What We Saw: Week 8

The What We Saw team recaps everything you missed from a wild Week 8 in the NFL

Ben Brown
What We Saw 2 Years Ago
Series Navigation
Introduction
Ravens @ Buccaneers
Broncos @ Jaguars
Panthers @ Falcons
Bears @ Cowboys
Dolphins @ Lions
Cardinals @ Vikings
Raiders @ Saints
Patriots @ Jets
Steelers @ Eagles
Titans @ Texans
Commanders @ Colts
49ers @ Rams
Giants @ Seahawks
Packers @ Bills

Dolphins @ Lions

Final Score: Dolphins 31, Lions 27

Senior Writer: Benjamin Haller (@benjaminhaller1 on Twitter)

 

The Miami Dolphins, rejuvenated under the leadership of the returning Tua Tagovailoa, traveled to the hapless Detroit Lions in a key Week 8 matchup – Miami trail the Bills and the Jets in the AFC East as they look to recover after losing three straight games without their quarterback, winning the four games he has been under center. On the other side of the ball, Dan Campbell‘s reign in Detroit is threatening to slip into ridicule after another gutless performance on a loss to the Cowboys leaves them almost irrelevant at 1-5.

With the Dolphins’ defense banged up and the Lions’ defense pitiful, this had the potential for a shootout. And…that’s what happened! We had 44 points at the half as the teams marched up and down the field on each other, eight of the nine possessions in the half resulted in points, including four straight touchdown possessions. It was a healthy fantasy feast!

A second-half comeback from Tua and his dynamic duo of Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle ensured the Dolphins prevailed and kept in touch in the race for the playoffs in the AFC. That’s worth a penguin dance…

 

 

Miami Dolphins

 

Quarterback

 

Tua Tagovailoa: 29/36, 382 Yards, 3 TD, 2 Sacks | 5 Carries, 19 Yards

 

The enigmatic Tua Tagovailoa put up his second-highest fantasy score (29.18 fantasy points in Yahoo! leagues) of the season in this comeback win over the moribund Lions defense as he championed his two elite receivers to the tune of 294 yards and two scores, both thrown to Jaylen Waddle. After Tua found himself in a 14-point hole going into the second quarter, he unleashed his best throw of the game to release Waddle for his second penguin dance of the game thanks to this beautifully lofted ball over the top of the Lions’ secondary.

 

 

Tua showed excellent poise in the pockets and peppered his receivers with perfect intermediate throws for much of this game. His only indiscretion was an under-thrown pass to Hill that should have resulted in a touchdown but saw Hill fall short with a 36-yard gain. He completed 29-of-36 passes, including a lovely spiral for Hill to grab in a tight window with less than two minutes left to seal the game at the end. Elite!

 

https://gfycat.com/thatdisgustingduckling

 

Running Back

 

Raheem Mostert: 14 Carries, 64 Yards | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 3 Yards

Chase Edmonds: 4 Carries, 14 Yards

Alec Ingold: 1 Carry, 1 Yard, TD | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 5 Yards

Salvon Ahmed: 1 Carry, 2 Yards

 

With 504 yards passing at the half between both quarterbacks, there was little time for the run game. The Dolphins were playing from behind early on so Mike McDaniel wasn’t looking to establish the run. They had just 26 rushing yards at the break, Chase Edmonds and Raheem Mostert splitting a meager six carries evenly. Edmonds hardly saw a look after the half.

And to everyone’s surprise, it was Alec Ingold who ran the ball in from a direct snap early in the second half to finish up an impressive 9-play, 75-yard drive to bring the Dolphins within three points.

 

 

Mostert then saw the majority of the work late on as the Dolphins looked to bleed the clock and run the game out with a lead for much of the fourth quarter. Mostert has seen plenty of work since returning from injury and looks to have full control of this backfield. The fantasy value is very much dependent on a few touches near the goal line, however. So far in 2022 he only has one rushing score. However, he does have at least 14 carries in his last five contests.

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

 

Tyreek Hill: 1 Carry, 7 Yards | 14 Targets, 12 Receptions, 188 Yards

Jaylen Waddle: 9 Targets, 8 Receptions, 106 Yards, 2 TD

Mike Gesicki: 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 38 Yards, TD

Trent Sherfield: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 25 Yards

Braylon Sanders: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 17 Yards, 1 Fumble (Lost)

 

Jaylen Waddle put on a receiving masterclass in this game, running rings around the Lions’ defensive backs and proving once again that he is a WR1 with his combination of speed, hands, and ability to run after the catch. Waddle hauled in two scores, including this first touchdown grab to pull his team back into the contest. Remarkably, these were Waddle’s first scores through the air since Week 2. More, please…

 

 

Tyreek Hill had seven catches for a tasty 142 yards at halftime as Tua fed his two main receivers throughout. 15-of-23 throws in the first half went to either Hill or Waddle, who continue to be fantasy darlings in this offense. Hill finished up with a mammoth 188 yards and all that was missing was a little more juice on that throw from Tua that just fell short of the end zone. Still, Hill continues to be one of the best fantasy receivers around.

 

 

Undrafted free agent Braylon Sanders had a day to forget as his second catch of the day resulted in a costly fumble that gave the Lions the momentum early in the contest. The rookie has to protect the ball better than this.

 

 

Mike Gesicki has been a boom-or-bust option in this offense so far this season but he was productive today as he notched his fourth receiving touchdown of the season to put the Fins ahead. They never looked back. Gesicki has more appeal going forward as long as Tua remains healthy.

 

 

Detroit Lions

 

Quarterback

 

Jared Goff: 27/37, 321 Yards, TD | 1 Carry, 3 Yards

 

This was about as good as we could have hoped for from Jared Goff after a miserable month for the Lions quarterback. Goff was efficient and unspectacular but showed his limitations under the blitz once again. Still, he did enough to keep his team in contention and showed the accuracy on throws that made him fantasy-productive earlier in the season. Matt Waldman breaks down this throw beautifully.

 

 

Goff failed to convert a third-and-long and then a fourth-and-short on back-to-back plays late in the fourth quarter to condemn the Lions to a scoreless second half, and their sixth defeat of the season. He lacked the playmaking skills once again when his team needed them. However, fantasy managers who started Goff hoping he would be productive against a banged-up Miami secondary would have been pleased with his 18.14 fantasy points.

 

Running Back

 

Jamaal Williams: 10 Carries, 53 Yards, 2 TD | 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 23 Yards

Craig Reynolds: 2 Carries, 7 Yards | 1 Target

D’Andre Swift: 5 Carries, 6 Yards | 5 Targets, 5 Receptions, 27 Yards, TD

 

Jamaal Williams had a costly fumble in last week’s loss at Dallas but he made up for it early in this game with a strong running performance down the middle of a usually stout Dolphins interior defensive line. He ran the first touchdown of the game in from the 7-yard line.

 

 

If you’ve ever watched the film Swingers, you know you always double down. That’s exactly what Williams did with yet another opportunity from inside the 5-yard line at the start of the second quarter. Williams shares the backfield evenly with D’Andre Swift and this Detroit run game is fantasy happy when the game script goes their way. Williams is a healthy RB2/FLEX option and today proved that once again. With Swift being managed back after injury, Williams out-carried Swift 8-2 in the first half.

 

 

D’Andre Swift finally returned from injury to provide fantasy managers with some much-needed relief as the bye weeks are in full swing. Swift made those managers smile early with a catch-and-run for a score to put the Lions up by 14 midway through the first quarter.

 

 

As the game slipped away from the Lions in the second half, both these rushers took a backseat. Williams got the early down carries and Swift was mainly utilized on passing downs. Neither could help make an impact in the second half, however.

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

 

T.J. Hockenson: 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 80 Yards

Kalif Raymond: 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 76 Yards

Amon-Ra St. Brown: 10 Targets, 7 Receptions, 69 Yards

James Mitchell: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 14 Yards

Josh Reynolds: 6 Targets, 2 Receptions, 14 Yards

Maurice Alexander: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 7 Yards

Brock Wright: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 6 Yards

C.J. Moore: 1 Carry, 13 Yards

 

The Lions have been miserable through the air in recent weeks but Goff kick-started things early in this game with huge gains to T.J. Hockenson and Khalif Raymond in the opening quarter, both catches inspiring touchdown drives. The big tight end Hockenson made this grab count and ran hard for extra yards thanks to some nifty footwork to shake off the tackle. He was criminally underused after being so productive early on.

 

 

However, they really struggled after the half once they had to move the ball through the air to get back into the contest. A host of depth receivers saw targets and the odd catch but nobody could make a big play.

Amon-Ra St. Brown looked more like himself after playing through a number of injuries recently. Goff used his young receiver often and early in downs as he made use of his excellent route running and elite speed off the line. He was crucial in moving the sticks on third down too. He grabbed seven catches on 10 targets but didn’t threaten in the red zone. He had a key contested catch late in the game that that was ruled incomplete. Head Coach Dan Campbell threw the red challenge flag hoping that it would be ruled a catch and fumble out of bounds, but the call stood. The hopes of the Lions diminished with it.

Series Navigation
Introduction
Ravens @ Buccaneers
Broncos @ Jaguars
Panthers @ Falcons
Bears @ Cowboys
Dolphins @ Lions
Cardinals @ Vikings
Raiders @ Saints
Patriots @ Jets
Steelers @ Eagles
Titans @ Texans
Commanders @ Colts
49ers @ Rams
Giants @ Seahawks
Packers @ Bills

One response to “What We Saw: Week 8”

  1. Jameis Winston says:
    October 31, 2022 at 8:59 pm

    Debbie Downer masterclass.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.