Team of the Week
QB: Sam Howell, WAS
Josh Allen (29.06 fantasy points) could have been the pick here as the more widely used option for Week 8 after a takeover type of game on Thursday night, but Howell was the only quarterback to surpass 30.0 fantasy points—throwing for 397 yards and four touchdowns (one interception) in a shootout loss. Howell has now thrown more than 40 times in four of the past five games.
RB: Gus Edwards, BAL
Amidst swirling trade winds for the Ravens, Edwards showed he’s more than capable of leading the backfield by rushing 19 times for 80 yards and three scores in a 31-24 victory over Arizona. The big runner also caught both of his targets for 14 yards, and he’s cleared 20.0 fantasy points in each of the past two games.
RB: Christian McCaffrey, SF
San Francisco might have struggled to get going offensively yesterday, but McCaffrey had no issues—totaling 12 carries, 54 rushing yards, six receptions, 64 receiving yards, and two total touchdowns. There won’t be a better player to roster down the stretch when the Niners are back from a Week 9 bye.
WR: CeeDee Lamb, DAL
The Cowboys came out firing against the Rams this week, and Lamb was the offensive focal-point with 12 receptions (on 14 targets) for 158 yards and two touchdowns—also adding a 12-yard carry. Now, Lamb will take on a Philadelphia defense that he shredded last Christmas Eve for a possible shootout in Week 9.
WR: DeAndre Hopkins, TEN
Hopkins entered Sunday in a shaky spot with Will Levis making his first career start and having caught zero touchdowns as a Titan—but he exploded on just four receptions by going for 128 yards and three scores. While the veteran shouldn’t suddenly be labeled as a WR2 play, his outlook is at least boosted if Levis can continue hitting deep throws like he did in his debut.
TE: Taysom Hill, NO
New Orleans has been looking for a spark offensively, and it came in the form of Hill in the win over Indy—as he rushed nine times for 63 yards and two touchdowns. The all-around weapon also completed a 44-yard pass and caught a 14-yard pass, so fantasy owners should hope the usage remains high next week against the Bears.
FLEX: A.J. Brown, PHI
Brown is enjoying a historic run with no signs of slowing down—breaking a tie with Pat Studstill and Calvin Johnson for the most consecutive games with 125+ receiving yards (six). The latest performance included two highlight touchdown grabs and a new nickname (“Decepticon”, as labeled by a Washington fan in a deleted tweet by Brown).
D/ST: Cowboys
The Cowboys allowed some points and yards with the game out of hand, but they were dominant in a 43-20 win against the Rams—putting up 16.0 fantasy points while powered by the third pick-six of the year for Daron Bland. It’ll be interesting to see how the unit fares next Sunday in Philadelphia.
K: Cameron Dicker, LAC
Dicker came through for anyone that needed a big game out of him on Sunday night—hitting all three of his field goals (from 43, 46, and 53 yards) on his way to a season-high 16.0 fantasy points. Including PAT attempts, Dicker has now made 75-of-77 kicks to begin his career.
Surprise of the Week: Will Levis
Levis was mentioned when discussing DeAndre Hopkins, and his arm strength was on full display by completing 19-of-29 passes for 238 yards and four touchdowns in his first NFL start. The performance came with low expectations versus an aggressive Atlanta defense, but Levis made them pay with 26.62 fantasy points.
Disappointment of the Week: Patrick Mahomes
Darren Waller (hamstring) only making one grab for four yards before being ruled out makes him an option here, but Mahomes had one of the worst outings of his career—putting up just 5.64 fantasy points in a wintry Denver. Previously, the superstar quarterback had never lost to the Broncos, and he’s been held below 20.0 fantasy points in four of the past five games.
Rookie of the Week: Will Levis
Jordan Addison (7/82/1) had another strong game, and we’ll see what Jahmyr Gibbs does tonight in a good spot; but Levis is the easy choice here based on the Week 8 action thus far, and he should get another start on Thursday night (@ PIT) to build on the impressive debut.
Week 8 MVP: CeeDee Lamb
Lamb had been putting up solid numbers to begin 2023, but he was a clear buy-low option based on his talent, and yesterday was an explosion after Dallas had the bye week to figure out ways to feature him. In the aforementioned Christmas matchup against the Eagles last year, Lamb caught ten-of-11 targets for 120 yards and two touchdowns, and he will be an elite play in Week 9.