Week 8 has come and gone. Sixteen NFL games brought joy, laughs and tears to football fans and, of course, fantasy football faithful.

Today, we’ll focus on the latter sadness and break down just how close some came to achieving fantasy football glory.

What follows is a breakdown of all the “Sheesh” moments from Week 8. I’ve watched every game and combed play-by-play data to help determine instances when:

  • Pass-catchers could have scored or picked up big yardage with a more accurate pass 
  • Pass-catchers did receive an accurate pass that should have resulted in a score or big gain, but the ball was dropped
  • Ball carriers or pass-catchers managed to get all the way to the one-yard line, but didn’t score
  • Players scored or picked up big yardage, but the play was nullified by a penalty
  • Other random shit found a way to tilt fantasy football managers of all shapes and sizes

First, let’s break down some sheesh-ness from the man who might very well be the frontrunner for Sheesh MVP through eight weeks of action.

Our one true unrealized air yard king: Saints WR Chris Olave

Air yards measure the distance that any given pass travels (wait for it) in the air. Subtracting yards after the catch from every player’s receiving yards total before taking the difference with total air yards helps us pinpoint exactly how much opportunity through the air a player failed to come down with for one reason or another.

Sometimes unrealized air yards are more akin to “prayer yards” because the pass wasn’t overly catchable in the first place, so grinding the ole film helps with identifying those sorts of situations.

Saints WR Chris Olave certainly hasn’t been a stranger to “prayer yards” this season, but on Sunday there was nobody to blame other than the man in the mirror on this missed 39-yard score.

Olave has now racked up an NFL-high 750 unrealized air yards on the year. Cardinals WR Marquise Brown (521) is the next-closest player. Sheesh.

Including Olave, eight players racked up at least 80 unrealized air yards in Week 8 specifically:

  • Olave (118)
  • Packers WR Christian Watson (117)
  • Seahawks WR D.K. Metcalf (116)
  • Raiders WR Davante Adams (116)
  • Steelers WR Diontae Johnson (113)
  • Steelers WR George Pickens (107)
  • Packers WR Romeo Doubs (94)
  • Commanders WR Terry McLaurin (90)
  • Jets WR Garrett Wilson (84)

Free Davante Adams

The box score says Davante Adams had one catch for just 11 scoreless yards on Monday night football. But you know what? Numbers can flat-out lie sometimes.

Kind of.

Like, on one hand, yes: Adams did indeed only catch one pass against the Lions.

On the other hand: Jimmy Garoppolo couldn’t even put the ball close to Adams not once but twice on what should have been separate 98- and 60-yard TDs.

The veteran QB was admittingly dealing with some pressure on the former throw, but there were no excuses for missing the latter.

Does trading Adams make the Raiders a better football team in the year 2023? Of course not, but it certainly would help all of our fantasy squads – and isn’t that what it’s really all about?

Skyy Moore and Velus Jones got to be better, man

There were two additional BRUTAL TD drops in addition to Olave’s aforementioned mishap.

  1. Chiefs WR Skyy Moore had some separation deep on a crucial fourth and 2 with under eight minutes left to play. Patrick Mahomes lofted a b-e-a-utiful pearl that should have been a 26-yard TD, but Moore let the pass slide through his hands. While head coach Andy Reid cited defensive interference when recalling the mishap, the misfire was officially ruled a drop by the overlords at PFF, so we sheesh.
  2. Bears WR Velus Jones got behind the defense on what had the potential to be a 40-yard score. The problem: He first slipped while attempting to settle under the Tyson Bagent deep ball, and then Jones let the pass bounce off his chest and fall incomplete. A sheeshful moment for the 26-year-old second-year receiver.

Also note that Dolphins WR Jaylen Waddle (44), Commanders WR Terry McLaurin (34), Panthers WR D.J. Chark (33 yards) and Steelers WR Diontae Johnson (28) joined Moore and Jones atop the weekly leaderboard in air yards lost directly to drops. These specific drops almost certainly wouldn’t have resulted in TDs with better hands — the closest call was Johnson’s game-opening mishap, although I think one of the safeties would have stopped him — but either way each left a LOT of meat on the bone in Week 8.

Additional moments that were not officially ruled as drops, but it certainly would have been a lot cooler had these pass-catchers managed to come down with their catchable contested-catch opportunity.

  • Packers WR Christian Watson (potential score from 34 yards out)
  • Vikings WR Jordan Addison (12)
  • Rams WR Puka Nacua (6)

Diontae Johnson almost ended the streak

Our previous section helped quantify the most missed opportunities through the air, but there were an additional handful of targets that I can’t help call out because it sure seemed like the following players could have put six points on the board with a bit more accurate pass.

It’s been a long 653 days since the Steelers’ No. 1 WR found the end zone. Johnson appeared ready to snap his scoreless streak when he broke rather wide open from five yards out … but sadly Kenny Pickett's pass was late and behind his intended target.

Johnson noted after the game that the Steelers need to see things quicker in order to take advantage of opportunities like this. Perhaps Pickett hoped for Johnson to sit down in the soft spot of the coverage upon breaking so wide open, although quicker progression also seemingly could have eliminated that potential issue.

There were another nine subjective instances of pass-catchers not receiving catchable passes on what sure seemed to have the potential to be TDs, although differing levels of openness, difficulty of throw and pressure hardly made these near misses of the layup variety:

  • Packers WR Romeo Doubs (potential 80-yard TD with perfect pass)
  • Texans WR Nico Collins (77)
  • Browns WR Amari Cooper (71)
  • Bears WR Tyler Scott (65)
  • Chiefs WR Justin Watson (42)
  • Commanders WR Byron Pringle (47 – this one was pretty wide open)
  • Falcons WR Mack Hollins (24)
  • Commanders WR Terry McLaurin (20)
  • Seahawks WR D.K. Metcalf (14)

Chris Godwin nearly answered Baker Mayfield’s Hail Mary

The Buccaneers had one final prayer from 55 yards away with four seconds remaining last Thursday night. Kudos to QB Baker Mayfield for lofting a pretty damn solid hail mary opportunity high into the air and all the way to the end zone … but sheesh oh sheesh WR Chris Godwin let the football fall to the turf literally a foot away from him.

It’s tough to FULLY blame Godwin here — there’s a plan in place on Hail Mary’s like this and his job was to be one of the rebounders — although it’s still tough for fantasy managers to watch this go down and come away with any one-word expression other than: Sheesh.

Dameon Pierce was so close, yet so far away from a huge day

Getting all the way to the one-yard line but failing to score a TD is objectively a sheeshy feeling — particularly when fantasy managers are forced to watch someone else vulture away the score that was SO CLOSE to belonging to them.

Texans RB Dameon Pierce was sadly the victim of this phenomenon not once but twice in Week 8, as he was vultured by FB Andrew Beck and QB C.J. Stroud upon coming up just short of the end zone. Note that these occurred on separate drives, meaning Pierce was fewer than six feet away from doubling his 2023 TD total on Sunday. Sheesh.

Dameon Pierce

Oct 29, 2023; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers linebacker Deion Jones (40) hangs on to Houston Texans running back Dameon Pierce (31) during the second half at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

Here’s the full list of Week 8’s players who managed to get the football within three feet of the goal line, but not quite across the plane, and ultimately didn’t score later on the same drive:

  • Eagles QB Jalen Hurts (lost fumble)
  • Panthers QB Bryce Young
  • Texans RB Dameon Pierce (x2, separate drives)
  • Packers RB A.J. Dillon (x2, same drive)
  • Saints RB Alvin Kamara
  • Rams RB Darrell Henderson
  • Bills RB Latavius Murray
  • Panthers RB Chuba Hubbard
  • Texans RB Devin Singletary
  • Bears RB Darrynton Evans
  • Bills TE Dalton Kincaid
  • Dolphins TE Durham Smythe
  • Texans FB/TE Andrew Beck

“Congrats” to Dillon and Murray for now racking up an NFL-high four instances of this sheeshy event in 2023, while Austin Ekeler, Brian Robinson, D’Andre Swift, Joe Mixon and Kamara are the only players with three such sheeshes.

Was Cole Kmet called down too early?

Bears fans certainly think so. While this wasn’t guaranteed to be a TD — a Chargers defensive back appeared at the end of the play and seemingly would have had a chance to make the open-field tackle — the play joins a growing list of instances where the officials might have blown the ole whistle just a bit too early.

The quick whistle is even more damning when comparing against Trey McBride’s Week 8 TD. Credit to Kmet (10-79-0) for still putting forward a solid fantasy performance, but his fantasy managers undoubtedly were undoubtedly sheeshing after this near miss.

Yes, I’m telling you Odell Beckham Jr. actually had quite a good day

Defensive pass interferences can be finicky and don’t always occur in instances when the targeted receiver would FOR SURE make the catch.

That said: They are very annoying for fantasy managers to deal with when the result could’ve, should’ve, would’ve been a chunk gain — and maybe even a TD.

The top eight players in most yards gained courtesy of drawing DPI flags were as follows:

  • Colts WR Alec Pierce (43 yards gained on defensive pass interference penalties)
  • Ravens WR Odell Beckham Jr. (35, and the Ravens scored short TDs after OBJ positioned them at the eight- and one-yard lines on the respective flags)
  • Steelers WR Calvin Austin (32)
  • Eagles WR A.J. Brown (31, down to the one-yard line)
  • Jets WR Malik Taylor (30, could have been a 45-yard TD with a better pass)
  • Buccaneers TE Cade Otton (21)
  • Broncos WR Courtland Sutton (18)
  • Cardinals WR Marquise Brown (18, down to the one-yard line)

Also, note Packers WR Jayden Reed (6) and Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill (5) drew shorter defensive pass interference penalties to get their team down to the one-yard line on drives that (sadly for their fantasy managers) didn’t end with them celebrating in the end zone.

It’s tough to be too worked up about Dak Prescott’s interception

While the box score doesn’t account for who to blame on any particular interception, a rocket scientist isn’t always required to figure out that sometimes the QB wasn’t overly at fault.

The following interceptions occurred in Week 8, but you shouldn’t feel quite as bad about them in context:

Returners are people too

TDs usually get nullified by a penalty for a good reason, but that doesn’t make the roller coaster of adrenaline any less sheeshful for fantasy managers to deal with.

In Week 8 there were three such instances.

*Law and Order Music*

These are their stories:

Cowboys return specialist KaVontae Turpin electrified Jerry World with an 87-yard house call; too bad the former USFL MVP’s first career return score was nullified by a (warranted) holding penalty) early in the play.

Backup Vikings RB Ty Chandler seemingly took a kick return 103 yards to the house, but a holding penalty away from the ball wiped away the objectively cool score. Further replay seemed to show that Chandler stepped out of bounds anyway, but it officially went in the books as a nullified score, so here we are.

Lions RB Craig Reynolds had a four-yard TD run nullified due to an offensive hold. As Troy Aikman said on the broadcast after watching Lions OL Dan Skipper brutally throw a Raiders defender to the ground, “If you're going to hold, make it a good one.”

I think I speak for all of us when I say for one last time: Sheesh.

We’re on to Week 9.

Sheesh Report