Welcome to the Week 8 Bye-pocalypse. The landscape here is nearly unrecognizable, with only 13 games being played, many of which could feature backup quarterbacks leading the charge. With such limited options, you may find yourself in uncharted territory: having to actually start someone off the waiver wire. Well, luckily, you’ve come to the right place. I’m here to help you find the diamonds in the rough that can help you survive the wasteland with our Week 8 Quarterback Sleepers and Streamers.
More Week 8 Fantasy Football Fun!: | Sneaky Starts | Fantasy Football Waiver Wire | Weekly Sleepers & Streamers | Starts & Sits | Skrip’s Week Winners | NFL DFS | NFL Player Props | IDP Analysis | Bold Predictions | Survivor Picks | NFL Injury Report | Dynasty Trade Targets | Weekly Rankings | Dynasty Risers and Fallers
Week 7 Recap
The picks of Jaxson Dart and Justin Herbert couldn’t have gone any better, who finished at QB#2 and QB#3 on the week, respectively.
Dart put up a phenomenal game against the stout Broncos defense, which included 3 touchdowns through the air and another on the ground. All this with only 11 yards on the ground (his previous low in a start was 54). He has the tools needed to be a game-winner. If he’s somehow still out there in your league, he should be your top priority.
Herbert also had a magnificent performance, throwing for 420 yards and 3 touchdowns. His game would’ve been even better if not for a pair of interceptions. The Chargers are going to need to continue throwing moving forward and have a good string of matchups in the coming weeks.
Spencer Rattler didn’t reward our confidence. He had good volume and finally got another multi-touchdown performance, his first since Week 2, but it wasn’t enough to overcome 4 turnovers. If he still has the job late into the season, there will be times he’s playable. He may even be playable in Week 8 against the Bucs if you’re desperate. I’m not ready to pick him a third time in a row, but he wouldn’t be at the bottom of my list.
C.J. Stroud was a different version of bad. While this is probably what we should have expected from a “bad offense meets good defense matchup”, this was just difficult to watch. A last-minute touchdown couldn’t even pad his box score enough to make it look respectable. The Houston offensive line will never let him be fantasy-relevant.
Current Season Tally 19-11
Week 8 Quarterback Sleepers
Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers QB vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Jordan Love is coming off a pretty pedestrian performance against the Cardinals, where the Packers run game carried them to a win. So far, he’s only attempted 30 passes or more twice this season. While that doesn’t inspire much hope, in a week this sparse, you need to look for the silver linings.
The Steelers defense certainly isn’t what people expected it to be coming into this season. In Week 7, they let Joe Flacco throw for nearly 350 yards and 3 touchdowns, while also allowing Chase Brown to get his first 100-yard rushing performance of the season.
On the season, Pittsburgh is allowing the second-most passing yards per game.
The Steelers offense has been inconsistent, but they have put up some big scores so far, and may be able to keep this game fairly competitive.
In a normal week, Love in this matchup wouldn’t be my first choice, but this is an instance where you just take whatever you can get. Hope for a back-and-forth contest where Love has to lead the attack. At the very least, enjoy watching your QB in an island game.
Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears QB @ Baltimore Ravens
If you find yourself starting Williams, you’d better be hoping that Lamar Jackson returns for this game. If he doesn’t play, this could be a low-scoring affair, but if he does suit up, the Ravens should be able to score, and the Bears will be forced to try and match.
Williams had a horrific outing against the Saints in Week 7, but much of that can be blamed on the weather. Not all of it, but a decent amount.
Prior to Week 7, Williams has been pretty decent for Fantasy, though, with only one performance below 17 fantasy points through the first 6 weeks.
He is still showing some growing pains as a passer, but he averages over 5 rushing attempts per game, which helps stabilize his numbers.
The Ravens have been giving up the fifth-most passing yards in the league on average. Coming off their own bye week, I expect them to be a bit more prepared, but rest and extra coaching can only do so much.
Williams should have a good floor and a decent chance at hitting his ceiling in this game. With so few options, that’s about the best you can hope for this week with a Quarterback Sleeper.
Week 8 Quarterback Streamers
Joe Flacco, Cincinnati Bengals QB vs. New York Jets
I thought that I had written my last bit on Flacco after he got benched by the Browns, but he’s proved me (and most others) wrong yet again.
Flacco put up a masterclass against the Steelers on Thursday Night. Fears of him behind the Bengals offensive line appear to be a bit overblown. He’s able to process the defense and get the ball out of his hands quickly enough to avoid most of the pressure thrown his way.
He gets to follow up his performance with another matchup against a terrible team in the Jets, whose offense can’t stay on the field, and defense can’t get off of it. He’s also now armed with possibly the best receiver duo in the league.
Ultimately, I think that Flacco provides more value for the team around him than as a standalone piece, but he should still be playable this week. They also have plus matchups in about half of their remaining games. He should be a popular plug-and-play streamer option when those arise.
Michael Penix Jr., Atlanta Falcons QB vs. Miami Dolphins
Penix has already burned me in this article once this season, but in a slate like Week 8, you have to ignore the scars.
Penix has admittedly been more unplayable than not this season. The remedy for this should be the Miami Dolphins’ defense. So far, they have given up at least 21 points in every game this year. They’ve allowed over 30 points in 4 of their 7 matchups so far. The Falcons, meanwhile, have only surpassed 30 points on offense once.
There’s still hope that the Falcons can figure things out. They have a talented group of playmakers who can all help Penix to a big day. Drake London is finally looking like a true Alpha at wideout, and is commanding 12 targets per game on average in their past 3. Bijan Robinson is also playing his best football yet and has the potential to take a screen pass to the house at any time.
Atlanta’s defense has also been sneaky good and should give Tua lots of trouble. It’s even possible he finds the bench again, and the Falcons get to pummel rookie backup Quinn Ewers. Either way, I think that the Falcons should dominate the time of possession.
Penix should not be viewed as a ceiling play this week, but should be dependable enough to not lose you the week. If you find yourself with one of the potentially 10 starting quarterbacks who won’t play this week, you could do worse than Penix for a Quarterback Streamer.
Make sure to check out all of our Week 8 Fantasy Football Rankings and Analysis!
Fantrax is one of the fastest-growing fantasy sites in the fantasy sports industry, and we’re not stopping anytime soon. We are the most customizable, easy-to-use, and feature-rich platform in the industry, offering the greatest fantasy experience for your dynasty, keeper, redraft, and best ball leagues. Fantasy sports doesn’t sleep, and neither does Fantrax, with seasons running 365 days a year. Take your fantasy leagues to the next level now at Fantrax.com!
