Ten Things We Learned From Week 8 (Fantasy Football)
On a spooky Halloween weekend, the NFL tricked and treated us once again. Backfields are morphing, and trade rumors are brewing. Who knew it was possible in 2026 to win an NFL game without completing a single pass? It’s the first time in the last half-century, and an anomaly we likely won’t see again. Not everything was pretty, but there was plenty of fantasy deliciousness to go around.
Here are ten things we learned from Week 8:
Christian Watson Is a DAWG
Watson hopped in an ambulance in full pads, went to the hospital, and returned to the field to get targeted on his first play back. He was already torching the Panthers DBs before he went down. A CT scan showed a broken rib with no internal bleeding, and despite spitting up blood, he was cleared to return. Whether he should have gone back in is a different question, but that is the stuff legends are made of. He finished with eight catches on 10 targets for 113 yards. Jordan Love threw for 288 yards and three TDs in Green Bay’s 27-19 win. Watson has extra time to heal before Week 9 after playing in the Thursday night game.
The Cardinals Have the Cowboys Number
In a barn-burner of a 33-30 overtime win, the Arizona Cardinals have now beaten the Dallas Cowboys five straight times and remain undefeated at AT&T Stadium. Gardner Minshew stepped in for the benched Jacoby Brissett, and brought the Minshew magic. He threw three TDs, connecting with Tyler Allgeier, Trey McBride and Michael Wilson. Allgeier had a career day with 11 carries for 147 yards and a 63-yard TD, adding five catches for 44 yards and another score. Jeremiyah Love returned from his multi-week absence only to aggravate his ankle injury. Allgeier stepped up in a big way as the RB1 on the week, but was started in just 21% of Sleeper leagues. If Love and Knight are both sidelined next week, Allgeier is right back in the starting conversation. On the Dallas side, you were only really happy if you started Dak or Brandon Aubrey.
Alarm Bells For Ashton Jeanty
Apparently, he is no longer the RB1 for Las Vegas. Rookie Mike Washington Jr. had 25 rush attempts to Jeanty’s two. That is not an accident or “riding the hot hand.” That is a premeditated strategic shift for the Raiders’ backfield. Should you be worried as a Jeanty manager? Definitely. Targets are more valuable than carries, so he hasn’t fallen off the fantasy cliff completely. However, his targets dropped to four after averaging 6.3 in the seven weeks prior. It remains to be seen if this is the new norm for the Raiders RB room, or if this was a wake-up call for the former Boise State RB. One thing is clear: Brock Bowers is the undeniable number one weapon for this team.
The Bucs Win Without Completing a Pass
The last team to win a game without completing a pass was the 1974 Buffalo Bills, in a completely different era of football. Baker Mayfield is a must-bench until further notice. The Bucs have won two games in a row entirely with their run game and defense. To be fair, this game was played in a torrential downpour in Tampa, and just holding onto the ball was a massive challenge. But it was U-G-L-Y ugly. Michael Penix threw more passes to Buccaneers players than Baker Mayfield attempted. Mayfield somehow ended with a 39.6 passer rating, dwarfing Penix’s 12.0. Bucky Irving and Kenny Gainwell combined for a ridiculous 310 rushing yards. And for the first time this year, Bijan Robinson was held without a catch, as the Falcons were the only scoreless team this weekend.
Emmett Johnson Leads KC in Receiving, Outscores Kenneth Walker
Before Kansas City’s bye, Kenneth Walker was the overall RB2 behind only Jahmyr Gibbs and led the league in rushing. In the last two games, Walker is the RB29 averaging 9.1 fantasy points. On Sunday, rookie backup Emmett Johnson scored on a 73-yard catch-and-run in the Chiefs’ 28-24 loss in Denver, and outscored Walker 22.8 to 10.4. As impressive as Johnson has been when he’s on the field, this is still Ken Bone’s backfield. His 21 carries to Johnson’s one tells the real story, and they both earned five targets in the game. It might be time to throw out a trade offer to the Walker manager in your league. Maybe you’ll catch them at a weak moment.
Big Trouble in Baltimore
It was supposed to be the game of the week. Instead, Lamar Jackson was hurt on the first play of the game for the Ravens, and he’s going straight to IR. Tyler Huntley also suffered a potentially long-term toe injury, leaving the backup to the backup, Joe Fagnano, to take over the offense. Baltimore’s passers went a combined 12-of-26 for 91 yards with an interception and four sacks, and the Ravens finished with 144 total yards in the 36-10 loss in Buffalo. Zay Flowers looked like a league-winner in the first seven weeks, but with Fagnano, he failed to catch any of his five targets for the first goose egg of his career. It’s full panic mode until Jackson or Huntley return. The Ravens could theoretically sign a veteran QB, however, to get them through these difficult times.
Jonah Coleman Takes Over in Denver
One of the biggest questions going into Sunday was about the Denver backfield. What would the usage split be between Coleman and J.K. Dobbins, with RJ Harvey going to IR? Well, Coleman led the Broncos in both rushing and receiving against the Chiefs, and came through in the clutch with a go-ahead TD. He was the most popular waiver add this week, and it is too late to buy low.
The Bengals Offense Is Lava Hot
Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase combined for 21 catches on 27 targets for 196 yards and three TDs in Cincinnati’s 43-36 OT win against the Titans. The two stars are WR1 and WR2 as of Sunday night. As good as Chase has been, this was his first 100-yard receiving game of the season. Mike’s start of the week, Chase Brown, had a statistically solid game with eight catches, but he has not hit paydirt since Week 1. Joe Burrow went 38-of-48 for 462 yards and a career-high five TDs, plus a rushing TD. He tossed three picks, but who cares when he is the QB1 by a country mile.
Ballers’ Starts of the Week
The Ballers crushed their RB Starts of the Week with Blake Corum, Chase Brown, and Bhayshul Tuten. Corum outscored Kyren Williams, Brown hauled in eight catches, and Tuten dominated. Jason has been on a heater with his picks lately. Over the last three weeks, one of his players has posted their best fantasy finish of the season: Tre Tucker in Week 6 (WR3), Bucky Irving in Week 7 (RB2), and Bhayshul Tuten this week (RB2). In fact, all four of Jason’s picks delivered this week, with Kirk Cousins (QB2), Michael Wilson (WR4), and T.J. Hockenson (TE7) joining Tuten in the top tier.
Jonathan Taylor Trade Talks Continue
JT could be wearing a Seahawks jersey soon. Okay, this is pure speculation, but Mike McDonald’s recent comments on Jadarian Price make us think this could happen. JT only rushed eight times on Sunday, while backups DJ Giddens and Seth McGowan combined for 11 carries, potentially to keep the superstar healthy for a looming trade. Indianapolis has thrown in the towel on the season, so trading the 27-year-old superstar RB to a contender makes sense.