The amount of injuries during Week 8 was an absolute nightmare for fantasy owners. Obviously all kinds of injuries are terrible, but when you’re talking about a slew of fantasy superstars, the results are pretty devastating. Since there were so many players that went down, it’s best that we focus on the bigger and more immediate outcomes while saving some of the less clear tidbits for the individual games.

Certainly the biggest news of the week is Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell tearing his MCL, ending his season. Between the suspension and this new injury, this is basically a lost year for one of the league’s premier rushers. DeAngelo Williams will slide right into the starting position and he’s already proven he can be a tremendous fantasy asset during Bell’s suspension. Williams should be locked in as a top-12 fantasy running back for the rest of the season so that automatically makes him this week’s top waiver add.

Speaking of waiver adds, Chicago Bears running back Jeremy Langford should be number two on that list. Matt Forte exited Sunday’s game with what is believed to be a sprained MCL. We’ll have more information on the extent of Forte’s injury in the coming days but for now Langford needs to be owned in 100 percent of leagues. Chicago has already come out and said they don’t believe Forte will miss the rest of 2015 but at the very least it’s looking like he could be out for about a month. Langford should be a usable RB2 so hopefully you’re able to weather the storm until Forte is able to return for the fantasy playoffs.

The next group of players all suffered serious injuries that don’t necessarily net us any immediate clarity regarding suitable replacements. Steve Smith Sr. is out for the year with a torn Achilles; Reggie Bush slipped on exposed concrete on the sidelines resulting in a torn ACL, and Keenan Allen is “out indefinitely” with a kidney injury. In the case of Smith Sr., you can expect the Ravens to bring in another veteran wide receiver but ultimately the team will likely spread the ball around a bit more. The only pass-catcher I would consider adding as a Steve Smith Sr. replacement is Kamar Aiken, but honestly with so many other clear-cut replacements available on the waiver wire, I’d rather scoop up one of the backup running backs.

Speaking of backup running backs, the Reggie Bush injury basically means zilch in terms of fantasy right now. The 49ers are an absolute mess so it doesn’t really matter who ends up starting at the running back position. There’s just no way to trust that team for fantasy purposes so you’re better off avoiding that situation entirely until Carlos Hyde comes back. Lastly, Keenan Allen’s absence should open the door for Stevie Johnson to receive more opportunities in the passing game. With both Antonio Gates and Ladarius Green banged up as a well, Johnson is essentially San Diego’s only trustworthy and healthy receiver at this point. He’d be the top WR pickup of the week for me assuming he isn’t already owned in your league.

Yikes, sorry for the rather lengthy morbid entry this week. It was an unexpected brutal week for injuries, something I hope you were lucky enough to avoid.

Miami Dolphins @ New England Patriots

So much for the Dolphins massive offensive resurgence huh? After completely demolishing the Houston Texans the week prior, the Dolphins came crashing back down to Earth against the mighty New England Patriots. It wasn’t all bad for the Dolphins as Lamar Miller managed to score the team’s only touchdown. I still believe new head coach Dan Campbell is a massive upgrade for this team offensively so don’t worry about this particular outing. Obviously Miami isn’t going to score 40+ in one half again but they’re still a fairly reliable source for fantasy production.

What is there to say about the Patriots at this point? Basically, if you own Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman, LeGarrette Blount, or Dion Lewis, you’re starting them. Anyone on New England is a threat to have a two-touchdown day any given week. The Danny Amendola party is over, however, and it looks like it’s going to take Brandon Lafell a few weeks before he becomes a consistent member of the offense.

Detroit Lions @ Kansas City Chiefs

Our last London game of the season featured the Detroit Lions getting absolutely smacked by the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs literally ran all over them with Charcandrick West racking up 97 yards and a score while Alex Smith rushed five times for 78 yards and a touchdown of his own. Travis Kelce and Jeremy Maclin found the endzone as well here, exposing the Detroit defense on all fronts. West is clearly going to be a borderline RB1 in the absence of Jamaal Charles so this is a Chiefs team that remains fantasy friendly.

Calvin Johnson re-injured his ankle in this game but with the Lions heading into a bye in Week 9, it’ll be a while before you have to worry about his health. Hopefully the two week absence is enough to provide Megatron with enough rest. Joique Bell received the bulk of the work out of the backfield and was the most productive runner for Detroit but honestly I don’t think you can trust any rusher on the Lions at this point. It’s going to take a massive turn toward consistency in order to justify starting any particular guy so I don’t even think any running back in Detroit is a must own. Wait for one of these guys to string together two or three solid outings in a row before wasting a roster spot on any of them.

Minnesota Vikings @ Chicago Bears

Adrian Peterson continues to be one of the most reliable RB1’s in fantasy this season with another 100+ yard day against Chicago. Between all of the injuries and underperforming studs thus far it’s clear that Peterson, Devonta Freeman, and Todd Gurley are the top three backs in fantasy right now. You can put them in any order you like as they’ve all been exceptional this year. Stefon Diggs continues his reign of dominance with a six reception 95-yard day with a touchdown to boot. He’s locked in as a WR2 for the remainder of the year and is a must-start each week.

We already discussed the injury to Matt Forte so the only other thing worth mentioning on the Bears side of the ball is that it’s great to see Alshon Jeffery performing now that he’s fully healthy. Jeffery has been stellar since returning from his hamstring injury and he’s making Jay Cutler look like a usable fantasy quarterback for those with bye week blues. If you were able to stay afloat while waiting for Jeffery to return, you’re in for a real treat as we get closer to the fantasy playoffs.

Arizona Cardinals @ Cleveland Browns

This game was starting to look like an upset special with the Cleveland Browns jumping out to an early lead but the Cardinals ended up coming roaring back to win by 14. The Cleveland offense looked to be productive through the air with Brian “He’s still in the league?” Hartline as the primary beneficiary. Hartline finished with two touchdowns, a performance you can safely ignore for fantasy purposes. What you can’t ignore though is the continued breakout of Gary Barnidge. I’ve said before that it’s amazing what the Cleveland Browns have been able to do with a 30-year old tight end but where there’s consistent production there’s tremendous fantasy value. Barnidge is the type of player that comes out of nowhere three to four weeks into the season who could legitimately aid a team to a fantasy championship. If you were lucky enough to scoop him up while he was hot, congratulations on being one of the more keen fantasy owners out there.

As for the Cardinals, the team pulled off one of the most frustrating aspects of fantasy by declaring John Brown active only to not actually use him in the game. It’s a real shame considering Brown’s hot streak as of late so hopefully he’s back to full strength after the bye. Larry Fitzgerald and Michael Floyd each had nice games here as they both had a touchdown apiece. Floyd is an interesting flier to add for teams looking to secure an additional wide receiver although I’d caution that he’s still the number three option in Arizona.

Tennessee Titans @ Houston Texans

I’m really struggling to find anything of fantasy relevance to say about this game. I don’t want to say I’ve got nothing,  but I’m damn close. DeAndre Hopkins continues to be a stud while both team’s running back situations are kind of a mess. Once David Cobb returns we might be looking at a usable RB2 in Tennessee but it’ll likely be a week or two before we’re able to commit to that. Other than that, this game didn’t really tell us anything as far as fantasy is concerned so it’s probably best we just move right along here.

San Diego Chargers @ Baltimore Ravens

Philip Rivers is having himself a tremendous season thus far and furthered that by tossing another three touchdowns against an awful Baltimore secondary. Two of those touchdowns went to Malcolm Floyd, a receiver that virtually everyone has forgotten about. He’s worth a speculative add in deeper leagues now that Keenan Allen is expected to miss time but I don’t think you can start him with any confidence. Stevie Johnson is still the only other Chargers receiver I’d feel comfortable in using. Melvin Gordon received the most touches out of the backfield here but didn’t really do anything with him. This rushing attack continues to be completely unreliable outside of Danny Woodead in PPR formats.

The Ravens didn’t really do anything for us in terms of fantasy here. In fact, it was Joe freakin’ Flacco who got the team’s sole rushing touchdown here, much to the chagrin of Justin Forsett owners. This is a Baltimore team that just isn’t very good this season so it’s hard to trust anyone for fantasy purposes, especially now that Steve Smith is done for the year. Forsett is an okay RB2 with limited upside but other than that, there really isn’t much fantasy relevance here.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Atlanta Falcons

This was a bizarre game with some extremely wonky plays that sent us into overtime. You’d expect the Buccaneers would have gotten Mike Evans more involved with Vincent Jackson sidelined but he only had three receptions for 48 yards. Evans is capable of putting up big numbers any given week so I still believe in him as a high-end WR2. You’re just going to have to take the inconsistency along with the big breakout games. Doug Martin is back to being an RB2 with considerable upside so his 71-yard outing is solid enough.

The Falcons leaned heavily on Julio Jones and tight end Jacob Tamme here with each guy racking up over 100 yards and a touchdown. Obviously Jones and running back Devonta Freeman are the clear studs in Atlanta right now but Tamme has emerged as a low-end tight end streamer. I initially poo-pooed the idea that his breakout was legitimate but now it’s looking like the Falcons have made an effort to keep him more utilized in their passing attack. With Roddy White falling off a cliff and Leonard Hankerson banged up, I think Tamme is a usable TE1 in the 10-12 range for the next few weeks.

San Francisco 49ers @ St. Louis Rams

There is literally nothing to see in San Francisco right now. Throw in the fact that Colin Kaepernick has been benched as of Monday evening and this is just an absolute dumpster fire of an offense. And oh by the way, now Vernon Davis has been traded to the Denver Broncos. Seriously, avoid all 49ers at all costs.

Todd Gurley is an absolute superstar in the making and that’s all you need me to say about him. Wide receiver Tavon Austin had another great game here with four receptions for 98 yards and a score. Austin is going to have games like this where he’s clearly usable but he’s also going to have a decent amount of clunkers as well. He’s not the type of guy you should be considering for even your flex position in a given week but he definitely needs to be owned in all leagues. He’s the prototypical bye week fill-in/injury replacement player so he warrants a bench stash in all formats if he’s not already owned.

New York Giants @ New Orleans Saints

I think I invented a few new expletives watching this game. There are only so many ways to say “are you serious?” and “this game is insane” before you start having to swear like a sailor. You would think that a game in which Odell Beckham Jr scored three touchdowns with 130 yards he’d be the game’s highest scorer but it was Eli Manning and Drew Brees who stole the show. The two combined for 13 (THIRTEEN!) passing touchdowns, an absolutely phenomenal feat. No one should expect either of those performances to be duplicated but it does put Drew Brees back in the top-seven discussion for fantasy purposes. It also breathes fresh life into Eli’s fantasy relevance as a low-end QB1. Either way, this game was so insane that it’s hard to even talk about the box score with a straight face.

Here’s what I can say, though: As far as the Saints are concerned, it’s clear that Drew Brees still prefers to spread the ball around considerably and in a game where he threw for over 500 yards, clearly several other players had big fantasy outings. Willie Snead and Brandin Cooks each caught two touchdowns with three other pass-catchers reeling in a score as well. I still think Snead is the team’s primary receiver with Cooks being nothing more than a low-end PPR play. On the Giants side of the ball, all I can say is that this backfield remains a mess. Last week’s breakout player Orleans Darkwa left this game with an injury but when there’s four legitimate backs all eating into each other’s workload, they’re all relatively untrustworthy. This is another situation I’d prefer to avoid.

Cincinnati Bengals @ Pittsburgh Steelers

The Bengals pulled a fourth quarter comeback win here on the heels of a big day from A.J. Green. Green has been somewhat inconsistent this year so it was nice to see him get back on track coming out of the bye. The other major takeaway from this game was Jeremy Hill receiving 15 carries compared to just one for Giovani Bernard. If you’ve read anything I’ve written about the Bengals this season you’d know that I’m a huge Jeremy Hill fan and expected him to have a monster season. You’d also know that I’ve admitted that was a bad call by me but I did still believe Cincy’s coaching staff when they said they preferred to utilize Hill over Bernard in the ground game. Both things are true here; I was wrong in my assessment of Hill as a top-10 fantasy RB but the hate did go too far on him. He’s still better than Bernard and the workload proves they’re committed to him. I’m expecting a big second half for him, even if it doesn’t net him his high draft status from back in August.

Antonio Brown literally thanked the heavens after reeling in a touchdown from Ben Roethlisberger. Brown is the number two receiver in fantasy at worst with Ben back in the lineup so you can relax now that the Michael Vick/Landry Jones days are over. Heath Miller was the team’s leading pass-catcher here as the tight end racked up 10 receptions for 105 yards. With Ben under center, Heath could be a sneaky low-end TE1 going forward so he’s a guy I would target if you’re dealing with a banged up Antonio Gates or a struggling Zach Ertz. We already discussed the injury to Le’Veon Bell so there’s not much else to report here. You’re starting Ben, Antonio, and Martavis Bryant regardless.

New York Jets @ Oakland Raiders

Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick left this game with a hand injury, allowing Geno Smith to come in and try not to turn the ball over a million times. Smith was serviceable here, throwing for two touchdowns with just one interception. The biggest takeaway from that performance is that Smith proved he’s still competent enough to get the ball to Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker. As long as that remains the case, the Jets offense is still underrated to me. Hopefully the injury to Fitzpatrick isn’t that severe but we’ll have to wait a bit to find out the extent of the injury.

How about Sophomore Sensation Derek Carr? It’s amazing that the Oakland Raiders have turned out to be the biggest surprise of the football season thus far and it’s definitely been fun to watch. Between Carr, Latavius Murray, Amari Cooper, and Michael Crabtree, this is a team that can hang with the best of them any given Sunday. You’re obviously already starting Murray, Cooper, and Crabtree in some fashion but Carr has emerged as a legitimate fantasy QB streaming option. If you’re waiting on Tony Romo or dealing with a slumping Peyton Manning, poke around to see if Carr is available to keep you treading water until those other guys prove themselves to be useful.

Seattle Seahawks @ Dallas Cowboys

This was an extremely boring game, especially for fantasy purposes. Marshawn Lynch and Jimmy Graham were both okay in this game with each player totaling around 70 yards at their respective positions. Russell Wilson is starting to worry me as a fantasy quarterback going forward. Even with some decent rushing totals this season, he’s just not living up to his draft-day value as a top-five fantasy quarterback. I was never a fan of drafting him that early anyway so I’ll spare you the “I told you so’s.” Instead, I’ll simply tell you that you’re likely stuck with what you got in Wilson so it’s best to just hope the rushing adds enough to his fantasy value so that he doesn’t hurt you going forward.

The Dallas passing attack continues to be a hot mess with Matt Cassel under center so I still don’t think you can start any pass-catcher not named Jason Witten until Tony Romo comes back. Granted, I’m aware that Witten had a down game here and Dez Bryant did return but the tight end position has always been a backup QB’s dream as a safety valve and I just don’t trust Cassel is good enough to get the ball to Dez in the first place. I will say though that Dez had to deal with Richard Sherman in this game so maybe it’s worth trotting him out there one more week before pulling the plug on starting him. Either way, the Cowboys look lost out there while throwing the ball so keep holding out hope that Romo is able to kickstart this offense upon his return. The last thing I should mention is that Darren McFadden is clearly a usable RB2 for as long as he stays healthy. Knowing his past history, I wouldn’t bank on that being the case for much longer.

Green Bay Packers @ Denver Broncos

I’m not really sure why everyone is saying Peyton Manning had a great game here. Sure, he had 340 passing yards but he also didn’t have any touchdowns to counter the interception he threw. I guess that’s simply the fantasy player in me talking as his stat line is still pretty solid for real-life purposes. Still, Manning has struggled all year so it’s hard for me to look at another disappointing fantasy outing while focusing on how productive he was in real-life football. Passing aside, both C.J. Anderson and Ronnie Hillman proved to be useful here with Anderson ending up with the higher rushing total. Hillman, on the other hand, had two touchdowns of his own so you can expect both guys to be usable going forward. Neither will end up being the RB1 we expected them to be but as RB2’s they’re most certainly worth starting at this point.

Collectively, the Packers had their worst game of the season here so it’s best to just chalk this up as a lost outing. Aaron Rodgers in particular struggled mightily, finishing the day with just 77 passing yards. That’s probably never going to happen again and like I’ve said many times before, you don’t get to complain if you own Aaron Rodgers. Just deal with it. Lastly, Eddie Lacy managed to find the endzone here but didn’t really have a productive day independent of that. I’m still concerned that Lacy is going to fall completely out of the top-12 at running back and if it weren’t for James Starks being banged up, that would be even closer to a reality this week. Once Starks is back to full health I’d be wary that this turns more into a timeshare than any of us would prefer.

 

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