Welcome to the first Bye-mageddon of the year. It feels worse than normal because not only do we have six (SIX!) teams on a bye, but there are also a lot of injuries to huge players. Not counting the players already out for the year, the expectation this week is, as I write this Wednesday night, we’ll be without Omarion Hampton, Garrett Wilson, maybe Lamar Jackson, Darren Waller, maybe Nico Collins, Mike Evans, Bucky Irving, Chris Godwin, Jayden Daniels and maybe Terry McLaurin, Deebo Samuel and Chase Brown. Wait, what? (Listens while holding a finger to my ear)… Huh. You sure?
Apologies. I’m told Chase Brown isn’t hurt he just produces like it.
Sigh.
Anyways, I feel like this year it’s uglier on a weekly basis than ever before and now we get to this week. Buckle up, as Rico Dowdle once opined. It’s about to get bumpier than normal.
Before we start, a quick reminder – any Utilization stats you read below come from Dwain McFarland and his incredible Utilization Report on FantasyLife.com, which, by the way, is now FREE.
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A reminder to catch Fantasy Football Happy Hour every weekday at Noon ET on YouTube and of course, it’s also available on Peacock, NBC Sports NOW, and wherever you get your podcasts. And every Sunday morning we do Fantasy Football Pregame from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET on Peacock and the NFL on NBC YouTube channel.
Thanks as always to my producer Damian Dabrowski for his help at various points in this column. Here we go.
These are the 10 Facts You Need to Know Before Week 8:
1. Of the seven QBs to face the Dallas Cowboys this year, five of them have scored at least 24 fantasy points.
1A. Not only does Dallas allow the most fantasy points to opposing QBs this year (25.1), it’s three points more per game than any other team in the NFL.
1B. So far this year, Bo Nix is fifth in pass attempts per game.
1C. The Cowboys have also given up the second-most TD passes this season.
2. In four games as a starter this year, Jaxson Dart has 35% of the Giants’ red zone rushing attempts.
2A. He has at least one rushing touchdown in three of those four games.
2C. And yet, last week, 75% of Jaxson Dart’s fantasy points came through the air.
2D. He’s averaging 21.9 PPG in four starts this year, which includes a 23.6-point game the last time he played Philly.
3. In every single game this year, the Cincinnati Bengals allowed at least 16.9 fantasy points to a running back.
3A. Breece Hall is a running back.
3B. So is Isaiah Davis, in case Breece Hall’s knee issue is more serious than we think.
4. This week, as of this writing, the Atlanta Falcons are a 7.5-point favorites over the Miami Dolphins.
4A. In games the Falcons win this year, Tyler Allgeier is averaging 14.7 touches a game.
4B. Over the last four weeks, no team allows more rushing yards per game to opposing RBs than…the Miami Dolphins. They give up 143 yards a game.
5. In five of his last six games, fan favorite Jacory “BILL” Croskey-Merritt has been held to under 11 fantasy points.
5A. That includes both starts by Marcus Mariota.
5B. For the year, BILL has a 5% target share.
5C. He has yet to have a game with more than two targets.
5D. The Commanders are currently 12.5-point underdogs on the road at Kansas City with the third-lowest implied team total on the slate.
5E. Look, I love the kid and it’s such an ugly week, you may be forced to start him, but yeah, keep expectations low.
5F. I bet Jeremy McNichols has a sneaky useful game here.
6. Very quietly, Zay Flowers has at least eight targets this year in every game but two.
6A. This year, WR’s who have seen at least seven targets against the Chicago Bears are averaging 18.9 PPG.
6B. All of this assumes Lamar Jackson is back.
7. Only two teams this year allow more yards per game to the slot than… the New York Football Giants.
7A. So far this year, over 60% of DeVonta Smith’s targets have come in the slot.
7B. For the year, DeVonta Smith: 24.6% target share, 46 targets, 38 rec, 504 yds, 2 TD
7C. For the year, A.J. Brown: 27.3% target share, 51 targets, 29 rec, 395 yds, 3 TD
7D. Just saying.
8. Very quietly, in the three games he’s played this season, Jordan Addison is averaging 17.4 PPG.
8A. He’s had at least 15 points in every one of those games.
8B. Over the last three weeks, he’s the ninth-best wide receiver in fantasy football.
9. In three of their past four games, the Pittsburgh Steelers have given up at least 14 points to an opposing tight end.
9A. To date, the Steelers are allowing the fifth-most yards per game to tight ends.
10. In the games that Mike Evans has missed over the last two years, Cade Otton has a 22% target share.
10A. And he averages 14.2 PPG.
10B. The New Orleans Saints, who the Bucs are facing, have allowed a touchdown to a TE in three of the past four.
