And just like that: Week 8 is upon us. Let's break down some ball!

Every week I will be going through 10 key storylines ahead of all the NFL action, focusing on key fantasy-related trends, the week's biggest mismatches, my personal rankings of every game, bold predictions, and much more.

This week? 11! Because the NFL doesn't sleep, and old WRs keep getting traded to good teams. THIS LEAGUE.

As always: It's a great day to be great.

1. DeAndre Hopkins was traded to the Chiefs, now what?

Kansas City made its expected splash into the trade market by sending a 5th-rounder that can become a 4th to the Titans in exchange for longtime stud WR DeAndre Hopkins. The trade comes with the Chiefs down three of their top WRs due to injury and finally lands Patrick Mahomes the sort of X receiver who should be able to consistently win one-on-one on the outside.

The move was necessary in order to hopefully jumpstart a passing game that hasn't been nearly as prolific as in past years.

Mahomes passing TDs in the first six games of the season:

  • 2018: 18
  • 2019: 14
  • 2020: 15
  • 2021: 18
  • 2022: 17
  • 2023: 11
  • 2024: 6

While Hopkins is currently averaging career-low numbers across the board when it comes to counting stats, he's been stuck inside the Titans' sad excuse for an NFL offense dealing with the Will Levis experience. Expecting peak production out of a 32-year-old veteran with ongoing knee issues isn't exactly a recipe for success, but then again we just saw JuJu Smith-Schuster put up a 7-130-0 receiving line despite seemingly not having knees for years.

At least in 2023, Hopkins still showed a solid ability to separate and make the occasional fantastic contested catch. Overall, ESPN's "Open Rating" dubbed Hopkins as a top-five separator alongside Garrett Wilson and A.J. Brown last season; we shouldn't dismiss the potential for the artist known as Nuk to rise up to the top of this baren WR depth chart in a hurry.

Ultimately, we'll need to see just how willing the Chiefs are to hand Hopkins a full-time role, but he offers WR3 upside with the potential for WR2 spike weeks inside of an offense dying for some consistent receiver production. Adding a receiver like Hopkins doesn't overly downgrade guys like Xavier Worthy and Travis Kelce due to the potential for the passing game as a whole to operate with a bit better efficiency. Still, top-tier ELITE outcomes for both do seem a bit further away with newfound high-end target competition in town.

Meanwhile, in Tennessee, Calvin Ridley becomes someone who could push for double-digit targets on a weekly basis. Of course, it's hardly a given that those amount to much: Ridley is tied with Amari Cooper for the most unrealized air yards (510) in the NFL through seven weeks, meaning he's had a LOT of opportunity left on the field largely due to subpar QB play.

It's tough to move any WR likely projected for eight-plus targets too far down the ranks, but Week 8's matchup with an improving Lions secondary still doesn't exactly look like a must-start moment. Ridley deserves a slight upgrade into mid-to-low-end WR3 territory for the rest of the season; just realize the most likely answer to which pass-catcher to start in Tennessee will probably continue to be: “No.”

2. Three bold predictions for Week 8:

Every week I'll put my reputation on the line regarding a handful of players I believe could outperform their general fantasy-related expectations. The majority will NOT work out—they wouldn't be bold otherwise—but will that stop me? Hell no!

Without further adieu: Let's get weird.

  • Cardinals TE Trey McBride: I wanted to go Marvin Harrison Jr. here ahead of Sunday's potential shootout against the Dolphins, but the potential for him to see shadow coverage from the ever-physical Jalen Ramsey scared me off. Note that now Marv will inevitably ball the hell out. Anyway, McBride leads the Cardinals in receptions (33) and yards (322) this season, yet has a whopping 45 targets without a TD—the second most in the NFL without a score behind only Brandon Aiyuk (47). Give me 7 receptions for 95 yards and 2 trips to the end zone for one of the game's most talented pass catchers at the position.
  • 49ers RB Jordan Mason: If there are two things we've learned about the Cowboys defense over the years: 
    1.) This group struggles to stop well-schemed run games 
    2.) They run the risk of getting rail-roaded against the league's elite units … such as the 49ers. 

    Enter: Jordan Mason, who might only have one more week as the offense's featured back before Christian McCaffrey hopefully returns in Week 10. I like Mason to rack up 150-plus total yards and 2 TDs as the focal point of the 49ers' still-dangerous offensive attack.
  • Jets WR Garrett Wilson: It'd make sense if ace Patriots CB Christian Gonzalez draws the Davante Adams assignment, giving Wilson softer coverage against a secondary that hasn't been what most would consider "good" anyway this season. Don't let one ill-timed drop-turned-INT distract from the fact that Wilson remains an awfully good football player. I'm drinking the bounceback Kool-Aid, give me 130 yards and 2 TDs for the 24-year-old talent.

Players highlighted last week and results: Malik Nabers (4-41-0), Kyren Williams (21-76-2), and Noah Brown (1-16-0).

3. Tua is BACK. Now what?

Barring any setbacks, Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa will return to the gridiron on Sunday against the Cardinals.

It's hard to understate just how bad "The Greatest Show on Surf" has been to start the 2024 season, but here's a shot:

Points per game:

  • 2023 Bryce Young Panthers (13.9)
  • 2021 Urban Meyer Jaguars (14.9)
  • 2017 winless Browns (14.6)
  • 2008 winless Lions (16.8)
  • 2024 Dolphins (11.7)

The fantasy results have accordingly been absolutely miserable. Early-round WRs Tyreek Hill (PPR WR46 per game) and Jaylen Waddle (WR62) have been consistent busts, while De'Von Achane went from looking like the best RB in fantasy (RB3 and RB2 in Weeks 1-2) to someone not overly fun to even FLEX in recent weeks.

This brings us to today's bajillion-dollar question: Can the return of Tua simply fix matters for everyone involved?

I'm optimistic. As damning as the last month has been for Mike McDaniel's offensive wizard stock, we still have two solid years of evidence telling us that this is one of the league's most prolific offenses whenever No. 1 is healthy enough to suit up under center. Seriously: The Dolphins posted top-6 numbers in EPA per play and dropback during the 2022-23 seasons while scoring more points than any team other than the Cowboys, 49ers, Lions, Eagles, and Bills. Neither Tyler Huntley, Tim Boyle, nor Skylar Thompson have ever been confused with an even league-average QB, so even something close to 2022-23 levels of efficiency from Tua has the potential to take this group from horrible to at least above-average in a hurry.

The upcoming schedule should help matters as well:

  • Week 8 vs. Cardinals: 30th in EPA allowed per dropback
  • Week 9 at Bills: 11th
  • Week 10 at Rams: 26th
  • Week 11 vs. Raiders: 16th
  • Week 12 vs. Patriots: 29th

Tua is someone who should abso-lutely be scooped off the waiver wire if he happens to be available in your league, Tyreek is BACK to familiar top-5 treatment at the WR position, Waddle is an upside WR3 at worst, and don't look now, but Achane could get back to resembling the sort of league-winning asset managers thought they had after the first two weeks of the season.

Seriously: Achane's Week 7 utilization coming off the bye was borderline erotic despite the entire Miami backfield being healthy:

 

Hell, maybe even Jonnu Smith builds off his TE2 finish and season-high 78% route rate. The possibilities are endless ahead of their Week 8 matchup with the Cardinals' 24th-ranked scoring defense.

It's crazy how much a simple change at QB can change the trajectory for everyone involved, ya know? Speaking of …

4. What if we get the full Jameis experience in Cleveland?

This is not necessarily a given in the long term. Yes, Deshaun Watson (Achilles) is done for the season. Also yes, the Browns curiously elevated Dorian Thompson-Robinson to QB2 status prior to Week 7, but a finger injury could potentially keep him out of the lineup in the short term

Even if DTR does, in fact, get the eventual nod under center, it's hard to think he'll last too long considering how poorly he's performed with his opportunities. Overall, Thompson-Robinson ranks dead last in yards per attempt and EPA+CPOE composite score among 55 qualified QBs over the past two seasons; Cleveland somehow found themselves one of the VERY few signal-callers actually worse than Watson.

That said: Jameis Winston has been named the starting QB ahead of the team's Week 8 matchup with the Ravens. I wouldn't necessarily expect real-life fireworks; the Browns' 1-6 record and -56-point differential reflect the reality that this team isn't exactly a slight upgrade at QB away from competing for the division title. The Browns do rank 31st in my supporting cast rating after all.

Still, Winson has managed to provide some seriously solid moments over the years despite plenty of bad as well. This is demonstrated through his consistently positive EPA per dropback numbers, which have never ranked worse than 16th in a season with at least 400 dropbacks (per the great Kevin Cole):

  • 2015: +0.13 EPA per play (597 dropbacks)
  • 2016: +0.1 (635)
  • 2017: +0.12 (497)
  • 2018: +0.17 (443)
  • 2019: +0.11 (707)
  • 2021: +0.24 (189)
  • 2022: -0.05 (128)

Of course, it's far from a given that Kevin Stefanski pulls a Bruce Arians and lets Jameis go full Jameis. The team's season-low -9% dropback over expected rate last week reflects the reality that this offense probably wants to feature Nick Chubb and the run game more moving forward.

Ultimately, the REAL winner here should be TE David Njoku. The PPR TE3 after Watson was lost for the season last year, the YAC monster has always made a habit of making the most out of his opportunities, and now he should have more of those than ever if his 14-target Week 7 performance was any indication of what lies ahead. The Ravens have allowed the fifth-most PPR points per game to opposing TEs this season; fire up Njoku as a legit top-6 option at the position ahead of this potential smash spot.

Otherwise, Winston deserves to be scooped off waiver wires in the hope that he could be allowed to go full YOLO/DGAF mode at some point, a scenario that would also lead to WRs Cedric Tillman and Jerry Jeudy working their way into FLEX-plus consideration on a more consistent basis.

Oh, what's that? You want more discourse on complementary WRs suddenly being thrust into bigger roles? Say less!

5. Who are the next-men-up in this banged-up Bucs offense?

Bucs WR Chris Godwin (dislocated ankle) is done for the season, while Mike Evans (hamstring) is expected to be out through the team's Week 11 bye after re-aggravating the existing issue on Monday night.

This leaves the Bucs with a trio of underwhelming options to help replace most people's idea of one of the league's better duos at the position:

  • Jalen McMillan: The rookie entered Week 7 with a putrid season-long 3-59-1 receiving line thanks in part to his own hamstring issue, but McMillan's 8 targets on Monday night reflect the potential for him to emerge as one of this offense's key contributors moving forward. Note that McMillan lined up in the slot on 67% of his snaps during his final three years at Washington; it'd make a lot of sense if he's the one-for-one replacement for Godwin.
  • Trey Palmer: The second-year talent posted a season-high 81% route rate in Week 7, making him a shoo-in for one of the outside WR spots. Still, Palmer had a full-time role as a rookie and never made much of it, as the one-trick-pony field-stretcher is more likely to run wind sprints as the X receiver than work as someone the offense actively wants to scheme the ball to.
  • Sterling Shepard: Baker Mayfield's long-time BFF has made a few plays in backup duty this season, yet boasted the lowest route rate (54%) of these three WRs last week. Kudos to Shepard for overcoming his various brutal injuries and still making plays at 31 years of age; just realize his weekly utilization seemingly pits him as this offense's WR5 when everyone is healthy.

McMillan deserves to be the waiver wire priority thanks to his potential to soak up Godwin's fantasy-friendly targets from the slot. Godwin was one of only four WRs with double-digit screen targets prior to getting injured, plus Mayfield has thrown to his slot receiver more than all but three other QBs this season while averaging the league's fifth-highest passer rating while doing so.

That said: There's a chance that no parties involved exactly emerge as weekly must-start options in the absence of Godwin and Evans. Kudos to Mayfield for working as fantasy's overall QB2 (!) through seven weeks, but it'd make a helluva lot of sense if his production cratered far from easy matchups with the Falcons and (especially) the Chiefs and 49ers before the team's Week 11 bye.

There's also the potential for TE Cade Otton to emerge as the real winner in fantasy land during the short term. He's quietly started earning more consistent work in the passing game after a quiet first two weeks of the season:

  • Week 3: 7 receptions-47 yards-0 TD (8 targets), PPR TE7
  • Week 4: 6-52-0 (9), TE8
  • Week 5: 3-44-0 (4), TE23
  • Week 6: 2-15-1 (6), TE15
  • Week 7: 8-100-0 (10), TE5

Otton has always played a near full-time role and done a relatively good job with his opportunities, but he hasn't been overly featured due to the presence of more qualified pass catchers elsewhere on the offense—something that sadly is no longer a problem.

Alright, enough sad injury talk: Now let's break down whether or not some of Week 7's more surprising boom performances were a flash in the pan, or if they're here to stay!

6. Fraud check: Which top Week 7 performances were real?

The following players ripped off sterling top-five PPR performances last week, but that doesn't mean the production is here to stay. Presenting: Fraud check, where we (me) decide if last week's biggest stars are here to stay, or if we simply just witnessed a one-off boom.

Steelers QB Russell Wilson (QB3): Pittsburgh's new QB1 showed off a still-solid moon ball on his way to beating up the (very injured) Jets defense to the tune of 264 yards and 2 scores through the air. That said, DangeRuss led a Steelers offense that posted a typical run-heavy -13% dropback rate over expected. We also shouldn't necessarily expect too many more QB sneaks for TDs. Clearly the Steelers are better off with Russ under center (hand up, I was wrong), but his fantasy upside is too contingent on George Pickens winning jump balls to trust as more than a low-floor QB2 moving forward. RULING: Fraud (at least in fantasy land).

Broncos RB Javonte Williams (RB5): Williams had finished outside the position's top-24 backs in all but two weeks prior to his Week 7 explosion. Now, positive blowout game script certainly helped matters, but Williams also deserves credit for easily posting his best efficiency of the season (6.3 yards per carry) on the ground. He's racked up 18, 18, 9, and most recently 17 touches over the past four weeks in an offense that surely doesn't want to put TOO much on Bo Nix's plate if they can help it. There's still a low floor here in matchups that feature the Broncos down early, although that is certainly less of a risk than usual ahead of next week's home matchup with the Panthers. Ruling: Not a fraud at least ahead of Week 8, but maybe sell high before back-to-back tough spots afterward in Baltimore and Kansas City.

Ravens WR Rashod Bateman (WR3): The former first-round pick was already putting some groovy routes on film even before last week's breakout. Clearly Bateman's 4-121-1 explosion proved that he can boom in the right matchup, although Monday night marked the sixth game in seven tries that he finished with 5 or fewer targets. A potential short-term absence to Zay Flowers (ankle) would help matters, but as we've seen all year in this offense (looking at you, Mark Andrews): There's not enough consistent overall pass-game volume to expect week-to-week booms from pretty much any pass catcher. Ruling: Fraud in terms of Bateman being someone fantasy managers can trust as more than a boom-or-bust FLEX.

Dolphins TE Jonnu Smith (TE2): On the one hand, Joonu has racked up 8 and 7 targets in his last two games, with the latter post-bye performance also including a season-best 78% route rate. On the other hand, Tua Tagovailoa has never made a habit of overly leaning on his TE, and I also have a hard time reading too heavily into Mike McDaniel's post-bye strategy considering Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle combined for just four targets. Smith has always possessed the sort of high-end YAC ability to make the most out of minimal opportunities; it seems more likely that he'll have to do that moving forward as opposed to a large weekly target share suddenly being on the table. Ruling: Fraud.

Now let's move on to some of the most disappointing RBs of the (still) young season!

7. What RBs are the biggest positive TD regression candidates?

I looked at PFF's expected fantasy points model as well as simply some of the league's touch leaders without too many TDs to get an idea of which RBs might be on the verge of falling into the end zone a bit more often in the upcoming weeks.

*Law and Order music*

These are their stories:

Steelers RBs Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren: Two of just 11 RBs scoring at least 10 PPR points BELOW expected this season, both Najee and Warren are good candidates to find the end zone a bit more often moving forward in an offense that: 

1.) Looked a lot better with Russell Wilson under center 

2.) Will no longer be splitting fantasy-friendly goal-line touches with dual-threat QB Justin Fields. 

Najee in particular deserves a lot of credit for running hard as hell over the past two weeks, but don't count out a second-half emergence from Warren either; the overqualified RB2 racked up a season-high 14 touches last week and finally looked a bit more like his usual explosive self after playing through lower-body injuries for most of the first six weeks.

Packers RB Josh Jacobs: Green Bay has fed Jacobs 120 rush attempts this season, yet he's found the end zone just once on the ground. The next-closest RB in terms of carries with 1 or fewer rushing TDs? De'Von Achane … at 71. The Packers' high-priced free agent addition has largely looked good with his new employer; it'd make a lot of sense if this number BOOMS in upcoming weeks, starting this Sunday against the Jaguars' 30th-ranked scoring defense.

Dolphins RB De'Von Achane: The man mentioned above should not only benefit from the return of Tua Tagovailoa under center, but also the potential for 2024 efficiency numbers to get a bit closer to what we saw last year. Consider: Week 7 (5.1 YPC) was the first time all year Achane averaged more than even 4.4 yards per rush attempt after breaking the f*cking single-season record as a rookie. The Dolphins have happily fed Achane a team-high 4 goal-line carries, and he already has as many games with 15-plus opportunities this year as he did in 2023 (4). A return to prominence by last year’s top overall scoring offense should go hand-in-hand with their RB1 booming more consistently down the stretch. 

Chargers RB J.K. Dobbins: While Dobbins has skirted into the end zone three times this season, he's had to largely hit big runs to do so. Overall, Dobbins has just *one* carry inside the 5-yard line through seven weeks of action despite having the 11th-most total rush attempts at the position (95). Don't expect the Chargers' 26th-ranked scoring offense to suddenly overflow with fantasy-friendly goal-line opportunities, but at a minimum more consistently positive game scripts should be on the way in upcoming matchups with the Saints, Browns, and Titans.

Let's stick with today's overall depressing tone by moving on to WRs who have simply not made the most out of their opportunities this season.

8. What WRs have made the least with the most?

Note that this section was inspired by Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who has racked up quite a few targets this year … yet not managed to do much of anything with them.

Overall, four WRs really stick out in terms of their failure to put up fantasy-friendly numbers despite having the sort of workload that most players at the position can only dream of possessing.

Broncos WR Courtland Sutton: While there wasn’t much Sutton could do about his Week 7 goose-egg considering, you know, he didn't get targeted once, things weren't exactly going stellar before then. Overall, the 29-year-old veteran is averaging a career-low 5.9 yards per target and has yet to reach even 70 yards in a game. No WR has scored more PPR points BELOW expectation than Sutton (-31.1) this season. Of course, the Bo Nix experience probably deserves most of the blame here: Only Anthony Richardson (-11.3%) has a lower completion percentage over expected than Nix (-4.1%) this season. Here's to hoping Week 8's matchup with the Panthers' league-worst scoring defense serves as the sort of get-right spot this duo badly needs.

Giants WR Wan'Dale Robinson: Robinson has the second-most targets in the entire NFL ... and is the WR28 in PPR points per game. His 104-reception pace has helped maintain a decent enough floor in full-PPR scoring, but we're talking about a guy who has 5 games with at least 9 targets and under 75 receiving yards this season–no other NFL player has more than 3. The return of Malik Nabers and status quo under center will probably limit the potential for Robinson to make more out of his opportunities than he has to this point, although the bar certainly isn't high: His average of 4.5 yards per target is the single-lowest mark among 69 players with at least 30 pass-game opportunities this season.

Cardinals WR Marvin Harrison Jr.: You can blame Kyler Murray's depressingly low middle-of-the-field passing rate or failure to find Marv when he's breaking wide open deep downfield: Either way the early returns from the 2024 NFL Draft's No. 4 overall pick have been rough. Three consecutive performances with under 40 scoreless yards (one cut short by a concussion) have highlighted the fact that Arizona's new No. 1 WR simply isn't producing at the moment, but the returns are particularly disappointing considering the volume at hand. Overall, Harrison has a solid enough 60% WOPR this year (20th at the position), yet already has four finishes outside the position's top-50 PPR performers. Here's to hoping Week 8's matchup with the Dolphins yields better results, but potentially finding higher-percentage ways to get Marv the ball would be a good start: Only Keon Coleman (33%) has had a higher percentage of his targets come on go routes and fades than Harrison (25.5%) among the league's 72 most-targeted WRs this season.

Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba: The 2023 first-round pick has as many targets as Stefon Diggs as well as more than guys like Ja'Marr Chase and Terry McLaurin this season. Hell, JSN even beats out Diggs and Chase when it comes to air yards: There has been plenty of opportunity on the table, but nothing much has happened anyway. This is what makes expecting JSN to suddenly boom in the potential absence of DK Metcalf (knee) tough to fully get behind; there's no reason why he shouldn't have been doing more already anyway. Ultimately, ESPN's sixth-worst WR in Open Rating has struggled to make his presence felt as a separator or after the catch this season; don't expect a meaningful boom on Sunday against a Bills defense that is one of just 10 units to allow fewer than 30 PPR points per game to opposing WR rooms this season.

Step it up, fellas. But if not, fantasy managers will need to make up those points elsewhere…

9. What QBs should be stashed for upcoming weeks?

There are no byes in Week 8, for some reason, meaning everyone should have a QB ready to go ahead of Sunday barring injury (sorry, Jayden Daniels managers, but hey, check out Matthew Stafford or Marcus Mariota if things don't work out).

That said: Now might be a pretty good time to get ahead on future waiver wire madness at the position if your bench depth allows it. Specifically, fantasy managers of the following QBs should look to target the following one-week replacements ahead of the next month of action:

  • Brock Purdy (Week 9 bye): Saints head coach Dennis Allen confirmed QB Derek Carr is very likely to return by Week 9, making him a rather awesome one-week rental against the Panthers' bottom-five defense in virtually any defensive metric—but specifically fantasy points per game allowed to opposing QBs. This is only if Vikings QB Sam Darnold is unavailable; he's set up brilliantly as well against the Colts' similarly putrid pass defense. Darnold's overall schedule over the next three weeks is pretty fantastic; he's my favorite singular add for this stretch if you can get him.
  • Jordan Love and Geno Smith (Week 10 bye): While fantasy managers could again play the "f*ck the Panthers" game and roll with Giants QB Daniel Jones, it doesn't seem like a given that he still has the starting job by this point. I once again would prefer Vikings QB Sam Darnold ahead of his matchup with the Jaguars if possible, but otherwise Russell Wilson against the Commanders looks like your best bet.
  • Kyler Murray and Baker Mayfield (Week 11 bye): Sign me up for Drake Maye against a Rams defense that has looked largely pitiful all year long. The Patriots' rookie QB has already flashed a fantasy-friendly rushing floor and offers boom potential through the air against the league's 26th-ranked defense in EPA allowed per dropback.
  • Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Kirk Cousins, Trevor Lawrence, and Aaron Rodgers (Week 12 bye): Maye against the Dolphins would work here, but otherwise fantasy managers should take a long look at Justin Herbert, who is still very much one of the league's best QBs, but simply hasn't been leaned on inside this run-first Chargers attack. Well, look no further than the Harbaugh bowl against a Ravens defense that has shut down rushing attacks of all shapes and sizes this year, but accordingly has allowed the third-most fantasy points per game to opposing QBs.

Fun times (hopefully), but now let's focus on the present and break down some of the biggest potential advantages ahead of Week 8.

10. What are the biggest on-paper mismatches in Week 8?

Every week I put together a group of charts meant to provide easy-to-decipher matchup advantages on both sides of the ball in a handful of categories. This includes combined explosive pass/run-play rates, pressure, yards before contact, pass yards per dropback, and EPA per play. The idea is to have one metric to show a mismatch instead of always going, "Offense ranks X, defense ranks Y."

Without further adieu: The week's biggest mismatches in these ever-important categories. Feel free to click on any of the below categories for a full chart.

  • Explosive passing offense: The Ravens, Lions, and 49ers passing games appear to be set up quite well. However, the Raiders, Colts, Saints, Patriots, Bengals, and Steelers aren't looking too hot at the moment ahead of their tough respective matchups.
  • Explosive running offense: The Cardinals and Ravens look especially poised to do good things on the ground this week. Meanwhile, Rams and Browns, in particular, look to have their work cut out for them.
  • Pressure: The Jets, Buccaneers, Broncos, and Dolphins look ready to provide plenty of clean pockets this week, while the Patriots, Steelers, and Eagles could be facing more pressure than they'd prefer.
  • Yards before contact per carry: RBs from the Ravens, Seahawks, Chargers, and Eagles might have more clear runways than usual this week, but the opposite is true for the Giants, Patriots, Rams, and Raiders.
  • Pass yards per dropback: The best set up passing attacks look like the 49ers, Ravens, Packers, and Vikings this week, while the worst look like the Patriots, Panthers, Titans, and Browns.
  • EPA per play: Eagles-Bengals, Falcons-Buccaneers, and Bears-Commanders stand out as the week's most likely back-and-forth shootouts, whereas Saints-Chargers looks like the marquee defensive slugfest.

11. Ranking every game of the week from a biased entertainment perspective

I remain steadfast in the idea that no NFL game is inherently "bad." Complaining about specific matchups is ignoring the reality that relatively *bad* football is so much better than *no* football; we should NEVER dismiss any given 60 minutes of professional action on the gridiron.

With that said: Some matchups are indeed more awesome than others, so let's take a quick second to rank every matchup of the week in terms of what I'm looking forward to most through my own biased lenses:

  1. Bears-Commanders. IF Jayden Daniels (ribs) manages to play through the pain, although it's not looking great. Still: You could imagine what it'd be like if he did.
  2. Ravens-Browns: Jameis Winston QB1 szn! Plus watching Lamar Jackson and Co. operate at near-peak efficiency is a helluva drug.
  3. Bills-Seahawks: We might be looking at the Josh Allen MVP season if Lamar Jackson ever decides to chill out. Either way, No. 17 looked back to his usual highly productive self alongside Amari Cooper and Co. in Week 7, and now he gets a Seahawks defense that has struggled against the better offenses they've faced this year. Throw in a pass-happy Geno Smith-led Seahawks attack, and this one has serious fantasy-friendly shootout potential. 
  4. Cowboys-49ers. Sunday Night Football presents a classic rivalry that has been rather one-sided in favor of San Fran in recent years. Honestly, I'm most looking forward to the potential for Dallas to still get blown out despite coming off a bye and facing an injury-riddled 49ers offense potentially without their top-four playmakers. Jerry Jones would HAVE to fire Mike McCarthy on the spot if that happens, right? RIGHT?
  5. Packers-Jaguars: I'd argue no QB is more entertaining to watch than Jordan Love at the moment thanks to his Jekyll-and-Hyde nature and unwavering belief that he can fit the football in any window no matter how small (to be fair, he usually can). Meanwhile, Trevor Lawrence has been playing better ball in recent weeks thanks in part to the emergence of STUD rookie WR BrIan Thomas Jr. Add it all together, and you have the highest game total (49.5) of Week 8.
  6. Eagles-Bengals: Both offenses are capable of outscoring pretty much anyone in the league when everything is clicking … the problem is that the latter criteria has seldom been a reality for 60 straight minutes of football this season. Still, the suspect secondaries involved here make it more likely than not Jalen Hurts and Joe Burrow supply plenty of fireworks in this one.
  7. Vikings-Rams: Expecting a Thursday night game to be good usually doesn't end well, but the Vikings are sitting pretty as the league's sixth-ranked scoring offense, and the Rams are tentatively expected to welcome back Cooper Kupp. Throw in the Sean McVay vs. former protege Kevin O'Connell storyline, and the fun Amazon Ryan Fitzpatrick-led pregame crew, and I'm genuinely excited for this one.
  8. Cardinals-Dolphins: This matchup has the potential to finish first, although both offenses have largely just been sad "what ifs" relative to their theoretical potential. Obviously, the return of Tua Tagovailoa should at least somewhat steady the Dolphins' sinking ship, while Kyler Murray is at least good for one electric run per game even if the team's passing game continues to leave a lot to be desired.
  9. Jets-Patriots: I'd be surprised if Aaron Rodgers and his trio of talented pass catchers don't get things rolling in a major way against the same defense that largely brought out the best in A-aron back in Week 3. Additionally, Drake Maye has proven to be a fun watch thanks to his gunslinger mindset and ability to extend the play. He clearly learned what not to do while sitting behind Jacoby Brissett for the first five weeks of the season.
  10. Colts-Texans: Neither second-year QB has exactly played up to expectations this season, although both Anthony Richardson and (especially, obviously) C.J. Stroud are capable of reaching serious heights when things are going right. The questionable defenses involved give that potential at least a decent chance of happening—the Week 1 meeting between these two squads did produce 56 total points after all.
  11. Falcons-Buccaneers: This NFC South clash would rank a few spots higher if the Bucs' WR room wasn't suddenly reduced to a walking graveyard. Still, Baker Mayfield and Kirk Cousins rank second and fourth in passing yards, respectively, meaning we should still see plenty of offense in this one.
  12. Titans-Lions: We'd be talking about a potential top-5 matchup if Will Levis were around to do Will Levis things, but sadly the Titans are more depressing than fun-bad with Mason Rudolph under center. At least Jared Goff and the Lions continue to prove that high-end offensive football is still alive and well in the year 2024.
  13. Saints-Chargers: The return of Derek Carr would help matters here for the Saints (never thought I'd type out those words), as would the potential for the team's injury-riddled offensive line to welcome back a starter or two. Still, the Chargers' run-first, ball-control offense feels like driving a Ferrari 10 MPH under the speed limit given the talents of Justin Herbert under center, but then again he isn't exactly dealing with the world's greatest group of pass catchers.
  14. Giants-Steelers: Football just means a little bit more on Monday night, but then again, expecting Daniel Jones and this rather pathetic excuse for an offense to get anything going against T.J. Watt and Co. is probably wishful thinking. Russell Wilson got George Pickens and Co. humming in Week 8, but will that really last? A week-low 36.5 point game total indicates that answer is probably no.
  15. Chiefs-Raiders: It's honestly just annoying at this point watching Kansas City find a way to stay undefeated while the offense continues to underachieve. Meanwhile, Brock Bowers is the only reason for Raiders fans to get overly excited about life these days. 
  16. Panthers-Broncos: The Panthers' moveable defense meets the Broncos' stoppable offense, while the shine is starting to wear off the Andy Dalton experience with just 10, 20, and 7 points scored during the last three weeks. This is one of five late-afternoon games this Sunday, and I'm going to go out on a limb and say it'll be the one left off the quad box in more households than not.