Jump to a matchupPhiladelphia Eagles (4–2) at Cincinnati Bengals (3–4)Atlanta Falcons (4–3) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4–2)Indianapolis Colts (4–3) at Houston Texans (5–2)Chicago Bears (4–2) at Washington Commanders (5–2)Dallas Cowboys (3–3) at San Francisco 49ers (3–4)
Week 8 in the NFL had the potential to have many intriguing games, but injuries to star players have turned the schedule upside down.
The matchup between the Chicago Bears and Washington Commanders lost a bit of luster after rookie sensation Jayden Daniels sustained a rib injury in last week’s win against the Carolina Panthers. Daniels’s status is up in the air for this week, perhaps putting on hold the showdown between him and Caleb Williams—the top two picks in this year’s draft.
But while filling in for Daniels in Week 7. This could still be a good test for the Bears, who have wins against the Tennessee Titans, Los Angeles Rams, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Panthers, all teams with losing records.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won’t have wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin for the foreseeable future, making them home underdogs against the Atlanta Falcons. The two teams are tied atop the NFC South standings, but the Falcons hold the tiebreaker thanks to their Week 5 win over the Buccaneers. This game will show whether the Buccaneers can play well without their two star wideouts or whether it’s the beginning of a lost season due to injuries.
The San Francisco 49ers also have injured wide receivers, even aside from Brandon Aiyuk, who sustained a season-ending knee injury last week. Deebo Samuel and Jauan Jennings could be game-time decisions before their matchup against the Dallas Cowboys.
But it’s not all about injuries in Week 8. The Philadelphia Eagles appear to be back to full strength as they head to Cincinnati with a two-game winning streak after wide receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith returned from injuries. The Cincinnati Bengals desperately need this game to keep pace with the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC North.
We’ll also keep tabs on the AFC South battle between the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts. Here’s everything you need to know about the five best games of Week 8, including Gilberto Manzano’s key matchups, Matt Verderame’s key stats, Michael Fabiano’s who to start and who to sit in fantasy, Jennifer Piacenti’s best bets and Conor Orr’s prediction for each game.
SundayPhiladelphia Eagles (4–2) at Cincinnati Bengals (3–4)
When/TV: 1 p.m. ET, CBS
Spread: Bengals -2.5 (over/under: 47.5)
Matchup to watch: Eagles WR A.J. Brown vs. Bengals CB Cam Taylor-Britt. Brown, who’s back to full strength after a nagging hamstring injury, could have a dominant outing against the Bengals’ sluggish secondary. He has 11 catches for 205 yards and two touchdowns in the past two games combined. Taylor-Britt is known for his trash talking, but the Bengals will need him to back it up against Brown. —
Key stat: The Bengals and Eagles have struggled getting pressure, ranking 22nd and 23rd, respectively, in pressure rate. —
Start ’em/sit ’em: Joe Burrow has played well of late, scoring 17-plus points in four of his past six games. He’s also thrown for multiple touchdowns in five of his past six starts. Philly’s defense might be tough on paper against quarterbacks based on fantasy points allowed, but it’s not … they’ve faced some bad signal-callers in Deshaun Watson, Derek Carr and Daniel Jones. —
Best bet: Jalen Hurts over 31.5 rushing yards (-114) at FanDuel. No team has allowed more rushing attempts (54) and rushing yards (264) to opposing quarterbacks than the Cincinnati Bengals. Hurts has run the ball no fewer than seven times in any game this season, while the Bengals are allowing 4.89 yards per carry. Five quarterbacks have exceeded this prop vs. Cincinnati: Jones, Lamar Jackson, Jayden Daniels, Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Jacoby Brissett. —
SI’s pick: I’m going to go with the Eagles here because Cincinnati has yet to show me that it can sustain a great game from start to finish. Meanwhile, the Eagles seem to have had a kind of exorcism last week against the Giants, which will hopefully improve the vibes moving forward. —
