McCaffrey (thigh) questionable to return to Week 7

Lemon led the team in receiving for the second consecutive game without both DeVonta Smith and Dontayvion Wicks, although the returns were nothing to write home about in Week 8. Largely confined to a short area role, Lemon’s nine targets were mostly the product of the offense’s inability to attack downfield and carry weak per-target upside, a trend likely to continue for as long as Tanner McKee remains under center. That leaves fantasy managers in a precarious position heading into a Week 9 showdown against the Giants, where better options likely exist.

Barkley showed clear limitations as he played through hamstring and back injuries, routinely spotted on the sideline riding the stationary bike and getting stretched out by trainers as he rotated with Elijah Mitchel. The Philadelphia offense remained largely ineffective as they gained only 268 yards of total offense, while Barkley’s longest carry of the game went for only five yards against a solid Washington run defense. Fantasy managers will want to consider their alternatives when the Eagles face the Giants in Week 9.

The Eagles scored the first 10 points of the game as they looked to be in control early. Things quickly went south following numerous mental mistakes, penalties, and poor execution, eventually leading to the Commanders scoring 27 straight to send Philadelphia to their sixth consecutive loss. The Eagles continue to have no downfield ability while playing through mounting injuries, with their longest play of the game coming on the final play from scrimmage on a meaningless down. That leaves very little room for error with things like penalties, drops, and sacks, all of which were present in Week 8. McKee and the Eagles limp into another divisional matchup in Week 9 against the Giants, where McKee will carry negligible fantasy value.

According to Zrebiec, Fagnano “was hobbled by game’s end, after he took a low and penalized hit” from Bills DL Ed Oliver. Fagnano said he and the team will have to wait and “see” how he is feeling in the coming days, noting that “you’re always going to have bumps and bruises” after a football game. Lamar Jackson (thumb) is already headed to injured reserve and Tyler Huntley will undergo an MRI tomorrow to assess a potential turf toe injury. Zrebiec rightly writes that the Ravens “will almost certainly have to bring in at least one quarterback, if not two,” this week. He lists Anthony Richardson and Tua Tagovailoa as potential trade targets. At this point, it is unclear who will start for the Ravens on Thursday night.

Tomorrow’s MRI should clarify whether Huntley will miss time. In the meantime, Lamar Jackson will be placed on injured reserve with what could be a season-ending thumb injury. This leaves rookie Joe Fagnano as the team’s potential starter for the Ravens’ Week 9 Thursday Night Football game against the Jaguars, though Fagnano reportedly got a little banged up today, too. Stay tuned.

This is the first time this season that Steichen has left open the possibility of replacing Daniel Jones as the team’s official starter. Anthony Richardson replaced him in-game today, with just under 12 minutes remaining. It seems as though Richardson, or even fellow backup Riley Leonard, could end up playing next week against the Cowboys’ fantasy-friendly defense.

Fittingly, Nix’s longest completion of the day was a dump-off to Jonah Coleman that the rookie turned into a 51-yard gain. Nix has two completions of 50+ yards this year. Both have gone to running backs on throws near or behind the line of scrimmage. On the other hand, when Nix did push the ball downfield versus Kansas City, he was largely effective. He completed 4-of-6 throws farther than nine yards downfield. It was a small step in the right direction after weeks of middling production on intermediate and downfield shots. Nix will look to build on this performance versus a beatable Carolina defense in Week 9. He will sit somewhere near the top of the QB2 ranks.

Engram was not a meaningful part of the Broncos’ offense, per usual. He has three catches for 15 yards over his past three appearances. It goes without saying, but Engram isn’t even on the TE2 radar for Week 9.

Sutton’s 53 yards today are now a season-high, as are his four receptions. That, however, largely speaks to how unproductive he has been this year. Sutton has more games under 20 yards than over 40. He also has just one touchdown through eight games. His signs of life versus the Chiefs will keep him in the WR5 ranks for Week 9, but the ceiling remains nonexistent.

Stevens said that this trade “could happen at any moment,” telling Broncos Country that they “might not want to go to sleep.” While this could be hyperbole, it sounds like Stevens is saying the trade could go down tonight. Stevens said he’s had conversations with multiple people on the matter, and the Broncos “know that this is not the time to wait and develop” young running backs. Stevens closed by reminding viewers that the Broncos were very interested in Breece Hall at one point, and added that there are likely other backup plans that the Broncos could be considering.