Fantasy winners and losers from Week 8: Broncos and the rest

Breaking down the fantasy football winners and losers from week 8 of the NFL season

It’s time once again to take a look at the men who had you talking smack to your friends as well as those whose names you cursed under your breath. Let’s take a look at fantasy’s biggest winners and losers from week 8.

Broncos Winners

QB Russell Wilson

Wilson mainly served as a game manager throughout the contest, throwing for just 119 yards and letting the run game set the tone, but he found the end zone three times. Any QB who throws three touchdowns is going to do your team some good despite his yardage, and he added 30 yards on the ground as well. It was a solid bounce back game for Wilson, who had struggled in recent weeks, although he clearly still has room to grow, particularly on third downs (or fourth downs when the team goes for it). If he can start executing on those downs, he could really propel the team to a solid second half of the season.

RB Javonte Williams

And for the first time since 2021, the Broncos RB1 FINALLY found the end zone. He also exceeded 80+ yards rushing for the second straight game and is showing the explosiveness he flashed as a rookie, something that lacked early in the season. Perhaps finding his sea legs took a bit longer than many thought following his injury, but he appears to be the best version of himself at this point in the season. He will be critical to the Broncos moving forward and could be critical to your fantasy lineup if he starts getting more red zone looks.

Broncos Defense

Raise your hand if you started the Broncos defense this past week. Now put it down, because you’re a freaking liar. The unit held the Chiefs to sub-10 points and no touchdowns despite the Denver offense struggling to move the ball and forced four turnovers. Whatever Vance Joseph and this unit have been doing, they should keep doing it. Chances are they are not rostered in your league, so they may be worth a pickup.

Broncos Losers

Broncos Receivers

When your QB throws for just 119 yards, it’s tough to shine, but despite having a touchdown a piece, Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton were otherwise completely quiet. And Marvin Mims once again was a ghost. It appears Payton wants to implement a run-first, control-the-clock type of offense at least in the short term, so be weary when picking your receivers when it comes to the Broncos players.

RB Samaje Perine

Yeah, at this point, if he’s still on anyone’s roster, it’s probably because your season is already lost and you stopped paying attention. God bless him, he’s still solid in protection and can catch it out of the backfield, but he’s not a fantasy option now and won’t be the rest of the season as long as Jaleel McLaughlin stays healthy.

Best of the Rest – Week Eight Winners from Around the League

TEN QB Will Levis

Welcome to the league, rookie. The big-armed signal caller out of Kentucky got his first start of the season in place of an injured Ryan Tannehill and threw for 238 yards, four touchdowns, and zero turnovers. It’s his first action, so it’s tough to be too celebratory given the nonexistence of scouting reports on him, but for now he should enjoy it. And given Tannehill’s relative mediocre season, Levis may need to get comfortable in the driver’s seat.

PHI WR AJ Brown

This dude is simply on fire. In six straight games, he’s had at least six catches and 127 yards. He also has three touchdowns in that time. On Sunday, he had two to go along with 130 yards, catching all eight of his targets. He’s been elite this season and should be cemented in every lineup he’s in.

Week Eight Losers from Around the League

DAL RB Tony Pollard

He had high expectations entering the season as the team’s RB1 after playing so admirably (arguably much better) than Ezekiel Elliot the past couple of seasons, but he has really struggled with that role this season. On a day where the Dallas Cowboys scored 43 points, none could be attributed to Pollard, who just had 53 yards rushing on the day. He’s averaged just 40 yards rushing per game the past four games and is looking less and less like an every week starter. If you have better options, it might be time to make the switch.

LAR WR Cooper Kupp

No one on the Rams did much of anything this past week, but Kupp especially struggled for the second straight week. He was targeted a team-high 10 times, but only caught four of those for 21 yards and no touchdowns. This comes after a week when he caught just two passes for 29 yards. When you’re catching only 35% of your targets, something is not right, and it might be time to rethink starting Kupp until he can figure out what’s going on.