Lance's 2021 Week 8 Predictions
Last Week: 8-5
Overall Record: 69-38
I fell behind on my articles this week, so I kept my responses short and quick on this one to make sure it would be posted before the Thursday night game.
Arizona over Green Bay
Should be a fun duel in the desert, Arizona’s looked like the more complete team.
Cincinnati over NY Jets
The Bengals are a force, meanwhile the Jets are trying to find their footing.
Tennessee over Indianapolis
Indy should put up more of a fight this time around, but I like Henry to dominate once again.
LA Rams over Houston
Don’t read too much into Detroit’s play against the Rams last week, this is an easy choice.
Cleveland over Pittsburgh
Keenum or Mayfield won’t be the difference maker, it’ll be Cleveland’s run game.
Detroit over Philadelphia
If the Lions are going to win a game this season this will be the one.
San Francisco over Chicago
Two Quarterbacks coming off bad games, it’s more likely the veteran bounces back quicker.
Atlanta over Carolina
The Falcons are climbing while the Panthers free fall. I’m taking Atlanta, but I’m excited to see how Darnold bounces back from the benching.
Buffalo over Miami
Miami should make it more interesting than you might think, but Buffalo’s still the right pick.
LA Chargers over New England
The Pats run game is a good fantasy bet this week, but I don’t think that will be enough for them to come away with the win.
Jacksonville over Seattle
Jacksonville has been very bad against the pass, but Geno Smith taking advantage of that would be surprising. Plus, Seattle’s defense has been pretty bad overall (surprising Monday night performance aside).
Denver over Washington
I had a hard time choosing between these two disappointing teams, so I went with the home team.
New Orleans over Tampa Bay
It feels like Fournette has been a much needed catalyst for Tampa over the last few weeks. The Saints are very good at taking the run away, and Tampa’s secondary is in more dire straits than New Orleans’ is.
Minnesota over Dallas
I think this will be an explosive fun game that could very well come down to who has the ball last, so I took my team.
Kansas City over NY Giants
The Giants offense when it’s on is plenty good enough to torch Kansas City’s defense, but the Chiefs offense is more reliable.
Fantasy Starts and Sits
Record for QBs, TEs, Ks, and Ds is based on if they finished top 12 or not
Record for RBs and WRs is based on if they finished top 24 or not.
QB Record: 9-5
QB Start: Jameis Winston vs Tampa Bay
It’s a revenge game for Winston against a flimsy Tampa secondary.
QB Sit: Tua Tagovailoa at Buffalo
He’s had two good games since coming back, but this isn’t the defense to start him against.
RB Record: 9-5
RB Start: Kenneth Gainwell at Detroit
It’s looking like Sanders won’t play, but even if he does Philly will likely lighten his workload by utilizing Gainwell more in a terrific matchup against the Lions.
RB Sit: Leonard Fournette at New Orleans
Fournette has had 15+ points in each of the last four weeks, but the Saints have one of the best rush defenses in the league. He’s in line for a letdown week.
WR Record: 7-7
WR Start: Jarvis Landry vs Pittsburgh
Landry saw 8 targets in his first game, he should be the focal point of the passing game in a matchup against a weak group of Corners.
WR Sit: Tee Higgins at NY Jets
His 15 targets last week are promising, but prior to that he had combined for 13 targets in the previous two weeks and this is a tough matchup.
TE Record: 10-4
TE Start: Evan Engram at Kansas City
He’s coming off his highest target and reception total of the season and the Chiefs have allowed a touchdown to Tight Ends in three straight games.
TE Sit: Jared Cook vs New England
The Pats have been better in coverage against Tight Ends than they have Receivers, and the Chargers can easily adjust by just pegging Allen and Williams with targets.
K Record: 6-8
K Start: Jake Elliott at Detroit
Elliott has only hit 2 points in each of the last two weeks, however, Detroit has allowed 9+ points to Kickers in all but two games.
K Sit: Matt Prater vs Green Bay
On the opposite end of the kicking spectrum is Green Bay who has only allowed one Kicker to score 9 points against them.
Defense Record: 8-6
Defense Start: Atlanta Falcons vs Carolina
Atlanta’s done alright the last couple weeks, and this is a plus matchup since the Panthers have had 9 turnovers and allowed 18 sacks over the last four weeks.
Defense Sit: New England Patriots at LA Chargers
If you picked the Pats up for their game against the Jets last week, now is a good time to drop them, the Chargers are averaging 24.7 PPG, and opposing defenses are averaging just 4.3 points in fantasy.