Fantasy Football Week 8 Start 'Em & Sit 'Em: Quarterback

Mitchell Trubisky has taken a big step forward in the last few weeks, and Jamey Eisenberg expects that to continue in Week 8.

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Editor's note: Welcome to Week 8! We're handling Jamey Eisenberg's Start 'Em & Sit 'Em column a bit differently this season. You're still getting the same in-depth analysis as always, we're just presenting a bit differently, in an effort to get it out to you earlier in the day. This column takes a long time to write, and in the past, we've usually gotten it out to you in the evening. This year, we're going to publish it position-by-position, to get it into your hands quicker. Here's Jamey's take on quarterbacks for this week. 

Don't worry: If you want the classic Start 'Em & Sit 'Em, we'll still be publishing that at the end of the day with every position included. For now, here's quarterback. 

Quarterback

Note: Projections are provided by SportsLine.com.

Start 'Em

23.0 projected points	Jameis Winston Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB
Winston didn't have a great game in Week 7 against Cleveland with 19 Fantasy points, but he did manage to pass for 365 yards. That's now five of six games this season where Tampa Bay's quarterbacks have passed for at least that many yards, and this high-volume attack should continue to help Winston, including this week at Cincinnati. The Bengals have struggled against opposing quarterbacks all season, allowing an average of 25.6 Fantasy points per game to the position, and only Ryan Tannehill in Week 5 failed to score at least 22 points against Cincinnati this year. Winston is once again a candidate or top-five production in Week 8.
23.6 projected points	Mitchell Trubisky Chicago Bears QB
Trubisky is on fire in his past three games, and hopefully he'll stay hot this week against the Jets. He's scored 55, 32 and 33 Fantasy points in his past three outings against Tampa Bay, Miami and New England, and he's getting it done in a variety of ways. He's averaging 334 passing yards over that span with 11 total touchdowns and three interceptions. And he's run for 181 yards and one touchdown in his past three games as well. This week, he's facing a Jets defense that has allowed at least 21 Fantasy points to four quarterbacks in a row, as well as five of the past six opponents. This should be another productive week for Trubisky against the Jets.
23.6 projected points	Jared Goff Los Angeles Rams QB
Goff finally scored 20 Fantasy points for the first time since Week 4 against the 49ers last week. But it was still a mediocre Fantasy performance with 18-of-24 passing for 202 yards and a touchdown. He's now attempted 32 passes or less in three games in a row, but his volume should increase this week against the Packers. This game has the highest over-under points total, according to Las Vegas (56.5), and Green Bay has allowed three of the past five opposing quarterbacks to score at least 20 Fantasy points. Hopefully, we see Goff in a shootout with Aaron Rodgers, and Goff should have the chance for a big game.
23.4 projected points	Andy Dalton Cincinnati Bengals QB
Dalton was one of the biggest letdowns in Week 7 at Kansas City with just nine Fantasy points. He had another prime-time meltdown with that game on Sunday night, but he gets a tremendous opportunity to rebound this week against Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers allow the most Fantasy points on average to opposing quarterbacks at 31.7, and four quarterbacks in a row have scored at least 24 points against this defense. I know Dalton disappointed a lot of you in Week 7, but this is a good spot to trust him again with a home game against Tampa Bay.
20.6 projected points	Kirk Cousins Minnesota Vikings QB
The Saints secondary should be improved with the addition of cornerback Eli Apple in a trade from the Giants, but Cousins should still have a good game this week. New Orleans has allowed at least 30 Fantasy points to Joe Flacco, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Matt Ryan this year, and the Saints have been successful against Tyrod Taylor, Eli Manning and Alex Smith. Cousins, along with Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs, should be productive, and Cousins is worth trusting as a No. 1 Fantasy quarterback in all leagues.

Sleepers

• Baker Mayfield (at PIT): He just scored a season-high 24 Fantasy points at Cleveland in Week 7, and the Steelers have allowed all but one quarterback to score at least 21 Fantasy points this year, which was Ryan in Week 5. Mayfield isn't likely going to have a huge game against Pittsburgh, but he remains a good streaming option in this matchup.
• Joe Flacco (at CAR): Flacco doesn't typically play well on the road, but he does have at least 21 Fantasy points in two of four games away from Baltimore this year. He's at Carolina this week, and the Panthers have allowed five quarterbacks in a row to score at least 18 Fantasy points, with three scoring at least 22 points. Flacco can be a useful starting option in two-quarterback and super-flex leagues.
• Derek Carr (vs. IND): Even without Amari Cooper, who was traded to Dallas, Carr should be fine with his revamped receiving corps. And it's a good matchup in Week 8 against the Colts. Indianapolis has allowed three of the past four opposing quarterbacks to score at least 21 Fantasy points, with the lone exception being Derek Anderson in Week 7. Carr only has one game with more than 17 Fantasy points this year, but he can still be useful in two-quarterback or super-flex leagues.

Sit 'Em

18.2 projected points	Carson Wentz Philadelphia Eagles QB
Wentz has been a solid Fantasy quarterback for the past month with at least 22 points in four games in a row. He averaged 312 passing yards over that span with nine total touchdowns and no interceptions, but he should struggle this week against the Jaguars in London. Only two quarterbacks have scored at least 20 Fantasy points against Jacksonville, which were Tom Brady in Week 2 (20 points) and Dak Prescott in Week 6 (33 points), but Prescott had 14 points with his rushing stats. Wentz may score about 20 Fantasy points this week, but I don't expect him to finish as a No. 1 quarterback in Week 8.
16.6 projected points	Eli Manning New York Giants QB
I liked Manning as a streaming option in Week 7 at Atlanta given the matchup with the Falcons, and he delivered 21 Fantasy points in a solid performance. But now, it's back to benching Manning in the majority of one-quarterback leagues. In his past five games against Washington, Manning is averaging just 219 passing yards per game with four total touchdowns and seven interceptions over that span. And for this season, Manning has three games with at least 21 Fantasy points (none over 23 points) and four games with 16 points or less. I expect this to be one of Manning's down games, and he's only worth starting in two-quarterback or super-flex leagues.
17.4 projected points	Matthew Stafford Detroit Lions QB
I expect Stafford to finish in the same range as Wentz, and he's scored between 19 and 24 Fantasy points in four games in a row. That puts him in the range of a low-end starter and high-end backup, but this won't be an easy matchup against the Seahawks. Seattle has only allowed one quarterback to score over 20 Fantasy points this season, which was Case Keenum in Week 1 (25 points). Since then, the Seahawks have been stingy against all their opponents, including Trubisky in Week 2 (18 points) and Goff in Week 5 (15 points), and Stafford should have minimal production this week.
19.0 projected points	Alex Smith Washington Redskins QB
Washington's receiving corps is a mess right now after Jamison Crowder (ankle), Paul Richardson (knee) and Chris Thompson (ribs) missed Week 7 against Dallas, and their status for Week 8 is still in up in the air. But even with those guys healthy, Smith has still been a mediocre Fantasy quarterback, scoring 20 Fantasy points just twice, with a high of 23 points, and none of those outings since Week 3. This game will be all about Adrian Peterson, and Smith is only worth starting in two-quarterback or super-flex leagues.

Bust Alert

Wilson has been excellent and efficient the past two games against the Rams and Raiders, and we'll see if he can keep it up in Week 8 at Detroit. He threw a touchdown pass on every seven attempts against the Rams in Week 5 and one on every eight attempts against the Raiders in Week 8. In total, Wilson has six touchdown passes in his past two games on just 44 pass attempts. That's not sustainable, and I would only consider him a low-end starting quarterback at best, similar to Wentz and Stafford. The Lions allow an average of 20 Fantasy points a game, and Wilson should be in that range. Prior to his past two games, Wilson scored 19 Fantasy points or less in three games in a row against Chicago, Dallas and Arizona, and he's been at 26 pass attempts or less in four consecutive games. It's hard to trust any quarterback when they aren't throwing more than 30 times a week.

So who should you sit and start? And what shocking QB could win you Week 8?Visit SportsLine now to get Fantasy football rankings for every single position, and see which shocking QB finishes in the top 5 this week, all from the model that out-performed experts big time last season.