Welcome to the midway point of the fantasy season, Week 8. Where has the time gone? Hopefully, your Week 7 went as well as Aaron Rodgers, who channeled the 2015 version of himself to put up 43.8 fantasy points. Rodgers carved up the Raiders secondary, going 25/31 for 429 yards and 5 TDs. For good measure, he tacked on a 6th touchdown on the ground.
In Detroit, we saw Kirk Cousins and Matthew Stafford go back and forth as they finished with 29.2 and 28.6 fantasy points, respectively, to finish as the QB2 and QB3. Both quarterbacks went over 300 yards and threw 4 TDs, and while Stafford found Marvin Jones in the end zone four times, Cousins spread the love around to four different Vikings pass-catchers. Let’s take a look at the rest of the Week 6 leader board:
| Quarterback | Week 7 Opponent | Fantasy Points | Percentage Owned |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aaron Rodgers | vs. Raiders | 43.8 | 99% |
| Kirk Cousins | at Lions | 29.2 | 63% |
| Matthew Stafford | vs. Vikings | 28.6 | 57% |
| Jacoby Brissett | vs. Texans | 27.6 | 48% |
| Jared Goff | at Falcons | 25 | 93% |
| Lamar Jackson | at Seahawks | 23.3 | 99% |
| Josh Allen | vs. Dolphins | 21.3 | 77% |
| Philip Rivers | at Titans | 21.2 | 82% |
| Gardner Minshew | at Bengals | 21 | 53% |
| Ryan Fitzpatrick | at Bills | 20.6 | 3% |
| Dak Prescott | vs. Eagles | 20.6 | 97% |
| Mitchell Trubisky | vs. Saints | 20 | 25% |
Josh Allen‘s ownership ticked up from 50% when I wrote this article last Tuesday before waivers ran to 77%. While we didn’t get a monster game against the Dolphins, 21.3 fantasy points were good enough to place him as QB7 this week. If you picked up Allen, I’d hold on to him as he has a really favorable upcoming schedule starting with a home matchup with the Eagles in Week 8.
Mother Nature decided to ruin what should’ve been a fun rookie duel between Daniel Jones and Kyler Murray, as it rained pretty hard the entire game in New York. Jones, my “Stream of the Week”, ended up going 22/35 for 223 yards, while throwing 1 TD and 1 pick. He added 27 yards on the ground to total a disappointing 10.4 fantasy points.
Finally, I get to recall what may go down as one of the worst streaming picks of all time. The Chiefs’ defense laid Joe Flacco down and put him to sleep, sacking the Broncos’ QB eight times. Flacco ended up going 21/34 for 213 yards while fumbling three times and losing one to finish as QB25 with just 6.5 fantasy points. I didn’t see this coming as the Chiefs had just 12 sacks through their first 6 weeks coming into this game. In an effort to forget this awful stream, let’s take a look at our Week 8 options.
Teddy Bridgewater (16% Owned; Pick of the Week)
Who would’ve thought that when the Saints lost Drew Brees that the season wasn’t over yet? Did anyone see them going 5-0 under Teddy Bridgewater? Well, here we are, heading into Week 8 and the Saints are 6-1. A lot of credit has to go to Sean Payton for putting together a game plan to help Bridgewater succeed, but Teddy’s the one out there executing. In his five starts, Bridgewater has put up 13 or more fantasy points four times and topped 19 fantasy points twice. This week, Bridgewater and the Saints get a matchup in the Superdome against the Arizona Cardinals.
The Cardinals secondary got a boost last week as they welcomed back Patrick Peterson back from a six-game suspension. However, it’s tough to judge how their pass defense looked last week due to them playing against the Giants in pretty heavy rain all game. For the year, the Cardinals have allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks and have allowed a top 12 fantasy quarterback in five of their seven games. Bridgewater should come with a pretty decent floor and in this matchup, has the upside to finished as a top 5 quarterback this week.
Mason Rudolph (7% Owned)
You’ll have to keep an eye on Mason Rudolph‘s status this week, as the last time we saw him, he was knocked unconscious in their Week 5 game against the Ravens. Coming into that Week 5 game, Rudolph was coming off the best start of his career in which he went 24/28 for 229 yards and two touchdowns against the Bengals, leading the Steelers to a 27-3 victory. Now, I know what you’re going to say, “But Rich, that was against the Bengals.” To which I would say, “Haaaaaaaaave you met the Dolphins?”
The Dolphins have allowed opposing quarterbacks to put up 24.4 fantasy points per game, which is the second-most in the league. Even the lowly Case Keenum put up high-end QB2 numbers against the Dolphins in Week 6, thanks to hooking up with Terry McLauren on two long touchdown passes. If you’re desperate at quarterback or have Lamar Jackson or Dak Prescott on bye, Rudolph could be the guy for you.
Ryan Tannehill (5% Owned)
Oh god, you guys, I just threw up some in my mouth. Is this really what it has come to? For what it’s worth, Ryan Tannehill looked like a warm body competent NFL quarterback, which Marcus Mariota didn’t do all year. In Week 7 against the Chargers, Tannehill went 23/29 for 312 yards, two touchdowns, and one pick. He managed to make A.J. Brown and Corey Davis fantasy relevant again, as both receivers had a season-high in targets.
Perhaps the most important part of this recommendation, the Titans face the Buccaneers in Week 8. The Bucs have allowed the sixth-most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks on the year and actually have a decent run defense, which should force the Titans to throw the ball more often. The Bucs run defense has held opponents to just 68.0 yards per game, which is the fewest in the league. While I’m not expecting Tannehill to light the world on fire, he should have a safe floor if you’re dumpster diving at quarterback this week.
(Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire)