Week 8 Fantasy Football: Instant Sunday Recap

There were some crazy points being put on the board Sunday in Week 8. Hopefully, you were on the right side of them.

Bleacher Report presents its Instant Sunday recap for fantasy owners, breaking down the situations behind five surprising studs and five huge disappointments.

There are some hidden waiver-wire gems mentioned in here throughout, so plan on being aggressive on the waiver wire as fantasy heads into the meat of the bye weeks. Half of the NFL (16 teams) will be going on bye the next three weeks, so replacements are going to be needed.

Five Surprising Week 8 Studs

QB Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers

It isn't shocking to see Big Ben have a big game at home matching blows with Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts, but no one could have seen 522 yards passing and six touchdowns coming. Remember when offensive coordinator Todd Haley was on the chopping block in Pittsburgh? Um, yeah, so about that...

Big Ben has made Antonio Brown arguably the best wide receiver in fantasy, but Heath Miller, Martavis Bryant and Markus Wheaton all performed like stars Sunday, too. Next up is the division rival Baltimore Ravens at home. Those secondary targets are going to be popular additions off the waiver wire this week.

Big Ben, Brown and Miller are starters in all leagues for Week 9, while Wheaton and Bryant shape up to be great bye-week replacement options.

QB Tom Brady, New England Patriots

Speaking of revived fantasy quarterbacks who are making stars out of ancillary fantasy options, Brady is scorching hot after a 354-yard, five-touchdown performance against the Chicago Bears. Next up for Brady's crew is a shootout against Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos.

Time to load up on Brady's supporting cast this week.

Brandon LaFell might be the most underrated receiver in fantasy right now. He posted 11 catches for 124 yards and a touchdown in support of Rob Gronkowski's monster day (9-149-3). LaFell is still available in over 91 percent of ESPN.com leagues. That should not be.

Also, Jonas Gray (17 carries for 86 yards) shouldn't be available anymore either. He will be popular off waivers as having taken over the big back role after the loss of Stevan Ridley (knee) for the season. Brandon Bolden has been marginalized. Gray has to be owned over Bolden and rookie James White, even if you are reluctant to start any Pats running back outside of Shane Vereen against the stiff Broncos run defense.

By the way, even Tim Wright got into the action with seven catches for 61 yards and a touchdown. You might consider him a flier off waivers again if you need a tight end replacement.

WR Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals

Continuing with our fantasy rebirths theme here, Fitzgerald looked like his younger self Sunday in a favorable matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles, catching seven passes for 160 yards and a touchdown.

Carson Palmer has favored Michael Floyd for most of the season's first half, but Palmer goes back to Fitzgerald here and Floyd is left without a catch. Even rookie John Brown was productive, catching five passes for 119 yards and a touchdown.

Fitzgerald spoke about his lack of targets to Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official website earlier this week:

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I always keep it in perspective how fortunate and blessed not only me but everyone in this locker room is. Not getting enough targets? Where I grew up we called those 'champagne problems.' This is my job and I love it, but I also put it in its proper place.

We all care about our touches and looks, don't get me wrong. We just don’t put our touches and looks in front of what we are trying to accomplish as a team. There is a distinct difference. You are playing ball your whole life, you are in the NFL, you've been 'The Man' your whole life, so you have to put that aside and focus on what is best for your team. I think everyone has a good grasp of that.

"

Fitzgerald is not washed up by any means, so consider him a viable starter in all leagues through the upcoming heavy bye weeks, particularly next Sunday in what should be a wide-open game against Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys.

WR Donte Moncrief, Indianapolis Colts

There was considerable buzz about the rookie Moncrief stepping forward for injured veteran Reggie Wayne (elbow) this week. Well, it was more than just buzz. Moncrief was good for seven catches for 113 yards and a touchdown.

Moncrief was sucking up Hakeem Nicks' snaps before Wayne's injury, and now he has taken off as yet another productive target for Luck...as if the Colts needed another weapon to go to.

That last point is an important one. Moncrief had a monster game, but the Colts have a lot of mouths to feed. T.Y. Hilton, Dwayne Allen and perhaps even Coby Fleener will still get targets, catches and touchdowns. Also, next up for the Colts is the New York Giants, which is Nicks' former team. You could see Nicks getting a bigger piece of the pie for that one.

Moncrief is a decent flier off waivers, but it will be hard to trust the rookie to be productive on a consistent basis with that collection of targets in Indy.

RB Lorenzo Taliaferro, Baltimore Ravens

It should be noted that Bernard Pierce was healthy this week...a healthy scratch, according to Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun. You have to cut Pierce in leagues, particularly if Taliaferro is available off waivers.

The rookie Taliaferro backed up starter Justin Forsett for the Ravens and managed seven carries for 27 yards and two touchdowns. He also added two catches for 42 yards.

Head coach John Harbaugh explained his decision to keep Pierce inactive and use Taliaferro as the backup, telling Wilson:

"

We're just doing what we try to do as far as our personnel and getting guys up that we felt gave us the best chance to win the game. We were jammed up. We did what we thought we had to do, and it worked out because our other backs stayed healthy.

"

Taliaferro is a pretty good bet to be the Ravens' feature back before the end of the season in our estimation. Forsett has not been a full-season starter before, so expecting him to hold up physically is a long shot. The Ravens remain a team committed to the run, and Taliaferro is the best long-term answer in that regard.

Five Surprising Week 8 Duds

QB Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers

Ouch. Apparently the Seattle Seahawks can still play defense.

Newton was held to a mere four fantasy points (CBSSports.com) in easily his toughest matchup of the year. Jonathan Stewart (79 yards rushing and 15 yards receiving) and Kelvin Benjamin (four catches for 94 yards) had acceptable fantasy performances, but the Seahawks took away Newton and tight end Greg Olsen (one catch for 16 yards).

Newton should be a lot more productive this coming Thursday night against the New Orleans Saints, so expect a rebound for him. His supporting cast should all be considered viable starts, too.

QB Geno Smith, New York Jets

Smith's three first quarter interceptions don't make much noise in fantasy, because no one truly considers Smith an option, but the Jets' bumbling quarterback play is frustrating for Eric Decker and Percy Harvin owners. Decker was held to seven catches for 40 yards, while Harvin managed just three catches for 22 yards and four rushes for 28.

Michael Vick played only slightly better than Smith and the Jets "have no idea" who will be the starting quarterback in Week 9 at the Kansas City Chiefs, according to NFL.com's Conor Orr.

The silver lining here is Harvin did get seven touches in his first game with the Jets, and his skill set might be one that will play regardless of whom is under center. Consider Decker and Harvin interesting buy-low candidates amid the Jets' endless quarterback woes. Even if they won't be touchdown threats, they will at least get a lot of targets.

WR Brandon Marshall, Chicago Bears

Marshall shot his mouth off last Sunday and was rendered real quiet against Darrelle Revis and the Pats this Sunday, catching just three passes for 35 yards.

You have to wonder if Jay Cutler was lacing into Marshall in the locker room after this one, right? We kid.

Marshall is headed into his bye with the Bears, so it might be a time to sell, even if you are selling low. The Bears are trending in the wrong direction and they might want to put their eggs more in the Alshon Jeffery (five catches for 59 yards and a touchdown) basket going forward.

If you are struggling to get decent return amid Marshall's disappointing stretch, remind your trade partners the Bears have the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings and Tampa Bay Buccaneers up on the schedule the next three weeks. Those games should be passing friendly.

The Bears play a tough Detroit Lions defense—one that slowed Julio Jones on Sunday—on Thanksgiving (Week 13) and in Week 16, the fantasy championship week for many leagues.

RB Tre Mason/Zac Stacy/Benny Cunningham, St. Louis Rams

That Rams running game is a mess, no matter who totes the rock. Mason (7-32), Stacy (5-17) and Cunningham (4-27) were all held in check against the Chiefs. It certainly doesn't bode well for Week 9, when the Rams face the San Francisco 49ers coming off the bye.

This year's 49ers defense isn't as good as years past, but it has still limited opponents to under 85 yards rushing per game. Jeff Fisher apparently cannot decide on the Rams' feature back, so 85 yards divided three ways is three kinds of bad news for fantasy owners.

We like Mason to be the hot hand down the stretch, but expect some lean weeks ahead for the Rams. After the 49ers, the Rams then face the Arizona Cardinals and Denver Broncos run defenses. Those might be even tougher than the 49ers'.

And, by the way, left tackle Jake Long appears headed for season-ending IR with an ACL tear, as tweeted by Pro Football Talk on Sunday. That can't help the running game any.

It is too late to sell low on Stacy, but if you're looking for a fantasy opportunity, you might want to buy low on Mason...just make it real low with the matchups he has coming up.

RB Doug Martin/WR Vincent Jackson, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Martin was rumored to be in trade talks before Tuesday's trade deadline, according to various reports (including ESPN's Adam Schefter), but Martin was held to 10 carries for 27 yards before leaving with an ankle injury, as Ira Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune reported. Jackson caught just one pass against a surprisingly effective Minnesota Vikings defense.

Kaufman wrote Martin and Jackson might have played their last game for the Bucs on Sunday. We could only be so lucky in fantasy. These are not as bad of players as much as players in a bad situation with the Bucs.

Watch the news in the next day-plus if you are a wistful Martin or Jackson owner. Any situation outside of Tampa Bay will be better for them.

Follow @EricMackFantasy

Eric Mack, one of the giants among fantasy writers, is the Fantasy Football Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, where you can ask him endless questions about your team, rip him for his content and even challenge him to a head-to-head fantasy game.