Week 8 Fantasy Football Takeaways: Jameis Winston Makes Browns Good; Kyle Pitts' Breakout has Arrived; Jayden Daniels Dazzles Again and More

Sunday’s Week 8 NFL games included some thrilling finishes and big performances and now it’s time to discuss some fantasy football takeaways from the day.

We’ll grab at least one takeaway from every game.

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Hurts Back to Being Top Fantasy QB

Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts struggled a bit early in the season. He wasn’t putting up fantasy duds, but he also wasn’t turning in top-end scores very often.

Since A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith returned to the lineup, Hurts has been a top-end fantasy QB. He completed 16-of-20 passes for 236 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions on Sunday in a rout of the Bengals. It was Hurts’ rushing ability that led to his big fantasy day, as he had 37 yards and three scores on 10 carries.

Hurts is back into the must-start fantasy territory again, regardless of matchup.

Winston Makes the Browns Good

Jameis Winston helped the Browns stun the Ravens on Sunday.

In his first start, Winstron went 27-of-41 passing for 334 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. He added two rushing yards on two attempts and lost a fumble.

The big-play quarterback did a good job of taking care of the ball and put up huge numbers. He’ll be a popular waiver pickup going into week 9, and should be a decent streaming option for the remainder of the season.

He spread the ball around well, with four pass catchers over 50 yards. Cedric Tillman led the way with 99 yards and two scores on seven catches and nine targets.

Elijah Moore was targeted 12 times, making eight grabs for 85 yards. Jerry Jeudy had 79 yards on five grabs and eight targets. David Njoku had 61 yards and a touchdown on five receptions and seven targets.

The Browns’ offense looked good with Winston back there, and all of a sudden, several pass catchers have more promising fantasy outlooks. If Cleveland can get Nick Chubb going, this offense could be very dangerous.

Weird Fantasy Day for Detroit

The Lions blasted the Titans 52-14, so you’d think several players had huge fantasy days, right? Wrong.

Jared Goff was 12-of-15 passing for just 85 yards. He threw three touchdowns and no picks.

David Montgomery had 38 total yards and a touchdown on 10 touches, while also throwing a touchdown pass. Jahmyr Gibbs was one of the lone standouts as he had 133 total yards and a touchdown on 12 touches.

Sam LaPorta had 48 yards and a score on six catches and targets. Kalif Raymond, Brock Wright and Amon-Ra St. Brown all caught a touchdown, but had under 15 total yards.

The Lions’ offense is absolutely rolling right now, but if they are blowing teams out, there’s a chance not many players deliver great fantasy scores. Fantasy owners are probably looking forward to some tougher matchups and closer contests.

Mixon Emerging as Top Fantasy Back

If it wasn’t for missing a couple weeks with an injury, Joe Mixon might be the top fantasy back in the league. He’s currently averaging the most points per game in PPR formats, but three missed games have him way down the overall leaderboard for the season.

Mixon went for 102 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries in Sunday’s win over the Colts. He added 32 yards on four catches and six targets.

Mixon needs to be in your fantasy lineup every week, at least until further notice. He should be a highly sought-after trade target too.

Jacobs Time Again?

The Packers escaped with a win over the Jaguars in week 8, but lost Jordan Love to a groin injury. We don’t know the severity of the injury yet, but with Love dealing with a couple injuries already this season, the Packers will at least look to protect him a bit more the next couple weeks.

That could mean another heavy workload for Josh Jacobs. He went for 127 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries this week. Most of that came after Love left the game.

Jacobs has been a solid fantasy option most of the season, and could be an even better asset until Love gets past his new injury.

Cardinals’ Offense Gets Going

The Cardinals edged the Dolphins, spoiling the return of Tua Tagovailoa. Arizona’s offense had a big day, with several players standing out.

Kyler Murray had 307 passing yards and two scores on 26-of-36 passing. He added 19 rushing yards on five attempts and didn’t have a turnover.

James Conner had 69 total yards and a touchdown on 22 touches. Trey McBride had 124 receiving yards on nine grabs and 11 targets. Marvin Harrison Jr. went for 111 yards and a score on six catches and seven targets. Michael Wilson had a touchdown on 31 yards on five catches and six targets.

It was a good showing against a tough Miami defense, and could be the start of a hot streak for the Arizona offense.

The Jets are a Mess

New York lost to New England on Sunday, and the Jets’ playoff chances look extremely low.

Aaron Rodgers had an OK showing, with 233 yards, two scores and no picks on 17-of-28 passing. Breece Hall had 89 total yards on 17 touches, but he lost 12 carries and a touchdown to Braelon Allen.

Garrett Wilson had 113 yards on five catches and eight targets. Davante Adams was the only other player over 50 yards, and he only had 54 yards on four catches and six targets.

It’s honestly hard to trust any Jets’ offensive playmaker at this point, and things aren’t looking great moving forward, so I bet a lot of the New York players are big-time fantasy trade options this week.

Pitts Enjoys Big Game

Pitts helped the Falcons beat the Buccaneers on Sunday. The tight end had 91 yards and two scores on four catches and five targets. 

That’s four straight games over 65 yards for Pitts. He’s finally starting to break out, like so many fantasy owners have been hoping for for years.

Get Pitts in those fantasy lineups!

McConkey Emerges for Chargers

The Chargers eased past the Saints on Sunday, with Ladd McConkey enjoying the best fantasy day for LA.

He made catches on all six of his targets for 111 yards and two touchdowns. 

McConkey has at least 25 yards and two catches in every game this season. He’s gotten at least six targets in five straight games, and been over 40 yards in all those games. It’s not crazy production, but he is the team’s top wideout and best fantasy pass catcher, so he should be in a good amount of fantasy lineups.

Coleman, Shakir Deliver Again

Amari Cooper has played two games with Buffalo, and it appears to be helping out Khalil Shakir and Keon Coleman immensely.

On Sunday, Shakir had 109 total yards on 10 touches. He had nine catches and 10 targets. Coleman went for 70 yards and a touchdown on five receptions and seven targets.

Coleman has 195 yards and a touchdown on nine catches and 14 targets since Cooper arrived. Shakir has 172 receiving yards on 16 catches and 17 targets.

Cooper has just 69 yards and a touchdown on five catches and seven targets since joining the Bills. I expect his production to improve over time, but until that happens, Shakir and Coleman both look like fantasy starters in all formats.

Nix Shines Again

Bo Nix has been a pleasant surprise for fantasy owners this season, and he delivered yet again in week 8.

Nix had 284 passing yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions on 28-of-37 passing. He added four rushing yards and a score on five attempts.

He’s still prone to down fantasy outings, but he’s been good in three of the past four games, and really should be starting in more leagues.

Kelce Delivers Vintage Performance

DeAndre Hopkins played his first game in Kansas City, but it was Travis Kelce that stole the show.

Kelce had 90 yards and a touchdown on 10 catches and 12 targets. It was the third time in four games that he went over 70 yards, and the score was his first of the season.

It doesn’t matter who else is there to pass to in KC, at the end of the day, Kelce is still the top option for Patrick Mahomes.

Daniels Dazzles in Walk-Off Win

Jayden Daniels passed for 326 yards and a touchdown, while adding 52 rushing yards on eight attempts. He completed a hail mary as time expired to help the Commanders top the Bears.

Daniels is the real deal and clearly the top pick out of the 2024 draft. He’s already a fantasy star and is an easy start every week.

Kittle, Samuel Lead Niners

There was talk all week about who would step up for the Niners with George Kittle and Deebo Samuel Sr. battling ailments. Both played, and were the top performers in the team’s win over Dallas.

Kittle went off for 128 yards and a touchdown on six catches and seven targets. He’s easily the No. 1 fantasy TE in the game, and there’s absolutely no doubt about it.

Samuel had 71 receiving yards on four catches and seven targets. He added 15 rushing yards on four carries. Samuel has had some inconsistent showings this season, but it’s hard not to start him because of his upside.