McLaughlin also nailed his only PAT try. The Bucs forced a trio of turnovers in the first half. Their ensuring drives didn’t amount to much, but the field position alone allowed McLaughlin to put the ball through the uprights on two of them. With the Faclons accomplishing nothing on offense, the Bucs were comfortable taking the points throughout the contest, resulting in another strong fantasy outing for McLaughlin. He entered Week 8 as a top five fantasy option and will remain near the top of the kicker ranks for Week 9 versus the Bears.
Strange had a 46-yard first quarter catch-and-run that went down as the Jags’ longest gain of the day in a 42-7 demolition of the pathetic Colts. Strange was really rumbling, looking out of gas at the end of his journey. Strange actually tied for the team lead in receiving yards, but that’s because Trevor Lawrence attempted all of 14 passes. Strange has done enough to keep himself in the TE2 mix, but he is not an ideal TE1 streamer heading into a short-week Thursday night date vs. a Ravens team that will be without Lamar Jackson.
TeSlaa has been effectively phased out of the Detroit passing attack. he has one catch over his past three games, and against the Vikings on Sunday he ran 13 routes on 35 Lions drop backs and did not see a target. He can be dropped in most formats.
Helm saw career-highs in targets and receiving yards in a high-scoring game against the Bengals. He saw a few targets in the flats but was targeted downfield multiple times, catching two passes of at least 24 yards. Helm also caught a two-point conversion in the fourth quarter. He is the Titans primary pass-catching tight end and saw heavy usage in a pass-heavy game script. Fantasy managers should not anticipate more game scripts like this for the Titans but Helm is a deep league streaming tight end option once the Titans come out of a Week 9 bye week.
Rodriguez was still getting out-snapped and out-produced by a percolating Bhayshul Tuten, but he managed to contribute a 28-yard score in a blowout victory. Rodriguez hit the hole then emerged to an abandoned mall of a Colts defense. With the Jaguars heading on the road for a short-week Thursday night date with a Ravens team operating without Lamar Jackson, expect lots of “get me out of here” Jags rushes in Baltimore, locking Rodriguez in as a Week 9 FLEX play.
The multi-score start was Bowers’ first of the season but third of his career. He won a first quarter end zone hand fight for a 12-yarder before later contributing a two-yarder where he broke some tackles. He is now up to five touchdowns in six games and has yet to finish below 70 yards. That is league-winning type stuff out of the tight end position. The 49ers are on deck as a tough matchup up the seam for Week 9.
Henry briefly returned to the sideline after halftime, where he tested out his injured left foot. Evidently, the sideline testing did not go well. Henry was then taken right back to the locker room by the Patriots’ training staff. If the Patriots do end up ruling him out, as we expect, he will finish the day having caught 3-of-3 targets for 30 yards.
Bates boinked one off the uprights in the second half, his first field goal miss of the 2026 season. One of the most reliable kickers in the NFL, Bates doesn’t get much opportunity thanks largely to Dan Campbell’s fourth down aggressiveness. Bates, who has just one game with multiple field goal tries this year, will be an iffy option in Week 9 against the Dolphins.
With Talanoa Hufanga also sidelined heading into this game, both of Denver’s starting safeties from Week 8 are out. Luckily for Denver, Pat Surtani is back this week, giving them some extra firepower in their secondary. Jones has two interceptions and five pass breakups this year.
Sadiq’s third quarter reception went down as one of just two targets for the rookie tight end. He was once again out-caught by Mason Taylor, though Taylor provided just 19 yards across his three grabs. Sadiq’s reception was an impressive, leaping catch against single coverage, but therein lies part of the problem: It’s taking spectacular acts for Sadiq to create fantasy value. He is sadly off the radar for the time being in 12-team leagues.
Taylor’s five targets were third on the team behind Garrett Wilson and Adonai Mitchell, while fellow seam stretcher Kenyon Sadiq mustered only two looks. Taylor has become a weekly volume presence in an offense that attempts a lot of passes, but he has not established a particularly high floor while his spiked week odds remain practically nonexistent. He’s a TE2 by the letter of the law but not one we would be looking to start in Week 9 against the Chiefs.
At least for one week, the Raiders formalized Washington’s early-down takeover, as the rookie out-carried a doghoused Ashton Jeanty 25-2. However, Washington got routinely stood up on his ample goal-line opportunities, and only out-gained Jeanty 83-73 thanks to Jeanty’s involvement in the passing game. A 45-yard reception where Jeanty literally fell down to catch an inaccurate Kirk Cousins pass only to get up and rumble nearly half the length of the field was by far the biggest play by a Raiders running back in this one. Although Washington now has to be considered the favorite for early-down work, he was uninspiring enough this afternoon that it’s not going to be an open-and-shut case against the 49ers. We would still rather start Jeanty in fantasy because of his pass catching.
The team’s Week 7 bye apparently afforded Burks enough time to overcome the foot injury sustained late in the fourth quarter of Washington’s Week 6 loss, confirming previous reports that indicated Burks would be active after entering the weekend listed as questionable. Expect Burks to operate as a starter alongside veteran Stefon Diggs and rookie Antonio Williams, the latter two of whom carry greater upside against the inside-funnel Philadelphia defense. Inactive for the Commanders are QB Athan Kaliakmanis, CB Fabian Moreau, CB Isaac Yiadom, G Tanoa Togiai, DT Daron Payne, and DT Javon Kinlaw.
The Eagles continue to trudge on without key contributors as they enter Week 8 down their top two wide receivers and starting quarterback. Running back Saquon Barkley is active after being removed from the injury report Friday, with Elijah Mitchell and Jaydon Blue on hand for change of pace duties. Covey’s absence is primarily a hit to the Philadelphia special teams unit, who will continue to require alternate contributions to kick returns.
It was a red letter day for the second-year pro, who: 1. Posted a new career high in rushing. 2. Posted a new career high in receiving. 3. Posted just his second two-touchdown outing. No. 3 is perhaps the most notable since Tuten’s first two-score day came heading into the Jags’ Week 7 bye. Tuten is taking off in fantasy even as Chris Rodriguez Jr. remains involved. It’s due in part to the fact that the Jags are dominating game script and dictating tempo, but Tuten is also just genuinely running well. Today that included even after he had to get an ankle taped. That will be something to monitor heading into Thursday’s short-week date with the Ravens, but Tuten should be good to go as a high-end RB2.
Chase was heavily involved in a pass-heavy game script, seeing 16-of-48 Joe Burrow pass attempts. He was targeted downfield several times, catching a 30-yard touchdown but being the intended target on a pair of interceptions. It was Chase’s first 100-yard receiving day as he led the team in targets and receptions. The Bengals have a pass funnel to Chase and Tee Higgins, leading to extremely productive fantasy days in high scoring games. Chase is once again squarely in the fantasy WR1 ranks for Week 9 against the Falcons.
Williams scored the Lions’ lone passing touchdown on a short corner-of-the-end-zone grab in the first half. Williams was second behind Amon-Ra St. Brown in targets, functioning as the primary downfield threat with a nice 46-yard catch on a Jared Goff shot down the middle. Williams, who came into Week 8 with the 16th most air yards among wide receivers this season, should remain in lineups next week against a vulnerable Buffalo secondary that has struggled against boundary wideouts.
With Jake Ferguson (ankle) felled early, Spann-Ford played 65-of-74 snaps for the Cowboys and was second on the team in targets as Dallas tried to find a solution for the blitz. Spann-Ford would likely factor into the TE2 ranks next week if Ferguson were unable to play.
It was another day at the office for Andrews, who has now gone six straight games with 28 or fewer receiving yards. Any hope that he might see a slight increase in production with Lamar Jackson back under center can be put aside after Jackson suffered a severe injury to his throwing hand that will require surgery and force him to go on injured reserve. Andrews isn’t on the fantasy radar heading into Week 9 against the Jaguars.
Bucs defenders caught more passes on London’s six targets than he did. It was that bad of a day. Michael Penix was intercepted four times and only completed eight attempts. He managed just 125 yards, over half of which came on a 76-yard throw to Jahan Dotson that was the result of a coverage miscue. There’s simply not much to take away from a game where London’s quarterback plays this poorly. London had gone for at least 60 yards on four catches in every previous Penix start. We fully expect him to get back on track as a WR1 versus the Bengals next week.
Higgins led the team in receiving yards while trailing Ja’Marr Chase in receptions and targets. He was Joe Burrow’s primary target over the middle of the field in the intermediate and deep areas. Higgins caught a pair of second half touchdowns, catching an 18-yard score to tie the game towards the end of regulation. Pass-heavy game scripts will lead to a high amount of fantasy production for Higgins and Chase, who saw a combined 56-percent target share from Joe Burrow. Higgins is a high-end WR2 for Week 9 against the Falcons.
LaPorta had a quiet day against a Minnesota defense that has shut down opposing tight ends for much of the season. He had at least 80 receiving yards in each of that past two Detroit games. LaPorta had been a serviceable starting tight end headed into Week 8, and should have a better outlook in Week 9 against the Bills. He’s been targeted on 18 percent of his routes on the season.
Hill nearly turned into a surprise PPR scam this week with rookie UDFA Joe Fagnano under center for two-and-a-half quarters of play. Hill’s eight targets led all Ravens players, but his 20 receiving yards were largely buoyed by back-to-back receptions during a two-minute drill when the Ravens were facing second and third and longs. Despite the high-volume day, it’s hard to rely on anybody in this offense, which could have dark days ahead with Lamar Jackson (thumb) out for the foreseeable future and Tyler Huntley also dealing with a toe injury.