Welcome to my Fantasy Football Analysis for Week 8! 

I never thought that I would say this, but the New York Jets looked surprisingly good for the first time in a very long time. Mike White led the Jets to a very narrow victory against the Cincinnati Bengals, winning 34–31 in one of the week’s highest-scoring games. White pulled away with 405 receiving yards and three passing touchdowns, which largely overshadowed the two interceptions he threw in an incredibly impressive showing. Look to see if he can continue putting up performances like this for the rest of the year, or if this was just a one-hit-wonder. If anyone is in need of a quarterback, he merits some consideration if his numbers continue to be as stellar as they were this week. 

Michael Carter also contributed to the Jets’ incredible offensive performance this week, putting away the best running back numbers with 77 rushing yards, a rushing touchdown, nine receptions and 95 receiving yards. While their defensive performance is still in need of some work, the Jets surprisingly showed that they have the potential to be an offensive powerhouse in the future and can no longer be treated as an easy win by opposing teams. Hopefully, I’m not proven wrong next week, but knowing the Jets, I would not be surprised. 

The Tennessee Titans narrowly pulled away with the win against the Indianapolis Colts in what ended up being an offensive shootout, ending in the same score as the Jets and Bengals. Tennessee’s A.J. Brown had the team’s best wide receiver performance with 155 receiving yards, 10 receptions and one receiving touchdown. Indianapolis’ Michael Pittman Jr. matched Brown’s performance, leading his team with 10 receptions, 86 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns.  

Both Calvin Ridley and Derrick Henry met an end to their season in one of the sadder weeks for my fantasy teams.  After missing two of the last three weeks due to personal issues, Ridley posted a tweet Sunday morning saying that he would be leaving the NFL for the foreseeable future due to mental health issues. Now, I have to start Tyler Lockett, who finally had a breakout week the one time I benched him after several weeks of subpar performances. Henry, probably the best player on my other fantasy team, was declared out for six to 10 weeks due to a foot injury. Despite his early departure from the season, it was good having him on my team while it lasted; his playing time cemented his role as the league’s best running back.

Waiver Wire: 

Jeremy McNichols (RB, Tennessee Titans) 

Many of you will ultimately end up turning to the most obvious candidate as you look to recover from losing Henry. McNichols, who as of right now is the primary running back — alongside Adrian Peterson for some reason — has largely been a third down running back behind Henry’s dominating presence on the field. While he will no longer be competing for playtime, I am not confident in his ability to perform as an RB1, even with the possibility of Adrian Peterson running a committee with him. Until either of them puts up consistently impressive performances, I would hold off from using your wire pick on them just yet.  

Boston Scott (RB, Philadelphia Eagles) 

Putting together a second straight week of decent performances, Scott is definitely a better and more reliable addition to your team. However, he faces competition in the robust Eagles offense from Kenneth Gainwell, who has largely put up subpar performances, and Jordan Howard, who managed to score two rushing touchdowns on 12 attempts. With Scott and Howard being largely even in their performances this week, it is difficult to say who will end up being prioritized in the long run. Both Scott and Howard have more pros than McNichols and Peterson, though.

Next week, I am most looking forward to the Buffalo Bills versus Jacksonville Jaguars, which I predict to be a blowout in the Bills’ favor just like against the Dolphins this week. I would definitely consider starting anyone on the Bills next week. Don’t even get me started on Emmanuel Sanders, I have no clue why that happened. See you then!