Fantasy Football Week 8 Quarterback Preview: Starts, sits, streamers, DFS plays and more
Everything you need to know about quarterback for Fantasy Football in Week 8
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3 min read
At most positions, the story of Week 8 is that we have six teams on a bye, and several good players are unavailable for that reason. At quarterback, a lot of the QBs on bye this week weren't drafted as starters, though some of them have certainly played up to that standard so far, particularly Matthew Stafford. Instead, the story of Week 8 continues to be injuries. As of Tuesday morning, we aren't projecting Jayden Daniels, Brock Purdy, Bryce Young, or JJ McCarthy to start. We also aren't projecting Justin Fields to start, but that doesn't have anything to do with injuries. And of course, Joe Burrow is out. But last week, Joe Flacco did a fine impersonation.
In Week 7, Flacco threw 47 times for 334 yards and three touchdowns in a win against the Steelers. This is the guy we hoped we were getting at the beginning of the year in Cleveland. The question is whether this was a one-week show or whether we can trust Flacco (and with him, Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins) moving forward. I am inclined to believe the latter. That's partially because some of his struggles this year haven't been his doing. He has had 16 passes dropped already in 2025, the second most in the NFL, and his 37.6% pressure rate is also in the bottom third of the league. What's more, his 2.49 seconds to pressure also rank in the bottom third.
The Bengals offensive line isn't good, so the pressure concerns remain, but the Bengals found a way to beat that in Week 7 by getting the ball out quickly to Chase. Flacco's time to throw in Week 7 was 2.22 seconds. In Cleveland, it was 2.72 seconds. A half a second may not sound like much, but when your time to pressure is right in the middle of that, it makes an enormous difference. It's just much easier to get rid of the ball quickly when you are throwing to guys who get open quicker, and the Bengals wide receivers are better across the board than the Browns. That is one reason you will find Flacco at the top of the waiver wire section below. He is the preferred answer whether you are replacing your starter due to a bye week or injury.
Let's get to the rest of the preview:
Week 8 QB Preview
QB Preview
Numbers to know
- 29.4 -- The Cowboys are surrendering 29.4 FPPG to opposing QBs, the highest mark in the league. Start Bo Nix.
- 89.7% -- Jalen Hurts' 89.7% catchable throw rate is the second-best mark in the league. He reminded everyone last week why he is a must-start QB every week.
- 59.3% -- Almost 60% of Jaxson Dart's Fantasy points the past four weeks have come from touchdowns. That doesn't seem sustainable, but it is getting harder to doubt him.
- 5 -- Daniel Jones has five or more rush attempts in four of seven games and four in another. It seems the two one-carry games in Weeks 3 and 4 were an aberration. He's a Fantasy starter.
- 33.4 -- Patrick Mahomes is averaging 33.4 FPPG since Xavier Worthy returned. That average went down last week when he "only" scored 32.2 in just under three quarters.
- 41 -- Matthew Stafford leads the NFL with 41 pass attempts in the red zone. That's a big reason he is on pace to throw 41 touchdowns this year. I am trying to hold him through his bye.
- 9.67 -- The Texans are still giving up single-digit Fantasy points to QBs this year. They face the 49ers this week.
- 16.2% -- A league-worst 16.2% of Caleb Williams' throws have been off-target.
QB Preview
Waiver Wire Targets
Adds/Streamers (QB Preview)
I know it was just one week. But Flacco averaged 265 yards per game as a starter in 2024 and 323 yards per game as a starter in 2023. Now he has Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. I am willing to forget about what happened in Cleveland earlier this year and rank Flacco as a top-12 QB this week. The only concern is that the Jets are so bad that Cincinnati is able to play more conservatively. No QB has thrown more than 32 passes against them this year.
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Marcus Mariota has started two games this year and scored 20 Fantasy points against both. He was very productive when called into duty in 2024 as well. His status is at least partially dependent on the health of Terry McLaurin and Deebo Samuel, but as of Tuesday, I am hopeful at least one of them will return. Mariota is not a top-12 QB like Flacco, but he is still a fine bye-week replacement.
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One To Stash (QB Preview)
Lawrence hasn't been as bad as his Fantasy production suggests. He leads the NFL with 21 dropped passes. In Week 9, he gets the Raiders defense that Patrick Mahomes just dissected. With Travis Hunter coming on, if Brian Thomas gets on track, Lawrence could be a sneaky good option in the second half of the season.
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QB Preview
DFS Plays
Top DFS Play
Projections powered by
Sportsline
It has been an up-and-down year for Nix, but the Cowboys should provide a great opportunity to build on last week's 40-point outburst. This is a great matchup, partially because of the Cowboys defense but also because no one is stopping that offense, which should keep Nix passing. Nix also has five or more rush attempts in five of seven games, which boosts his floor and his ceiling.
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Contrarian DFS Play
Projections powered by
Sportsline
It is hard to get too contrarian on a week with so many missing options, but Tampa has a pass funnel defense, and the Saints like to play both fast and pass-heavy. Rattler's three-pick game in Week 7 should hold down his roster rate, and his underlying numbers still look better than we would have expected coming into the season. He has the highest catchable throw rate in the league, and he is consistently peppering his best target, Chris Olave. He's also averaging 22 rush yards per game.
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QB Preview
Heath's projections
My full set of Week 8 Fantasy football projections for every position is now available on SportsLine. You'll find them here. Find out which of my favorite plays are projected to score higher than consensus rankings and which don't live up to their draft hype, at least in Week 8. Projected stats for all starting quarterbacks are available, so be sure to check out the full set of projections at SportsLine.
