Fantasy Football Reaction: Winners, Losers And Surprises From Week 8
Back-up quarterbacks Mike White and Cooper Rush highlighted the slate
The fantasy football season will always go through twists and turns, and Week 8 in the NFL was the week of the back-up quarterback and, and yes this is a bit more bizarre … the New York Jets.
New York claimed a stunning upset against the Cincinnati Bengals, and had plenty of impressive fantasy performances to go along with it. Among them was the play of back-up quarterback Mike White, and it was coincidental he did so during a week that featured two of the better second-string performances on the season.
Anyway, here is a look at our winners, losers and surprises from Week 8 in fantasy football. Of note, all stats are compiled by SportRadar and represent full-point PPR leagues.
Winners
Jimmy Garoppolo, QB, San Francisco 49ers
Garoppolo hasn’t got off to a great start both for the 49ers and for fantasy managers, and perhaps that’s why he ranked QB24 entering the week while being owned in just 11% of rosters on Yahoo. Still, the 49ers signal-caller had his best performance of the season en route to finishing as QB2 behind only Josh Allen. Garoppolo completed 79% of his passes to receivers and led the league in air yards per completion (9.7), explosive passes of 16 yards or more (eight) and pass yards per attempt (11.5). His 326 combined passing and rushing yards earned him a spot as QB3.
Michael Carter, RB, New York Jets
Carter is far from a fantasy slouch, but the Jets running back took it to another level against what was thought to be a strong Bengals defense. Carter, who was Yahoo’s RB30 entering Week 8, more than doubled his projection and finished as RB1 in points scored. He recorded 1.34 points per touch on 24 touches from scrimmage en route to 172 yards of offense with one touchdown. Carter also was a fixture in the passing game as he tallied a team-best nine catches for 95 yards en route to 1.32 points per target on 14 targets.
Losers
D’Andre Swift, RB, Detroit Lions
The Lions running back was among the poor performances from Detroit, as the Eagles put together a rout on the road. Swift, who entered the slate as Yahoo’s RB7, finished as RB33. He recorded just 0.48 points per touch, which ranked him RB55, on 17 touches from scrimmage. Those 17 touches went for just 51 total yards, which were the second-fewest on the season for Swift. It also was only the third game this season Swift did not score a touchdown.
Derrick Henry, RB, Tennessee Titans
The NFL’s leading rusher may have been impacted by injury, but he remained in the game and finished Week 8 with arguably his worst performance of the season. Henry, who entered as Yahoo’s RB1, finished 41st in total scoring for players at the position. It certainly was an underwhelming performance for fantasy owners who have come to expect multiple touchdowns and 100-plus yard outings. Henry had just 0.24 points per touch on 28 touches for 68 total yards. He did not break a single tackle and three of his attempts went for negative yardage.
Surprises
Mike White, QB, New York Jets
The New York Jets quarterback put together a historic first start as he threw for 400-plus yards in his debut. And even though he was owned in just 1% of Yahoo leagues, that’s something we can’t ignore. White, who entered Week 8 as Yahoo’s QB30, finished as QB3 on the week behind just Josh Allen and the aforementioned Garoppolo. His six explosive plays of 16 yards or more ranked fifth in the league while four of those went for 20 or more yards. White’s 8.8 yards per drop back ranked him QB3 behind Matthew Stafford and Garoppolo while 82% of his passes were deemed catchable — caught or dropped. His 404 passing and rushing yards led all signal-callers, too.
Cooper Rush, QB, Dallas Cowboys
Rush was added in 7% of Yahoo leagues last week, essentially as a Dak Prescott insurance policy, and those who did so were treated to far better than a second-string performance. Rush, who entered as QB29, finished Week 8 as QB12 in points scored. He was a better Week 8 option than, and get this, Aaron Rodgers, Justin Herbert, Kirk Cousins and Kyler Murray — four of the best fantasy signal-callers on the season. Rush was QB2 in air yards per completion (7.7) and QB3 in explosive plays or 16 or more yards (seven). His 396 total air yards were the most of any quarterback as he completed 24 of his 40 passes for 325 yards and two touchdowns.
