The eighth NFL Sunday of the season was undoubtedly the wildest yet. To help put things in perspective, consider that each of Mike White, Trevor Siemian, Geno Smith and Cooper Rush led their respective teams to victory. Underdogs were practically unstoppable at the NFL betting window and the same can be said for fantasy football. While plenty of big-name stars delivered fruitful performances, there were also a bunch of surprise names at or near the top of the scoreboard in Week 8. Unfortunately, there were also a number of key contributors who failed to deliver in fantasy this week.
The following article looks at some of the biggest fantasy football disappointments from Week 8 of the NFL season across each position. This week’s notable fantasy busts include James Robinson, Justin Jefferson, Kyle Pitts and Derrick Henry.
Week 8 Fantasy Football Disappointments | RB
James Robinson | Jacksonville Jaguars
Stat Line: 4 carries, 22 yards; 1 reception, 17 yards
PPR Fantasy Points: 4.9 (RB48)
It was a rough game all around for the Jaguars on Sunday as they got throttled by the Geno Smith-led Seattle Seahawks. One of the big handicaps that Jacksonville was forced to try and overcome was a foot injury sustained by James Robinson. Reports seem to indicate that the Jags’ best offensive weapon avoided anything serious. However, it greatly reduced his impact on Sunday’s game leading to a disappointing box score in fantasy football. Barring another injury, it’d be a shock to see Robinson finish anywhere close to RB48 for the remainder of the season.
Derrick Henry | Tennessee Titans
Stat Line: 28 carries, 68 yards
PPR Fantasy Points: 6.8 (RB43)
Unlike James Robinson, Derrick Henry was initially treated for a foot injury on Sunday and quickly returned to the game. For the second time this year, Henry was bottled up by the stiff-run defense of the Indianapolis Colts. The NFL’s rushing yards leader could only muster 68 yards on 28 carries, good for just 2.4 yards per carry. It was a very un-Derrick Henry-like performance, to say the least. While many fantasy football analysts viewed him as a top running back in Week 8, he finished outside of the top-40 despite garnering a full workload.
The Titans and fantasy managers alike were dealt a massive blow on Monday morning. After returning to the game, it was announced that Henry’s injury was more serious than initially presumed. He is now scheduled to undergo surgery on Tuesday of this week and will be out anywhere from six to ten weeks. A year after rushing for over 2,000 yards, Henry had been performing even better through Tennessee’s first seven games. Now, the team is left scrambling in the wake of losing their best offensive weapon. The Titans immediately signed veteran Adrian Peterson to a contract early Monday afternoon.
Leonard Fournette | Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Stat Line: 8 carries, 26 yards; 3 receptions, 17 yards
PPR Fantasy Points: 7.3 (RB40)
Much like the Colts, the New Orleans Saints have been among the best defenses in football when it comes to stopping the run this season. That trend continued in their stunning victory over the defending Super Bowl champs on Sunday. It came at the expense of Leonard Fournette in fantasy football. Despite being locked into the lead RB role in his second season with the Buccaneers, Fournette failed to get anything going in the Week 8 loss. He finished with just 43 total yards and 7.3 PPR fantasy points on the week. Tampa Bay’s offense is simply too good for that trend to continue against lesser defensive opponents.
Week 8 Fantasy Football Disappointments | WR
Justin Jefferson | Minnesota Vikings
Stat Line: 2 receptions, 21 yards
PPR Fantasy Points: 4.1 (WR71)
Yikes! If anyone has any answers to what that was out of the Vikings last night, please let me know. Facing a shorthanded Dallas Cowboys outfit that was without its starting quarterback, Minnesota completely laid an egg and lost outright on their home turf. It was a horrendous game all around from the Vikings in terms of fantasy football production. Along with Kirk Cousins and Dalvin Cook, top wideout Justin Jefferson came in well below expectations. He finished with all of two catches for 21 yards and was WR71 on the week in PPR scoring. This marked the first time all season that Jefferson failed to amass at least 12.5 fantasy points.
Courtland Sutton | Denver Broncos
Stat Line: 2 receptions, 40 yards
PPR Fantasy Points: 6.0 (WR60)
The Broncos may have snapped a four-game losing streak on Sunday, but it was another major letdown in terms of fantasy football production. Despite facing a Washington Football Team defense that has leaked yards and points through the air all season long, Courtland Sutton only had two receptions in Week 8. Had they not combined for 40 total yards, he would’ve finished with an even worse stat line than the one that earned him a WR60 finish in PPR on the week.
While there was plenty of optimism surrounding the return of fellow Broncos’ wideout, Jerry Jeudy, to the lineup, he too had a disappointing day at the office. The second-year pro finished with just 39 yards on four catches, good for the WR53 ranking on the week. Other than Melvin Gordon, it was a disappointing fantasy day across the board in Denver. So long as Teddy Bridgewater is starting at quarterback, there is a pretty low ceiling on the value for Sutton, Jeudy and others.
DeVonta Smith | Philadelphia Eagles
Stat Line: 1 reception, 15 yards
PPR Fantasy Points: 2.5 (WR86)
The Eagles routed the Detroit Lions on Sunday with essentially all of their offensive production coming via the ground game. It was rather ironic considering that the team lost lead running back Miles Sanders to an injury just last week. Jalen Hurts attempted all of 14 passes against Detroit, thus hampering the fantasy football outlook for essentially all Eagles pass-catchers. The fact that six of his nine completions were to tight end Dallas Goedert meant that there was very little meat on the bone for Philly’s wideouts. Rookie DeVonta Smith had just one catch for 15 yards in the win, finishing as the WR86 in PPR scoring for the week. After a strong start to the year, Smith has been rather inconsistent in fantasy over the past few weeks.
Week 8 Fantasy Football Disappointments | TE
Kyle Pitts | Atlanta Falcons
Stat Line: 2 receptions, 13 yards
PPR Fantasy Points: 3.3 (TE32)
With Calvin Ridley stepping away from football to focus on his mental health, the consensus opinion was that Kyle Pitts would explode just as he did a few weeks back over in London. That was hardly the case in Atlanta’s Week 8 loss to the Carolina Panthers. Pitts saw his streak of catches made without a drop end and finished with just 13 yards receiving on two catches. The absence of Ridley appeared to work against him on this day as the Panthers keyed their defense around stopping the rookie tight end. As a result, Pitts finished as only the TE32 in PPR fantasy football on the week.
Dalton Schultz | Dallas Cowboys
Stat Line: 2 receptions, 11 yards
PPR Fantasy Points: 3.1 (TE35)
Sometimes, backup quarterbacks target their tight ends more than their receivers. That wasn’t the case for Cooper Rush in the Cowboys’ shocking win on Sunday. As a result, Dalton Schultz turned out to be a massive fantasy football disappointment in Week 8. He finished as the TE35 in PPR formats with just two receptions for 11 total yards. Even though he was a bust this week, Schultz is still the TE5 on the season overall. His value should revert to form as soon as Dak Prescott is back under center for Dallas.
Week 8 Fantasy Football Disappointments | QB
Justin Herbert | Los Angeles Chargers
Stat Line: 18/35 passing, 223 yards, 2 touchdowns, 2 interceptions; 2 carries, 9 yards
PPR Fantasy Points: 13.82 (QB16)
While there were other quarterbacks who finished with fewer fantasy points in Week 8 than Justin Hebert, we typically expect to see the Chargers’ signal-caller finishing much higher. The second-year pro simply got flummoxed by Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots defense on Sunday. Not known for committing turnovers, Herbert threw a pair of brutal picks to further harm his fantasy football production. The QB16 finish marked his second straight game finishing outside of the top-12 at the position. With Los Angeles struggling offensively in back-to-back games, perhaps the praise for Herbert as the next great NFL QB began just a bit too soon.
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