We survived a week with a stacked list of players out on bye. It should be much easier this week.

The Las Vegas Raiders and Baltimore Ravens are the only two teams on bye this week. This could be a rough week if you have QB Lamar Jackson, but you should be able to find adequate replacements for the other guys.

There are a few games that have big talent discrepancies. The Bengals, Rams and Bills all face bottom-feeding teams this week.

Here is our Fantasy Football Sit/Start for Week 8 of the 2021 NFL season…and enjoy our awesome MS Paint masterpiece of QB Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals.

I want to explain what I mean by “sit” and “start.” Of course you are going to start some of the guys i say to bench this week, because you probably used high draft picks or a lot of money in an auction for them. My ‘sit’ players are guys I am just not completely sold that they will have good weeks. If you have a guy that you are on the fence about, maybe this will help you pick between the players.

START’EM

• QB Joe Burrow (Cincinnati Bengals) – Burrow is coming off one of his best games as a pro. He had 416 passing yards and three touchdowns in their blowout win against the Ravens. He found WR Ja’Marr Chase eight times for 201 yards and a touchdown. He should have another good outing against the Jets this weekend.
• WR Cole Beasley (Buffalo Bills) – The Bills have a good match-up against the Dolphins on Sunday. Miami’s pass defense has been mostly horrible this season. I expect this game could be out-of-reach in the second-half and the Bills will run the ball and pass short. Beasley should get more than a half-dozen targets in this one.
• TE Ricky Seals-Jones (Washington Football Team) – I listed Seals-Jones in this section last week and it paid off. He caught six of seven targets for 51 yards. Washington’s offense struggled last week, so they didn’t have many red zone opportunities. I expect him to get plenty of targets this week against the Broncos.
• RB Elijah Mitchell (San Francisco 49ers) – The Niners running game has been a mixed bag with a handful of running backs each having at least one solid outing this season. I was in on Mitchell early this season, but he was dealing with an injury and lost his spot for a few games. He rushed for 108 yards against the Colts last week and has a good match-up this week against the Bears.
• QB Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City Chiefs) – Everyone is freaking out about Mahomes this season, but he will be fine. His defense is giving up too many points and he’s without his starting running back. He’s trying to hit too many home runs and throwing too many picks. He has a good match-up this week against the Giants on Monday Night Football. I think you’ll see the old Mahomes in that game.
• Cincinnati Bengals Defense & Special Teams – The Bengals face the Jets who are set to start backup QB Mike White. Jets rookie QB Zach Wilson injured his PCL in his knee and will miss a few weeks. White didn’t play well in relief last week and threw two interceptions. The Bengals D/ST should score double-digits this week.
• WR Russell Gage (Atlanta Falcons) – Gage returned from an ankle injury last week and caught four passes for 67 yards and a touchdown. He is a solid WR2 for Atlanta and has a good match-up against the Panthers patchwork secondary. Gage could be a nice flex option for you.
• RB Michael Carter (New York Jets) – The Jets will give QB Mike White a barebones playbook with short passes. Carter is the Jets running back with the best hands and he caught eight passes last week. It looks like RB Ty Johnson could be out due to a concussion and Carter should get RB1 touches against the Bengals.
• TE Zach Ertz (Arizona Cardinals) – The Cardinals haven’t traditionally had a tight end-friendly offense, but they are looking for Ertz in the red zone since acquiring him. He has caught a touchdown pass in back-to-back games. He should get a few looks on Thursday night against the Packers.
• WR Kalif Raymond (Detroit Lions) – Raymond led all Lions wide receivers in targets last week against the Rams. He caught six passes for 115 yards in the loss. The shocking part about that game was that WR Amon-Ra St. Brown wasn’t targeted a single time in the game. He was matched-up against Rams CB Jalen Ramsey, so that may explain his goose egg. I wouldn’t completely bail on St. Brown, but I like what I saw from Raymond last week.
• RB Tony Pollard (Dallas Cowboys) – Pollard is still owned in less than 60% of leagues and I don’t understand it. Yes, he’s RB2 for the Cowboys, but they run the ball and throw short enough that Pollard will score more fantasy points than over half of the league’s starting running backs. He should have a dozen+ touches against the Vikings on Sunday Night Football.
• Los Angeles Chargers Defense & Special Teams – The Chargers defense has been dog shit in their last two games, but I expect them to bounce-back against the Patriots. They are coming off their bye week and they have enough studs on defense to figure out their issues. Patriots QB Mac Jones could have a rough outing on Sunday.
• QB Trevor Lawrence (Jacksonville Jaguars) – This is more for deeper leagues. If you have Lamar Jackson or Derek Carr in a deeper league and need to add a streaming quarterback, I think Lawrence could have one of his better games this week against the Seahawks. He got the monkey off his back after winning his first game and he is coming off his bye week.

SIT’EM

• RB David Johnson (Houston Texans) – Johnson is still owned in a little more than a quarter of all leagues. I could see having him on your roster in a deep PPR league, but I’d rather grab Jets RB Michael Carter or maybe even Bucs RB Ronald Jones II (who is owned in roughly the same amount of leagues).
• QB Kirk Cousins (Minnesota Vikings) – Cousins has a difficult task ahead of him on Sunday night. He faces the Cowboys stingy pass defense. He has some studs at wide receiver, but he will need to play out of his mind to put up above average fantasy numbers.
• WR Tyler Lockett (Seattle Seahawks) – Lockett’s numbers have taken a hit since QB Geno Smith relieved injured Russell Wilson. He has a better match-up this week against Jacksonville, but I don’t see Seattle trusting Smith enough to target Lockett on any deep routes. He’s a flex start, at best, but I’m probably going to bench him until Wilson returns.
• RB Mark Ingram II (Houston Texans) – Yes, I’m listing a second Texans running back in this section. They face the Rams who should be able to lock down the Texans running game. I expect the game to be out of hand in the second-half and Ingram may not even be in the game much since they will need to throw the ball.
• QB Jameis Winston (New Orleans Saints) – Winston faces his old team this week and it could be ugly. I don’t see Tampa Bay giving up many passing yards in this one. The Saints defense is good enough that they could limit the Bucs a bit on offense, so this could be a lower scoring game than many expect. Winston struggled against the Seahawks on too many drives and it was a miracle they came away with the win in that game.
• WR Marquez Callaway (New Orleans Saints) – Callaway was a trendy add last weekend due to all the bye weeks, but he didn’t pay off. The Saints passing offense is going to streaky this year. It really depends on if a wide receiver can get some yards after the catch. I’d rather pick up Bills WR Cole Beasley or Falcons WR Russell Gage.
• TE O.J. Howard (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) – Howard had six catches and a touchdown against the Eagles in Week 6, but he followed that with one catch for nine yards last week. He’s also dealing with an ankle injury, which doesn’t help his fantasy stock. The Bucs will flirt with a non-Gronk tight end at times, but they mostly ignore the position when Gronk is out. I’d rather own Jaguars TE Dan Arnold or Patriots TE Hunter Henry.
• Tennessee Titans Defense & Special Teams – The Titans travel to Indianapolis to face the Colts on Sunday. They beat the Colts 25-16 a few weeks ago, but Indy is playing a lot better now. Their defense has stepped up with a healthy LB Darius Leonard and the offense have found its groove with stud RB Jonathan Taylor breaking some big runs. The Titans defense could have trouble against the Colts.
• TE Evan Engram (New York Giants) – It wasn’t that long ago that Engram was a top-five fantasy tight end. The Giants offense isn’t very good so he’s not getting any red zone targets, which is killing his fantasy stock. He got a season-high eight targets against the Panthers last week, but only had 44 yards. I’d rather roll the dice with a touchdown-dependent tight end like Packers TE Robert Tonyan than Engram right now.
• Green Bay Packers Defense & Special Teams – The Packers have a tough match-up on a short week. They travel to Arizona to face the Cardinals on Thursday Night Football. Arizona has scored 30+ points in six of their seven games. Their offense is playing great and I’d rather stream Bengals D/ST or 49ers D/ST this week.

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About the Author…

Bobby Roberts (otherwise known as Sweetbob) is the creator of ‘America’s White Boy’ and contributor at Project Shanks. His writing has been featured on ESPN’s ‘SportsNation’, Sports Illustrated’s Hot Clicks, Guyspeed, and various other sites. You can follow him on Twitter at @Sweetbob.