If you've tried to set your lineup, you already know we get a reprieve from the bye weeks in Week 8. With more quarterbacks in play, matchups become a bigger factor and there will be difficult lineup decisions to be made across the board.
Jamey Eisenberg has his Start 'Em & Sit 'Em calls for Week 8 at quarterback here. His Waiver Wire column can also direct you to the best options that may be available in your leagues. And don't forget to check out Heath Cummings' quarterback preview for more help with matchup notes, Week 8 numbers to know and more. Plus check out Heath's Week 8 projections over at Sportsline..
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START 'EM & SIT 'EM
Quarterbacks
QBs to Start
Projections powered by
Sportsline
Road Goff showed up again in Week 7 at Baltimore when he scored a season-low 9.4 Fantasy points, and he has now scored 16.0 points or less in three of four games away from Detroit this year. By comparison, Goff has scored at least 20.0 Fantasy points in all three home games, and he's averaging 27.4 points in Detroit. The Raiders have been great against opposing quarterbacks for the past three weeks, holding Jordan Love, Mac Jones and Tyson Bagent to 14.5 Fantasy points or less. But this is a step up in competition, and Goff should be fine in his own surroundings once again. I like Goff as a top-10 Fantasy quarterback in Week 8.
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I don't think you have to fear starting Burrow against the 49ers this week, and he remains a top-10 Fantasy option for me in Week 8. His calf injury is hopefully behind him, and he is averaging 23.6 Fantasy points in his past two outings against the Cardinals and Seahawks. San Francisco allowed Kirk Cousins to pass for 378 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in Week 7, and Burrow is rested coming off a bye week. He scored 34.7 Fantasy points after his bye in 2022 at Pittsburgh in Week 11, and hopefully he can have another strong outing in this matchup with the 49ers.
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Cousins is coming off a strong game against San Francisco with 25.0 Fantasy points, and he has scored at least 23.9 points in four of his past six games. Now, his bad outings over that span have come on the road (13.6 Fantasy points at Carolina in Week 4 and 10.7 points at Chicago in Week 6), but he also attempted 31 passes or less in each of those contests. We want Cousins throwing the ball a lot (his best games this season have been at 44 pass attempts or more), and hopefully that happens at Green Bay. The Packers have allowed just one quarterback to score more than 16.5 Fantasy points this season, which was Desmond Ridder in Week 2 with 23.4 points. But I like Cousins to stay hot in this matchup on the road, and he remains a top-10 Fantasy quarterback for Week 8.
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Lawrence only has two games this season with more than 20.1 Fantasy points, and his best outing is just 21.7 points in Week 1. He's played well of late against the Bills, Colts and Saints, but he's struggled to score multiple touchdowns. In fact, Travis Etienne (three) has more multiple touchdown games this season than Lawrence (two). I love that Lawrence is using his legs with at least 31 rushing yards in three of his past four games. And I expect him to pick apart this secondary, which has allowed three quarterbacks this season to score at least 20.6 Fantasy points (Brock Purdy in Week 1, Jimmy Garoppolo in Week 3 and C.J. Stroud in Week 4). I'm not expecting a huge game from Lawrence, but he should finish as a borderline-No. 1 Fantasy quarterback in Week 8.
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Sleepers (Start/Sit)
Projections powered by
Sportsline
Prescott is coming off his best game of the season in Week 6 at the Chargers with 26.9 Fantasy points, and hopefully he's about to get hot. He's been amazing in his career after a bye, averaging 26.9 Fantasy points in six games after a break, and only once has he failed to score at least 22.9 points after a bye over that span. We'll see if he can stay successful this week against the Rams, who have allowed just two quarterbacks (Anthony Richardson and Jalen Hurts) to score more than 15.2 Fantasy points this season. But I'm hopeful Prescott's history after a bye and his recent outing against the Chargers will help him finish as a borderline No. 1 Fantasy quarterback in all leagues for Week 8.
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The Vikings have only allowed one quarterback to score more than 14.8 Fantasy points in the past four games, which was Patrick Mahomes in Week 5, but that's also because Minnesota got somewhat lucky in the other three outings. The Vikings handled Bryce Young in Week 4, but Justin Fields was hurt in Week 6 and Brock Purdy was missing Deebo Samuel and Trent Williams in Week 7. I'm not expecting Love to have a huge game, but he scored just 19.6 Fantasy points in Week 4 against Detroit and 19.3 points at Denver in Week 7. He should stay in that range against the Vikings, making him a borderline No. 1 Fantasy quarterback in all leagues for Week 8.
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Is this the week where Carr gets his first 20-point Fantasy game of the season? He's played well of late with at least 18.3 Fantasy points in three games in a row against New England, Houston and Jacksonville, including two in a row with at least 301 passing yards. He only has one game this season with multiple touchdowns (Week 5 at New England), which has been an issue, but those should come. And it could happen this week against the Colts, who have allowed four of seven quarterbacks to score at least two touchdowns, and five opposing quarterbacks have scored at least 18.2 Fantasy points. That should be the floor for Carr once again, but I'm hopeful this is his best game of the season. He should be considered a high-end No. 2 Fantasy quarterback in all leagues for Week 8.
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QBs to Sit
Projections powered by
Sportsline
Smith has not been a good Fantasy quarterback this season, and he's scored 17.8 Fantasy points or less in all but one game. I'm not expecting him to have a breakout performance in Week 8 against the Browns, who allow an average of just 15.5 Fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks. Cleveland just gave up a huge outing to Gardner Minshew in Week 7 (31.1 Fantasy points), and Lamar Jackson also had 32.9 Fantasy points against the Browns in Week 4. Both of those quarterbacks scored two rushing touchdowns against Cleveland, and Smith has done minimal damage with his legs this year (20 rushing yards or less in each game and no rushing scores). I would only start Smith in Superflex and two-quarterback leagues in Week 8.
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Howell had a solid game at Philadelphia in Week 4 with 21.6 Fantasy points, but I don't expect him to do well in the rematch. The Eagles should be able to harass him in this game, and the addition of safety Kevin Byard is a huge boost to the secondary. Howell will likely struggle to avoid the Eagles pass rush, and he's been sacked 40 times already in 2023, putting him on pace to set a new NFL record. Philadelphia just held Tua Tagovailoa to 12.3 Fantasy points in Week 7, and the Eagles should make this a tough day for Howell, even at home. Howell is only worth starting in Superflex and two-quarterback leagues in Week 8.
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Once again, Stafford failed to score more than 20 Fantasy points in Week 7 against Pittsburgh (16.0 points), and he's crossed that threshold just once this season with a high of 20.9 points in Week 5 against Philadelphia. Despite one the best wide receiver duos in the NFL, Stafford has one game this season with multiple touchdowns, and it's hard to trust him in one-quarterback leagues. In Superflex and two-quarterback leagues, Stafford is still worth starting, but Dallas is also allowing just 15.7 Fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks this season. Stafford also scored just 12.3 Fantasy points against Dallas in Week 5 last year.
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The last time Wilson faced the Chiefs in Week 6 he looked overwhelmed and scored a season-low 8.9 Fantasy points with 95 passing yards, one touchdown and two interceptions, along with 31 rushing yards. He had another quiet Fantasy outing in the Week 7 victory against Green Bay with 15.9 Fantasy points, and Wilson heads into Week 8 as just an option in Superflex and two-quarterback leagues. Kansas City allows an average of just 15.3 Fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks, and the Chiefs just shut down Justin Herbert in Week 7, holding him to 12.9 Fantasy points. Wilson is likely going to have another tough outing against this defense in Week 8.
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