Week 8 is here as we approach the halfway mark of the 2024 NFL season! With Sunday’s NFL DFS main slate, we break the pattern of having a 10-game slate as we have a huge 13-gamer to work with on both DraftKings and FanDuel. 

 

 

 

So, we have more games to consider and hopefully some good value options that’ll help us open up salary to hit the optimal lineup. Let’s take a look at the latest cash and GPP options as part of the latest NFL DFS Week 8 D/ST Coach!

NFL DFS Week 8 D/ST Coach For FanDuel & DraftKings Fantasy

Week 7 was solid for the D/ST Coach, especially if you got plenty of exposure to last week’s Play of the Week. The Los Angeles Rams put up 17 fantasy points against the Las Vegas Raiders. It’s always difficult to predict a D/ST touchdown, but when we nail them we certainly do not complain as it propelled the Rams to nearly 6X value on DraftKings.

Additionally, the Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, Indianapolis Colts, and Minnesota Vikings all returned double-digit fantasy points last week. The two busts came from the value tier (the Cleveland Browns and New York Giants) which was a bit disappointing. However, if you did manage to get to either the Vikings or Rams, you were not disappointed.

 

 

 

NFL Week 8 Defense/Special Teams

As we begin to look into Week 8, we get 13 games and a lot more variety than we’ve seen the last few main slates. Similar to last week’s slate we don’t have many games with low implied totals. There are only three games with implied totals under 42.5 points, so we are looking at some offensive output with more games to work with.

But the good news is that this is a week where it actually is easier to pay up for D/ST’s. That really wasn’t the case last week. But with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offering some valuable pass catchers, we do have a chance to basically play whoever we want at the D/ST spot. 

But remember, this is always the last piece of the puzzle. Don’t force an expensive D/ST into your build if you can’t get there. We still have some affordable options on the slate as well for the NFL DFS Week 8 D/ST Coach.

 

 

 

NFL DFS D/ST Top Tier Picks For Week 8

Denver Broncos - DraftKings: $3,700 | FanDuel: $5,000

The Denver Broncos defense is awesome. It’s plain and simple. Pat Surtain missed last week’s game against the New Orleans Saints. But the matchup was easy enough where they didn’t really need him as they were still able to put up 20+ fantasy points on the Showdown slate.

If they can get Surtain back for this matchup then that’s great. He can shut down any Panthers receiver with his man coverage skills. But again, the Broncos blitz at an incredibly high rate, which we’ve mentioned several times this year. Plus, the Panthers offensive line is really only good on the interior. The exterior tackles are suspect. 

Andy Dalton did not practice on Wednesday with a thumb injury, and it was announced that Bryce Young would start for the Panthers. And we all know how terrible he’s been for the Carolina Panthers when he’s had the chance to start. In Weeks 1 and 2 as the starter, he completed just 55.4% of his pass attempts for 245 yards and he threw three interceptions.

Considering that the Broncos are nine-point favorites at home (and at elevation) and the over/under is at just 43.5 points, it feels like a spot where the Broncos provide a very good floor.

Kansas City Chiefs – DraftKings: $3,600 | FanDuel: $4,700

Oh, how I wish Aidan O’Connell was starting for the Raiders in this game. O’Connell is committed to sitting in the pocket and throwing the ball. He doesn’t scramble. That correlates positively with sack opportunities and turnovers. But with O’Connell going to IR the Raiders go back to starting Gardner Minshew for this game.

And this is still a good spot to play the Chiefs D/ST, but probably better suited for tournaments. Minshew has already turned the ball over 10 times this year, including four times last week in relief for O’Connell.

The Chiefs defense has been better overall for real football than fantasy football. They haven’t forced many turnovers, nor do they get many sacks. But they’re allowing just 14.5 points per game in their last four games and Minshew is a wild card that could serve up some turnovers on a platter for this defense.

 

 

 

NFL DFS D/ST Mid-Tier Picks For Week 8

Los Angeles Chargers – DraftKings: $3,300 | FanDuel: $4,500

This game features the lowest implied total on the slate at just 40 points. But the Chargers are the home team and they’re favored by seven points. I can’t say this is a particularly good defense. Moreover, they are playing on a short week which normally gives me some pause.

On the year the Bolts defense has allowed 13.8 points per game and less than 300 yards per game. So, there’s a decent floor, especially since the offense tends to be so run heavy and dominating time of possession. But the Saints have a very low team total.

But it does sound as if the Saints will once again trot out Spencer Rattler as their starting quarterback if Derek Carr is unable to play. Rattler had one decent half of football against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 6, but he’s been horrible the last six quarters of play and he’s also dealing with a hip injury. So, we have some narratives for this game that give us intrigue with the hometown D/ST.

Houston Texans - DraftKings: $3,100 | FanDuel: $4,100

The Texans might be better suited for tournaments in the mid-tier while the Chargers could be a better cash game option. But the Texans have definitely stepped it up defensively of late. This defense has given up 20+ points in all but one game this year. But given the matchup, we know they’ll have their chance at forcing turnovers.

The Texans will host the Indianapolis Colts in this matchup. Between injuries and poor play, Anthony Richardson has completed a total of 49 passes this year on 101 attempts. Completing under 50% of your pass attempts won’t translate to a long career in this league. Not to mention Richardson has a 3:6 TD:INT ratio and he’s fumbled four times as well.

But we do need to be mindful of Richardson’s rushing upside. He ran 14 times last week for 56 yards and Shane Steichen has called more designed runs for him. But the Texans also come in with seven sacks and seven takeaways in their last two games.

 

 

 

NFL Week 8 DFS D/ST Value Picks

Atlanta Falcons – DraftKings: $2,600 | FanDuel: $3,600

The Falcons aren’t the only value option in the NFL DFS Week 8 D/ST Coach. Never fret, just scroll on down to this week’s Play of the Week for another salary saver with a lot of DFS upside!

I don’t personally think the Falcons have a great defense. But I like the price tag given the matchup. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers played on Monday Night Football, so this is a short week for the organization. And of course, they’ll be without their top pass catchers, Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.

Do the Falcons do anything great defensively? Not really. They’ve allowed 330+ yards of offense and 20+ points in six straight games. And to that point, they only have six sacks and seven takeaways on the year. They were outstanding in Week 4 with 17 fantasy points. But overall, the defense isn’t great.

So by playing the Falcons, you’re banking on the Bucs struggling in their first game sans Evans and Godwin. But again, if you aren’t comfortable with the Falcons as your value play because you want to plug in some of those cheap Tampa receivers, then I highly recommend you check out this week’s D/ST Play of the Week.

 

 

 

NFL DFS D/ST Fades For Week 8

New York Jets - DraftKings: $3,500 | FanDuel: $4,900

The Jets are favored by a touchdown and rightfully so. They should win this game. But this defense took a beating at the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday Night Football last week. And we will need to monitor the injury reports leading up to this game because the Jets stacked secondary was without D.J. Reed and Michael Carter II in Week 7.

The Patriots likely don’t have any upside that resembles what the Steelers did last week. But the Patriots are riding a six-game losing streak. Moreover, the offense hasn’t been posing too much of a threat. But they finally made the necessary change at quarterback and have been starting Drake Maye who has been an improvement over Jacoby Brissett.

In his two starts May has completed 65.7% of his pass attempts with five touchdown passes. I don’t think New England wins outright by any means. However, if Reed and/or Carter II can’t suit up then I’m not particularly excited about this play since the Jets have no takeaways in their last two games and have even been beaten on the ground.

If the Jets are fully healthy for this game and the secondary is accounted for, then we can also include the Baltimore Ravens as a slight fade. The Cleveland Browns will be starting Jameis Winston on Sunday. That can be viewed as a good thing, but also a bad thing. Jameis is a gunslinger, but historically, he’s also very turnover prone.

Arizona Cardinals - DraftKings: $2,900 | FanDuel: $3,800

I’m not sure why the Cardinals aren’t the cheapest option on both sites, but either way I can’t recommend them for this game. Here’s what is not working in their favor…

For starters, they just played on Monday night and got a much-needed win against the Los Angeles Chargers. So, the team could be riding a little high off that victory. But this game is on a short week and the Cardinals are also being asked to play in the early window at 1:00pm ET. 

Not to mention, there’s a legitimate chance Tua Tagovailoa returns to this game for the Miami Dolphins. He will need to be activated off IR and clear concussion protocol in order to be able to start for Miami. And if that happens, the Dolphins offense gets a massive upgrade against a disappointing D/ST. 

DraftKings Sportsbook has the over/under at 46.5 points as of Wednesday afternoon and the Dolphins are favored by 3.5 points, so it definitely looks like the sportsbooks are anticipating Tua gets the start. As of right now, I can’t recommend Arizona given how bad this matchup could get by Sunday.

 

 

 

NFL DFS Week 8 D/ST Play Of The Week

Chicago Bears - DraftKings: $2,700 | FanDuel: $4,400

The Bears are priced down a bit simply because of the matchup. Unfortunately, it seems as if we’ll be robbed of watching the first two overall picks in the 2024 NFL Draft (Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels) from going against each other. Daniels left last week’s game with injured ribs after one offensive series.

So, the Bears are discounted a little bit, and above all else, they’re well rested and coming off their bye week. In their last three games heading into the off week, the Bears had seven takeaways, forced 11 sacks, and allowed just under 15 points per game and 300 yards of offense per game. 

They have a strong pass rush and even a premier cornerback in Jaylon Johnson. With Daniels not practicing on Wednesday, we’re one step closer to seeing Marcus Mariota get the start for Washington.

Update: With Jayden Daniels likely getting the start for Washington, I am downgrading the Bears just a bit. I'm fine playing them in Tournaments, but he is trending toward getting the start. But we do still have a great defense coming off their Bye week.

 

 

 

NFL DFS Week 8 Defense/Special Teams Projections