Week 8 Monday Night Fantasy Football Takeaways: Steelers' Calvin Austin Steps Up in Win | Tyrone Tracy Leads Giants' Backfield Before Injury

Week 8 of the NFL season wrapped up with a game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants.

Let’s discuss some fantasy football takeaways from the contest. Also be sure to check out the fantasy takeaways from Sunday’s games, along with the IDP roundup.

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Game Stats

Pittsburgh finished with 426 total yards, with 278 passing yards and 167 yards on the ground. The Steelers turned the ball over once, were called for five penalties and got sacked four times.

New York finished with 394 total yards, with 157 on the ground and 264 through the air. The Giants had two turnovers, 11 penalties and gave up four sacks.

For all the offensive yards, only three touchdowns were scored, and one of those was a special teams score.

Austin Leads Steelers

Calvin Austin scored both of the Pittsburgh touchdowns on Monday.

The team’s first touchdown came late in the third quarter, when Austin returned a punt 73 yards for a touchdown. Early in the fourth quarter, he caught a 29-yard touchdown pass from Russell Wilson.

Austin finished with 54 receiving yards on three catches and four targets. It was the second-most yards Austin had in a game this season. He had four targets in Wilson’s first start, catching one for 36 yards.

Austin doesn’t have crazy fantasy numbers this season, but he’s definitely an option in deeper leagues. If your league rewards punt returners, he can also earn you some points that way.

I’m not quite ready to add Austin in standard leagues, but another solid outing could get him there.

Wilson Solid Again

In his second start, Wilson completed 20 of his 28 passes for 278 yards, a touchdown and no picks. He added seven rushing yards on three carries and also lost a fumble.

Through two games, Wilson has 542 passing yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions and has completed 63.2% of his passes. He’s added 10 rushing yards and a score on six carries.

Those numbers don’t necessarily jump off the page, but they are solid enough to put Wilson in the streaming conversation every week. If you have been struggling to find a permanent fantasy starter at QB, Wilson might be worth a shot.

Harris Dominant Again

Najee Harris has been trending up of late, and he turned in another big game on Monday.

He rushed 19 times for 114 yards. Harris had 17 receiving yards on three catches and four targets.

That’s now three straight games in which Harris has topped 100 total yards. Monday was the first time in that span that he didn’t score a touchdown.

Harris has a brutal schedule coming up, at least on paper, so now might be the time to sell high on Harris.

Another reason why I wouldn’t mind moving Harris is because Jaylen Warren is stealing a good amount of work and snaps each week. Warren had 46 rushing yards on nine carries and 13 receiving yards on two catches and three targets this week.

Warren is in the flex-starter conversation in standard leagues, but with all those tough matchups coming up, chances are he’ll be on the wrong side of things more often. He’s a better deep league fantasy option.

Pickens, Jefferson the Top Wideouts

Along with Austin, George Pickens and Van Jefferson each turned in good games on Monday.

Pickens had 74 yards on four catches and five targets. Jefferson also caught four of his five targets, but for 62 yards.

Pickens has 185 yards and a score on nine grabs and 14 targets with Wilson at quarterback. He’s not a top-end fantasy wideout with those numbers, but they make him a weekly starter.

Jefferson only had 15 receiving yards, but scored once in Wilson’s first start. He’s become a better deep-league starting option over the past two games, and could eventually work his way into standard league lineups with more production going forward.

Outside Pickens, Jefferson and Austin, no other Pittsburgh pass catcher had over 30 receiving yards.

Darnell Washington outproduced starting tight end Pat Freiermuth. Washington had a 29-yard catch on his lone target. Freiermuth had 19 yards on two catches and targets.

Tracy, Slayton Lead Giants Offensively

Many of us expected the Giants to have Tyrone Tracy and Devin Singletary split the backfield workload with both guys healthy, but Tracy was the clear leader on Monday.

Tracy had 145 rushing yards and a score on 20 carries, while adding five receiving yards on two catches and three targets. Singletary had just two carries for 11 yards and 12 receiving yards on two grabs and three targets. 

Tracy played 41 snaps to just 28 for Singletary.

The only negative for Tracy is that he suffered a concussion in the fourth quarter. On a short week, it seems unlikely that he’d be able to play in week 9, but you’ll need to monitor his status throughout the week.

When both backs are healthy, Tracy looks to be the clear leader. As the Giants fall further and further out of the playoff picture, it makes sense to turn to the younger Tracy, so they can see what they have for the future.

Darius Slayton was the top pass catcher for New York, going for 108 yards on four catches and seven targets. 

It was a nice bounceback outing for Slayton, who had just 11 yards on a catch and three targets last week. He and Wan'Dale Robinson will battle most weeks for targets behind clear No. 1 wideout Malik Nabers.

Slayton needs to be added in a bunch of leagues going into week 9. You don’t have to start him in the upcoming week, but at least stash him to see if he can build on what he did in week 8.

Nabers had seven catches on 13 targets on Monday. He finished with 71 yards.

You’d like to see Nabers catch more passes and finish closer to 100 yards, but the big target total is the big key stat. That makes Nabers a good/great weekly starting option.

Robinson had 30 yards on five catches and targets. That’s now a few down games in a row for Robinson. He’s a better deep league starting option, especially in PPR formats.

Is Johnson Breaking Out?

Tight end Theo Johnson finished with 35 yards on three catches and four targets.

It might not seem like a big performance, but it’s noteworthy for those of you in deeper leagues and dynasties. He’s got at least 30 yards and three catches in three of the past four games - unfortunately, the one outlier game there was a zero-target game.

I like the progress Johnson has shown as a rookie and like his long-term outlook. It might take an injury to a wideout to get him more involved this season, but in the right matchups and deep fantasy leagues, Johnson could be good for a few fantasy points a week.

IDP Standouts

New York’s Bobby Okereke finished with 14 combined tackles, 0.5 sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovered. It was his first time over eight tackles in a game this season. He does have 55 total tackles, two sacks and several splash plays this season though, and that makes him a good fantasy option in IDP leagues.

Giants’ Azeez Ojulari had seven combined tackles, including two sacks. It was easily the most tackles he’s had in a game this season, but the third straight game he’s had a sack in. He’ll be added in a bunch of IDP leagues to see if he can keep the sacks piling up.

Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt finished with seven combined tackles, two sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovered. Everyone knows Watt is one of the best defensive players (if not the best) in the league. He’s owned in just about every IDP league and should be starting every week.

Steelers’ Beanie Bishop had five tackles and an interception. The past two weeks, Bishop has 11 tackles and three interceptions. The picks likely aren’t sustainable, but he’ll get plenty of waiver wire love, and rightfully so.

Alex Highsmith had the other two sacks for Pittsburgh. He had four total tackles and had six QB hits. He’s reached four tackles in four of the five games he’s played this season, and now has three total sacks. Maybe Monday’s game will get him going in the sack department again.