/8 games this season and in Week 8 he threw for a season-high of 458 yards. He’s currently second in the NFL with 2,454 passing yards putting him on pace for 4,908 passing yards this season.
Vernon Davis caught five passes for 93 yards for the ‘Skins, even with Jordan Reed on the football field. That’s 2-straight for Davis with at least five grabs and 79 yards. Can’t expect that with Reed healthy of course, don’t overlook that Reed caught nine passes for 99 yards and a score against the Bengals, but Davis will be an intriguing play for sure the next time Reed is hurt. #ItWillHappen
The Eagles officially have no idea how to use a backfield. None. Zero. Ryan Mathews caught action on nine plays in Week 8 meaning he was on the field for 10 percent of the Eagles snaps. By the way, Darren Sproles saw action on 63 snaps.
Yikes. Julian Edelman barely scored in Week 8, but he caught four passes for 37 yards. Even with Tom Brady back he’s just not doing anything and he has failed to reach 80-yards once this season and has hit 60-yards just once in six games.
Zach Ertz caught four balls for 19 yards. His last four games have led to nine receptions for 92 yards. #Useless
No one can spell or say his name but… C.J. Fiedorowicz caught five balls for 43 yards and a touchdown. He’s seen seven targets or more in 4-straight games, has caught at least four passes in 5-straight, and over the last three he’s caught at least five while scoring twice. #TightEnd1Anyone
Devonta Freeman produced 58 yards on 15 touches on Week 8. Ugh. He scored twice though, once as a runner and receiver, so his fantasy output was huge. #FantasyNotReality
Andrew Hawkins scored twice in Week 8 catching five balls for 31 yards. You shouldn’t care. He’s not hit 60-yards this season and is about 4’6”. Seriously. #IChecked
For the first time Since Week 4 Jeremy Hill carried the pigskin more than 13 times as he toted the rock 20 times for 76 yards and a touchdown. He has scored in back-to-back games and will get a bye in Week 9 to rest his shoulder. Giovani Bernard scored as well on his 11 carries for 52 yards against the Redskins.
T.Y. Hilton’s output was hideous in Week 8 as he caught one of six targets for 20 yards (he did have a long grab, a 40 yarder, called back on a penalty). It will be interesting to see if he can return to the 10-target a game thing now that Donte Moncrief has returned. Also, keep an eye on Hilton’s hammy which he tweaked again.
DeAndre Hopkins was tackled pretty much at the goaline leaving him with a four catch, 44 yard effort. #BoyDoesBrockOsweilerStink.jpg)
Christine Michael is the Seahawks top option, duh, in the backfield, but since running for 106 yards against the Niners he’s failed to reach 65 yards in 4-straight games. He has scored four times in that span though to keep his value up.
Greg Olsen bombed, and I never thought I would be writing that. Olsen caught one of three passes aimed his way for 11 yards. It was the first time all season he failed to catch five passes for at least 64 yards.
Don’t know how you start him with any confidence, but Seth Roberts has 22 targets the last three games. He scored for the fourth time in Week 8.
Carson Palmer threw for 363 yards and completed 76.1 percent of his 46 passes. Since the sack became official in 1963 no quarter back had thrown for 300-yards with a 75 percent completion percentage while being sacked eight times. #MrPalmerMadeHistory
I’ve said it over and over again. You can’t be a winning football team if Theo Riddick is touching the ball 15 times a game. He was impressive in Week 8 with 11 carries for 56 yards and eight grabs for 77 yards and a score. I guess that’s all we care about in the fantasy game. Oh yeah, the Lions lost 20-13 to the Texans.
The Saints benched Mark Ingram after a second fumble and Tim Hightower went for 102 yards in his place on 26 carries. After the game we learned the Saints are going to go with a committee at running back. #HotMessPersonified
Mohamed Sanu caught five balls on the Falcons final drive. He caught four balls leading up to that leaving him with nine receptions for 84 yards and a score. It was his first game over five receptions and his first of 50-yards since Week 1. He only saw extra work with Julio Jones ailing a bit (ankle). #NotGoingToBeAFactor
Trevor Semien has thrown for three scores in four games. At least he’s only been picked off once in five outings. #BoringIsAsBoringDoes
Alex Smith and Nick Foles both threw for 100 yards and a score, the first time in more than three decades that teammates on the Chiefs did that. The duo threw for three scores and 350 yards against the Colts. Smith dealt with two blows to his head leading to Foles coming in to toss for 227/2.
Willie Snead has great hair. He’s also gone for 60-yards once in five games. He’s taken a back seat to Michael Thomas who caught six for 63 yards in Week 8.
Tyrod Taylor has failed to throw for 225 yards in 4-straight games and has one touchdown pass the last two games (at least he has two rushing scores in those two games).
Carson Wentz has thrown for two touchdowns in three games with a yardage high of 202 yards. He’s averaged 173 passing yards in the three games.
James White was a non-entity with two carries for 15 yards and two receptions for 14. I don’t know why so many people want to play him on a weekly basis. No knock against him either, that’s just how the Patriots use that spot in their offense (understand that all of you hoping for Dion Lewis to return as a star).
Ray Flowers can be heard Monday/Tuesday and Thursday/Friday, 8 PM EDT, Wednesday 7 PM EDT on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius 210, XM 87). You can also hear Ray Sunday nights at 9 PM EDT on the channel talking fantasy sports. Follow Ray’s work at Fantasy Alarm and on Twitter (@baseballguys).
Player News
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell said the team does not “have any feelings on competition” when asked about the quarterback room.
O’Connell was asked about a potential quarterback competition on the Rich Eisen Show Wednesday and was unclear on whether J.J. McCarthy would have to compete to start. He said, “we’ve got an obligation as coaches to put our players in position to attack that competition phase.” O’Connell discussed first putting Brett Rypien and the newly acquired Sam Howell in a position to play before any competition would occur. He continued that McCarthy is “owning it” this offseason and is taking snaps from starting center Ryan Kelly. After missing last season with a torn meniscus, McCarthy has been ramping up workouts in the offseason and is the front-runner to start for the Vikings in 2025. As of now, Howell looks to be reinforcement at the backup spot in case it turns out McCarthy is not ready to start.
Texans re-signed DT Foley Fatukasi.
Fatukasi initially joined the Texans last offseason on a one-year contract. The 30-year-old was a rotational defensive lineman, tallying four tackles for loss and one sack. He returns to Houston for 2025, where he will be a part of a deep Texans front seven.
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports Tyreek Hill’s second wrist surgery was part of the original plan and his timeline remains unchanged.
Hill announced the second surgery on social media and Pelissero quickly added some context to the situation. The speedy receiver suffered the wrist injury just before the start of the season and it lingered throughout the year, though he never missed a game because of it. If the second surgery truly is a non-story, an offseason to recover might be what Hill needs to return to form after a down 2024 season. On the other hand, Hill is 31 years old, played his worst football last year, and his offense prioritized targets for Jonnu Smith and De’Von Achane. As it stands, Hill might have the highest risk-reward split in fantasy drafts.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports there are “multiple people in the league who believe the new regime is not so high on Travis Etienne.”
Fowler also noted Tank Bigsby’s fumbling issue but didn’t directly relate that to the feelings of the new brain trust in Jacksonville. The Jags clearly felt they were lacking at running back this offseason and addressed that opening via the draft with Bhayshul Tuten in the fourth round and LeQuint Allen in the seventh. The pair of additions complicate an already-messy backfield by committee. Etienne is entering the final year of his rookie deal and is a long-shot to be brought back in 2026. The Jags could opt to move on early by trading him, clearing $6.1 million in cap space in the process. If the team does trade Etienne, Tuten would likely be the team’s top back in the long run, making him a high-upside bet in early fantasy drafts.
Broncos signed third-round pick WR Pat Bryant to a four-year contract.
The deal includes $1.4 million guaranteed and is worth $6.6 million in total. Sean Payton compared aspects of Bryant’s game to those of Michael Thomas in his post-draft press conference and there are at least a few similarities in their profiles. Bryant stands at 6'2/204 and ran a 4.61-second Forty at the combine. Thomas measured in at 6'3/212 and clocked a 4.57-second Forty. Though the two have similar physical characteristics, Thomas was known for his proficiency from the slot while Bryant primarily played on the outside as a field-stretcher at Illinois. Bryant’s transition to slot duties may take some time, but third-round draft capital makes him worth a shot in dynasty leagues.
Colts EDGE Samson Ebukam (Achilles) said he is expected to be cleared for training camp.
Ebukam suffered a torn Achilles in training camp last year and did not play in the 2024 season. He broke out in 2023 with a career-high 9.5 sacks in his first season with the Colts. He now has one year left on his deal and will be looking for a rebound season as he stares down free agency in 2026