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Welcome to Week 8 of NFL and fantasy football action, RotoBallers. Each week of the NFL season, we will be breaking down each of the NFL matchups and providing you with some fantasy football advice and lineup recommendations based on matchups that we love, matchups that we hate, and some high-risk/high-reward players, as well.
Below, you will find our Week 8 NFL matchups & fantasy football start/sit analysis, which should help you prepare your lineups to win this week. It’s essential to analyze the weekly NFL matchups to find lineup sleepers and gems, while also avoiding those players who may turn out to be busts.
And of course you can always stop by the RotoBaller chat rooms for any live advice you may need.
Chargers @ Broncos - Thursday 10/23 @ 8:25 EST
Matchups We Love
Ronnie Hillman, RB, Broncos
It's hard to really know what's going to come out of divisional rivalries with teams of this caliber, but at least Hillman is playing against one of the league's weakest run defenses on a short week after he only had 14 carries the week before, so he might be in for some extended work. San Diego's D has allowed 50 YPG to RBs catching the ball out of the backfield, and overall they have done an average job against the run.
Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders, WR, Broncos
Brandon Flowers suffered a concussion on Sunday, and Jason Verett is expected to miss Thursday's game, as well. If Flowers does end up sitting, then both Chargers starting CBs would be out of the game, leaving two backups to cover Thomas and Sanders. Nothing good can come of that for the Chargers.
Peyton Manning, QB, Broncos
And now we come to the guy who will be throwing the ball to those two guys. I'll just repeat what's been stated: two backup corners will be handling Thomas and Sanders.
Matchups We Hate
Chargers Defense and Broncos Defense
Two of the best scoring offenses in the NFL. There's no reason to touch either defense this week, unless you're a glutton for punishment.
Notable Players
Oliver is bound to get work because of the Chargers dedication to controlling the clock. The quality of that work will be hard to guess because the Broncos' run defense is rated in the top 3 for both PFF and FO but at least the Broncos are averaging 53 receiving yards allowed to RBs.
It's nearly impossible to assume that Rivers won't have a good game but for all intents and purposes his matchup is not an easy one. He's going against one of the best pass rushing teams in the league with some of the best pass coverage in the league. It's going to be a little tough but I'm sure Rivers still collects his fair share of fantasy points.
Lions @ Falcons (London) - Sunday 10/26 @ 9:30 EST
Matchups We Love
Prefacing this section, the Lions play the Falcons in London at what will be 9:30 AM EST. An incredibly early game for both teams. With the large travel distance and start time, there're some 'weird' factors at play that could make all relevant matchup points moot.
Joique Bell, RB, Lions
Reports currently have it that Reggie Bush will not be at 100% for the game, which leaves Joique Bell as the main backup against the horrible Atlanta Falcons defense. Not only are they bad on the ground, their LB coverage is still among the worst in the league, and they are averaging 54 yards allowed a game to RBs through the air.
Matchups We Hate
All Atlanta Running Backs
The Lions have the league's best run defense. Steven Jackson isn't likely to pull out a vintage move in London, playing against the best run D in the league. Antone Smith might get his lucky play, but are you willing to take that risk with your starting roster?
Notable Players
Matt Ryan QB, Julio Jones, Roddy White WRs, Falcons
Here's where things get into subjective territory. The Falcons are coming off a blowout and traveling to play the league's best overall defense. I've always had a rule to never underestimate how a team will respond to a blowout. This is especially true for the Falcons, since they're led by one of the best quarterbacks in the league who connects with one of the best WR duos around. I expect that though this is a horrible matchup for all three of these players, they will put up low end QB1, WR1 and WR2 numbers.
Matthew Stafford, QB and Golden Tate, WR, Lions
Neither player faces any legitimate competition in this game. The Falcons secondary is still horrible. Robert Alford has allowed 344 yards and five TDs, and Desmond Trufant has allowed 257 yards and one TD. That's an average of 100 yards and 0.8 touchdowns allowed per game from just the outside corners. You really should expect Tate and Stafford to eat the Falcons D alive, although maybe a bit more for Tate than Stafford.
Vikings @ Buccaneers - Sunday 10/26 @ 1:00 EST
Matchups We Love
Vincent Jackson, WR, Buccaneers
Here's some stats that might surprise people: Vincent Jackson has the 13th most targets in the NFL for WRs with 60 targets. He owns 28% of his teams targets, sixth highest in the league. He's been targeted 8 times in the red zone, 14th most for a WR in the league, but owns 30% of his teams red zone targets, seventh highest in the league. To put it simply, Jackson gets opportunities. A lot of them. The Vikings are allowing 77 yards per game to WR1s and both starting corners have struggled throughout the season.
Matchups We Hate
Nothing in this matchup is set in stone as unplayable, although there's plenty of players here that are unlikely to start for you this week.
Notable Players
Cordarrelle Patterson, WR, Vikings
He's got another great matchup but it's so hard to ever trust him on a weekly basis. You'd have to be desperate and really roll the dice and hope this play pays off.
Buccaneers Defense
Another potential play this week is the Buc's defense who are going up against a really, really bad offensive line that's allowed QB Teddy Bridgewater to be sacked a countless amount of times the last two weeks. Unfortunately, the Buccaneers defense is full of holes. It's a desperate stream play but one with the chance to pay off.
Jerick McKinnon, RB, Vikings
McKinnon's facing one of the leagues worst run defenses while having one of the leagues worst run blocking offensive lines. It's another desperate play in this matchup but McKinnon's ridiculous raw athletic talent always has the opportunity to pay off.
Bills @ Jets - Sunday 10/26 @ 1:00 EST
Matchups We Love
Sammy Watkins, WR, Bills
Considered one of the best prospects in the entire draft, Watkins is showing it on the field, now that Orton has been made the starting QB. The Jets have not been good in coverage, and Watkins is really laying a claim to a WR2 spot this week with this matchup.
Eric Decker, WR, Jets
On the opposite side of the field, the Bills have had their own troubles covering WRs. Their outside corners are allowing over 100 yards a game on balls thrown into their coverage, and a receiver like Decker could exploit that weakness.
Matchups We Hate
Chris Ivory, RB, Bills
The Bills have one of the best run defenses in the league, no matter what the metric. It's a really tough game for one of the toughest runners in the league.
Bryce Brown, Anthony Dixon, RBs, Bills
The Jets have one of the other best run defenses in the league, no matter what the metric. Its a really tough game for this side, as well, regardless of who they're starting at RB.
Notable Players
Bills Defense and Jets Defense
These teams sort of mirror each other in many ways. Weak coverage, great pass rush and run defense, weak offensive lines and QB play that demands improvement. Either defense has the potential to put up points just on sacks alone, but there's also a strong chance each team comes away with an interception this week.
Percy Harvin
Harvin starts his Jets career in this tough matchup against the Bills, but we expect Rex Ryan to deploy him all over the field in many different situations. Harvin might finally have the breakout game we've been hoping for. Temper your expectations, since he's facing the Bills defense, but Harvin is certainly a nice FLEX start this week, at the very least.
Bears @ Patriots - Sunday 10/26 @ 1:00 EST
Matchups We Love
Matt Forte, RB, Bears
Against a pedestrian run defense, Forte's looking at getting work against the Patriots. It's unlikely that he sees fewer than four receptions in this game. The Patriots have averaged 48 receiving yards to opposing running backs a game, despite facing few pass-catching threats outside of Jamaal Charles. Expect that number to rise after this week.
Rob Gronkowski, TE, Patriots
The Bears have been playing an average defense, at best, for the entire season. That comes with having faced only one TE worth his weight in Greg Olsen. Despite that, the Bears have allowed about 70 yards per game to tight ends, and they've had the third-softest coverage against that position. Gronkowski's looking at a huge opportunity for work.
Matchups We Hate
Brandon Marshall, WR, Bears
Darrelle Revis may not be playing like vintage Revis, but he's still been pretty stingy, allowing a maximum of 64 yards per game. It's still very difficult to accumulate yards against Revis, even in his decline. The significant risk for a low-point game for Marshall is definitely there.
Notable Players
Alshon Jeffery, WR, Bears
Brandon Browner is a much more beatable corner than Revis, and Jeffery is a very difficult player to cover. You shouldn't be afraid of starting Jeffery this week. He'll be hard to get out of the WR2 range, especially if Marshall gets locked on Revis Island.
A decent matchup with a ceiling determined by how many touches NE hands him. I expect it will be no different than it's been all season.
Seahawks @ Panthers - Sunday 10/26 @ 1:00 EST
Matchups We Love
Greg Olsen, TE, Panthers
Olsen has been a consistent fantasy producer all season long, but it will be interesting to see how he performs against the Seahawks, who have some of the best outside coverage mixed with some horrible inside coverage. Olsen's main players to beat will be K.J. Wright (one of PFF's worst-graded LBs in coverage) and Bobby Wagner (one of PFF's best-graded LBs in coverage). Both have been used equally to cover TEs and RBs, and Olsen should be seeing plenty of coverage from each of them. It shouldn't be surprising if Wright allows a few receptions to the gifted tight end.
Russell Wilson, QB, Seahawks
The Panthers are horrible in coverage. They've been horrible all season long. It's very unlikely that Wilson will put together a game of fewer than 20 fantasy points this weekend, unless the Seahawks don't allow him to throw for the three or four touchdowns that the Seahawks should expect to score on Sunday.
Marshawn Lynch, RB, Seahawks
The Panthers defense allowed the underwhelming Lacy to bounce back after what has been a horrible season. They allowed James Starks 5.1 YPC and a touchdown, as well. The Panthers run defense is basically an invitation for an opposing running backs to have a great game. I typically expect teams coming off a blowout to play well, but in the Panthers case, their defense has already had two opportunities to do so (vs. Steelers and Ravens), and their defense failed to show up both times.
Matchups We Hate
Panthers Defense
There's really nothing about the Panthers defense that looks good right now.
Jonathan Stewart, RB, Panthers
It's going to be hard for the Panthers to make space for Stewart, and just as hard to keep the game in a range where giving Stewart a load of carries is possible.
Notable Players
Cam Newton, QB, Panthers
There's always a little boost of value to a player when he's at home, but Newton will have to use his legs a lot in order to come out of this matchup with a worthwhile fantasy day.
Kelvin Benjamin, WR, Panthers
Benjamin is big. It's been established every week, but in case you forgot, he's a 6'5'' WR. Richard Sherman is 6'3'' and Byron Maxwell is 6'1''. This may be the first time all season that Benjamin faces corners that are as big and as physically dominant as he is.
Doug Baldwin, WR, Seahawks
The Panthers have bad coverage. Really, really bad coverage. Baldwin should be the beneficiary of that, especially with the Seahawks on the road where their defense allows a lot more points.
Dolphins @ Jaguars - Sunday 10/26 @ 1:00 EST
Matchups We Love
Dolphins Defense
No doubt about it, Blake Bortles likes to throw picks. He throws picks in wins. He throws picks in losses. Bortles is dealing with the ups and downs of being a rookie QB, and the Dolphins strong pass rush and pass coverage will benefit greatly from it.
Ryan Tannehill, QB and Mike Wallace, WR
The Jaguars pass coverage has no shortage of holes. Wallace has somehow been among the Dolphins most consistent red zone targets, owning nearly 30% of their total red zone passes. Tannehill is entering a game where he'll see very little pass rush and one of the easiest defenses in the league to throw on.
Allen Robinson, WR, Jaguars
More so in PPR leagues, I just can't stop raving about Robinson as an every-week FLEX starter. Robinson has had a great floor in all but the first game this season, and has only one game with fewer than six targets so far. The Dolphins outside CBs are allowing plenty of yards to opposing WR1s, so Robinson should be seeing work.
Matchups We Hate
Blake Bortles, QB, Jaguars
The Dolphins D's biggest strength is its pass rush. It's really hard to expect a rookie QB to deal well with the kind of pressure he'll likely be facing.
Denard Robinson, RB, Jaguars
Robinson was one of my favorite players in the preseason, and while I'm really content to see him finally take the reins for a game, the Dolphins are not an easy team to run against. Even though they aren't at home, the Dolphins are only barely moving from their actual home and playing in the same kind of conditions they normally play in-- as such, it's very unlikely that the Jaguars gain any sort of home-field advantage here.
Notable Players
Lamar Miller, RB, Dolphins
The Jaguars run defense has been their only strength this season, and it's been better than advertised in every single game. Miller is in no danger of being shut out, but you can't expect him to put up 20+ fantasy points in this game.
Ravens @ Bengals - Sunday 10/26 @ 1:00 EST
Matchups We Love
Justin Forsett, RB and Owen Daniels, TE, Ravens
Cincinnati's struggles are mostly in their front seven. FO has the Bengals ranked as the 32nd in the league, and they're also ranked 31st in second-level run defense. Justin Forsett has been a monster this year, tied for first in 20+ yard runs with Demarco Murray, while having 100 fewer carries. Daniels also benefits from the complete lack of front-seven play, because the linebackers involved have been victimized all season in pass coverage, allowing about 99 yards a game to opposing tight ends.
Matchups We Hate
Giovani Bernard, RB, Bengals
Unlike their rivals, the Ravens have a really, really good run defense, ranking in the top 10 on FO and PFF. Their front seven has been incredibly efficient, and they've only allowed 21 yards in the air per game to RBs. Bernard's looking at mid-to-low RB2 fantasy numbers this week.
Notable Players
Steve Smith, Sr., Ravens and Mohamed Sanu, WR, Bengals - It's another matchup where both teams should have strong pass coverage against the opposing team's WR1. The Bengals have a better community effort with Adam Jones, George Iloka and Terence Newman limiting WR1s to 60 yards per game, while the Ravens have had Jimmy Smith really come to form. It's hard to know where the coverage will go, but if Smith is on Sanu, he might keep him from coming up with even a single catch. Fortunately, the Ravens remaining corners are all very beatable.
