What You Need to Know from Week 8

Minnesota at LA Chargers

• Carson Wentz is done for the season and slated for shoulder surgery. He played through pain and limitations for multiple games because J.J. McCarthy wasn't ready to play. Whether that was because of his Week 2 ankle injury or something else Kevin O'Connell observed is unclear, but McCarthy will start against a ragtag Lions pass defense that played their best game of the season in Week 7 before the bye.
• Justin Jefferson should remain in our lineups, but we might end up adjusting expectations back to the low level he produced at with McCarthy earlier in the season.
• Jordan Addison didn't play in Weeks 1 and 2 with McCarthy. He's a Week 9 what-the-heck flex, and then we'll reevaluate.
• Aaron Jones Sr. returned from injured reserve despite being listed as questionable and only getting in limited practices on a short week. He got more snaps and touches than Jordan Mason and will be more valuable than Mason against a tough second-half schedule. Mason isn't an essential hold in short bench leagues and might be a sabotage drop who clogs up a roster spot without much promise of being consistently startable for the rest of the season.
• T.J. Hockenson is also a dicey Week 9 play against his old team and might end up being droppable.
• Max Brosmer has generated some buzz behind McCarthy and should be on the waiver wire watch list in superflex leagues. He's an add in deep dynasty superflex leagues.
• Kimani Vidal rebounded from a Week 7 dud with a 100+ yard game and a score in the romp. He's an every-week RB2 and could still be a league winner with no sign of Omarion Hampton's return on the horizon.
• Oronde Gadsden posted an elite fantasy tight end stat line and was a big part of the game plan early. His previous big games were explained away by a Quentin Johnston game script and a pass-heavy come-from-behind game plan. It's clear now that Gadsden is here to stay.
• Ladd McConkey has leveled off as the strong WR2 every-week play we expected.
• Johnston did not get a target and might not be more than a what-the-heck flex with the emergence of Gadsden.
• Keenan Allen, not Gadsden, proved to be the player whose value was temporarily inflated by a pass-heavy Week 7 game script. He did only play 18 snaps and caught four passes, but Allen is a mere WR3/Flex play going forward after a hot start.
• Justin Herbert looked very comfortable, and production as both a runner and passer came easily. Left tackle Joe Alt is back, and with him, Herbert's status as an every-week starting fantasy QB1.
• Minnesota's defense wilted against the Chargers and might be in for a rough stretch with the Lions, Ravens, Bears, Packers, Seahawks, Commanders, and Cowboys up over the next seven weeks. We shouldn't fear them when setting lineups.

Miami at Atlanta

• This matchup of bipolar teams gave us a predictably unpredictable result with the Dolphins coming back to life and Kirk Cousins looking like a quarterback on his last leg.
• The Dolphins established the run with more Ollie Gordon II, and both backs caught touchdown passes from Tua Tagovailoa. Gordon is worth adding in deeper leagues, and he's a viable what-the-heck flex against Baltimore on Thursday.
• Tagovailoa threw two more touchdown passes and didn't resemble at all the quarterback who threw six interceptions in the previous two games. He's back to being in QB2/Superflex consideration in Week 9.
• Jaylen Waddle caught one of the touchdowns and had his third great game in four since the team lost Tyreek Hill. The dud came in the wind against the Browns. We should treat him as a strong WR2, of course, subject to change.
• Cousins was held to four three-and-outs in the first five possessions by a team that had given up at least 27 points to everyone except the Justin Fields Jets, who scored 21. The Falcons' pass offense is lining up to be a big underachiever this season. The Atlanta offense's poor game in Week 7 against the 49ers looks more suspect after the Texans had an easy time moving the ball against them in Week 8.
• Kyle Pitts Sr. got a lot of volume to post a good PPR day, but Darnell Mooney was a bust as the WR1 after Drake London was a late scratch with a hip injury. Mooney isn't an essential hold, and London's value is down as long as Mooney is on the field. We'll be monitoring his Week 9 status with a trip to New England on the schedule.
• Bijan Robinson was contained, lost a fumble, and didn't even get the garbage time touchdown. He should be a lot better in Week 9, but this could be the beginning of a downward trend in his fantasy output if the Falcons can't get out of the doldrums. 
• Tyler Allgeier got that garbage-time touchdown, but he is falling on the backup running back value list with the Falcons' week-to-week reliability taking a hit. He's not an essential hold in short bench leagues.

Chicago at Baltimore

• The Bears' running game came in red hot, but didn't get a lot of traction against a Ravens defense that appeared to be revived coming out of their bye. D'Andre Swift scored the team's only touchdown, so he wasn't a bust, but Kyle Monangai was bottled up easily on a limited opportunity. We'll see if the Bears' running game gets on track against a Bengals defense that just got gashed by the Jets' backfield. Swift is still a must start and Monangai a what-the-heck flex.
• Caleb Williams threw the ball 38 times, but had some rough moments under pressure and threw a bad pick at the worst time. This was another confirmation that the team isn't going to build their weekly game plan around the passing game. Williams is still a high-ceiling QB1 in Week 9 with the likelihood of a shootout with Joe Flacco.
• Rome Odunze had a good fantasy showing because the Bears had to pass more, but his value could fluctuate depending on the Bears' ability to keep games on the run-first track with good blocking and defense. He's a strong WR1 play against the Bengals, nonetheless.
• Colston Loveland was modestly productive and should be in lineups as a streaming TE1 in Week 9 if Cole Kmet misses another game with a back injury.
• Tyler Huntley played the game of life, starting out 14 for 15 as a passer and finishing off the win with tough running at the end of a scramble. He posted QB2/Superflex numbers and revived the offense. Lamar Jackson will return for Week 9, but we feel better about the Ravens offense if Jackson misses more time after this game.
• Zay Flowers and Derrick Henry were pleasant surprises with Huntley and should have their high ceilings fully restored with the return of Jackson.

NY Jets at Cincinnati

• Justin Fields had to start because Tyrod Taylor was out with a knee injury. He redeemed himself with a very strong game as a passer, especially late to make up a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter. Aaron Glenn did not name a Week 10 starter, but Fields is still worth an add during his bye if you need a high ceiling option on your bench. 
• Breece Hall looked like and produced like the running back who was in contention to be the first back off of the board in fantasy drafts last year. He even threw the game-winning touchdown to rookie tight end Mason Taylor. Everyone has their best game against the Bengals, it seems, but we should be more excited to have Hall going forward, even if the Jets don't trade him during their bye.
• Joe Flacco passed another test, this time against a Jets defense that had played well for the last two games coming into this one. He even scored on a sneak and got a first down with a 13-yard scramble. Flacco has produced strong QB1 fantasy numbers through his first three starts as a Bengal, and we shouldn't expect that to change going forward.
• Chase Brown scored twice and finally posted the kind of strong RB1 game, aided by a productive offense that we expected all season. He's a strong RB2 going forward.
• Even Samaje Perine scored from 32 yards out and piled up 92 yards on his nine carries. The Jets defense got pushed around, something to watch after the bye. In the meantime, Perine now looks like a back with weekly desperation play value and a high ceiling if Chase Brown goes down.
• Ja'Marr Chase got 19 of Joe Flacco's targets compared to 14 for everyone else combined. It is going to be fun to have Chase in PPR leagues as long as Flacco is in.

Buffalo at Carolina

• Josh Allen posted a solid fantasy game even though he only threw the ball 19 times, thanks to two rushing scores, including one set up by an A.J. Epenesa interception return to the one. Allen has a brighter outlook for Week 9 against the Chiefs in a game that will surely ask him to do more as a passer.
• James Cook continues to run about as well as any back in the league. He has been a strong RB1 and not on the back of copious short touchdowns, and with little opportunity in the passing game.
• Khalil Shakir still came through for fantasy teams thanks to the burst and elusiveness after the catch he showed on his 54-yard touchdown. He's a solid WR3/Flex play against the Chiefs in what should be a game where the Bills need him to come up big.
• Dalton Kincaid returned from the knee issue that sidelined him in Week 6 before the bye. He only caught one pass, but we should chalk that up to the game script. He's still a high-ceiling TE1 play in Week 9 and will hopefully improve to full practices and no injury status after being questionable with limited practices in Week 8.
• Andy Dalton was terrible in this game and definitely limited the potential of the Panthers' offense compared to Bryce Young, who should return from his high ankle sprain in Week 9 in a tough road matchup against the Packers. Any time Dalton starts again this season, we should lower expectations for the Panthers.
• Chuba Hubbard got more snaps and touches than Rico Dowdle, including the garbage time score, but Dowdle was clearly the better runner, and head coach Dave Canales basically agreed after the game, which paves the way for Dowdle to get a larger share of the backfield going forward. Consider him an RB2 play in Week 9. Hubbard is not an essential hold in short bench leagues.
• Tetairoa McMillan was the one beneficiary of Dalton starting, as the veteran quarterback leaned on his precocious #1 receiver. McMillan is still a WR3/Flex, but he could grow into more in the second half of the season if Young plays well.
• Jalen Coker's role grew to be the primary slot receiver, and he was the #2 target behind McMillan with three catches. Xavier Legette retreated into the background after what looked like a breakout in Week 7. If this offense is going to support a second fantasy wide receiver option, it is more likely that it is Coker than Legette.
• The Panthers lost three offensive linemen to injury during this game. We'll monitor the practice reports to see how this will affect their Week 9 outlook.

San Francisco at Houston