Fantasy Football Week 8 Rankings: Projections and Matchups to Love

The NFL scoring average is 24.1 points per game this season, which is No. 1 in league history. Expect that to rise even more as numerous offensive stars have excellent matchups that could lead to massive team point totals in Week 8.

Here's a look ahead at some fantasy football projections for Week 8, alongside good matchups to watch for at quarterback, running back, wide receiver and tight end.

Top 10 Quarterbacks

1. Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes vs. Denver Broncos: 350 passing yards, 20 rushing yards, 3 TD (28 points)

2. Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers at Los Angeles Rams: 375 passing yards, 3 TD (27 points)

3. Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger vs. Cleveland Browns: 375 passing yards, 3 TD (27 points)

4. Minnesota Vikings QB Kirk Cousins vs. New Orleans Saints: 350 passing yards, 3 TD (26 points)

5. Cincinnati Bengals QB Andy Dalton vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 325 passing yards, 3 TD (25 points)

6. Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Jameis Winston at Cincinnati Bengals: 300 passing yards, 3 TD (24 points)

7. New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees at Minnesota Vikings: 300 passing yards, 3 TD (24 points)

8. New England Patriots QB Tom Brady at Buffalo Bills: 300 passing yards, 3 TD (24 points)

9. Chicago Bears QB Mitchell Trubisky vs. New York Jets: 250 passing yards, 50 rushing yards, 2 TD (23 points)

10. Los Angeles Rams QB Jared Goff vs. Green Bay Packers: 325 passing yards, 2 TD (21 points)

Matchup: Cincinnati Bengals QB Andy Dalton vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' shift to new defensive coordinator Mark Duffner worked in Week 7, as the Bucs beat the Cleveland Browns 26-23 in overtime.

However, the Cincinnati Bengals offense is more talented than the Browns', and the Bucs need to figure out how to stop running back Joe Mixon, wideouts A.J. Green and Tyler Boyd and tight end C.J. Uzomah.

Tampa Bay has allowed 6.7 yards per play, which is the second-highest mark in the league. That could mean efficient production from Cincinnati quarterback Andy Dalton, who has thrown for 15 touchdown passes in seven games.

Dalton has also fared much better at home this season, with a better quarterback rating (97.2 to 86.0) and adjusted-yard-per-attempt mark (7.34 to 6.42). He will be in Cincinnati on Sunday against a Buccaneers team that has given up an average of 40.5 points per game away from Raymond James Stadium.

Top 20 Running Backs

1. Los Angeles Rams RB Todd Gurley vs. Green Bay Packers: 220 yards from scrimmage, 6 catches, 3 TD (46 points)

2. New York Giants RB Saquon Barkley vs. Washington Redskins: 170 yards from scrimmage, 7 catches, 1 TD (30 points)

3. Pittsburgh Steelers RB James Conner vs. Cleveland Browns: 180 yards from scrimmage, 4 catches, 1 TD (28 points)

4. Kansas City Chiefs RB Kareem Hunt vs. Denver Broncos: 160 yards from scrimmage, 5 catches, 1 TD (27 points)

5. Arizona Cardinals RB David Johnson vs. San Francisco 49ers : 140 yards from scrimmage, 6 catches, 1 TD (26 points)

6. New Orleans Saints RB Alvin Kamara at Minnesota Vikings: 120 yards from scrimmage, 7 catches, 1 TD (25 points)

7. Carolina Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey vs. Baltimore Ravens: 100 yards from scrimmage, 6 catches, 1 TD (22 points)

8. Detroit Lions RB Kerryon Johnson vs. Seattle Seahawks: 130 yards from scrimmage, 3 catches, 1 TD (22 points)

9. New England Patriots RB James White at Buffalo Bills: 80 yards from scrimmage, 8 catches, 1 TD (22 points)

10. Chicago Bears RB Tarik Cohen vs. New York Jets: 90 yards from scrimmage, 6 catches, 1 TD (21 points)

11. Denver Broncos RB Phillip Lindsay at Kansas City Chiefs: 80 yards from scrimmage, 5 catches, 1 TD (19 points)

12. Miami Dolphins RB Kenyan Drake at Houston Texans: 90 yards from scrimmage, 4 catches, 1 TD (19 points)

13. Cincinnati Bengals RB Joe Mixon vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 100 yards from scrimmage, 3 catches, 1 TD (19 points)

14. San Francisco 49ers RB Matt Breida at Arizona Cardinals: 80 yards from scrimmage, 3 catches, 1 TD (17 points)

15. Seattle Seahawks RB Chris Carson at Detroit Lions: 90 yards from scrimmage, 2 catches, 1 TD (17 points)

16. New Orleans Saints RB Mark Ingram at Minnesota Vikings: 70 yards from scrimmage, 3 catches, 1 TD (16 points)

17. Oakland Raiders RB Jalen Richard vs. Indianapolis Colts: 90 yards from scrimmage, 7 catches (16 points)

18. Indianapolis Colts RB Marlon Mack at Oakland Raiders: 90 yards from scrimmage, 1 catch, 1 TD (16 points)

19. Green Bay Packers RB Aaron Jones at Los Angeles Rams: 60 yards from scrimmage, 2 catches, 1 TD (14 points)

20. Washington Redskins RB Adrian Peterson at New York Giants: 80 yards from scrimmage, 1 TD (14 points)

Matchup: Green Bay Packers RB Aaron Jones (at Los Angeles Rams)

The Los Angeles Rams have allowed the seventh-most running back yards per carry, according to Football Outsiders.

Green Bay Packers running back Aaron Jones has rushed for 5.9 yards per carry. That mark would rank him third on this Pro Football Reference list, but the second-year pro hasn't seen enough carries to qualify for the ranking.

That's the problem here. The matchup is clearly in Jones' favor, but his potential opportunity may not. Jones has averaged just nine touches per game in four contests as a member of a three-man backfield committee.

Some encouraging news came out in a Monday press conference from head coach Mike McCarthy, however, as he told assembled media that "the run game needs attempts."

We'll see whether the team commits more to the run on the field, but if so, that should mean more work for Jones.

The other potential problem is that game script may not be in his favor; the excellent Los Angeles Rams offense may jump out to a multiple-score lead, forcing the Packers to go more to the pass.

But Green Bay's best bet Sunday is to attack the Rams' weakness (run defense) and keep the Rams offense off the field. Jones should play a big part in that plan if Green Bay can pull it off.

Wide Receiver

1. Minnesota Vikings WR Adam Thielen vs. New Orleans Saints: 12 catches, 160 yards, 2 TD (40 points)

2. Green Bay Packers WR Davante Adams at Los Angeles Rams: 12 catches, 170 yards, 1 TD (35 points)

3. Pittsburgh Steelers WR Antonio Brown vs. Cleveland Browns: 11 catches, 150 yards, 1 TD (32 points)

4. Cincinnati Bengals WR A.J. Green vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 8 catches, 110 yards, 2 TD (31 points)

5. Minnesota Vikings WR Stefon Diggs vs. New Orleans Saints: 9 catches, 100 yards, 1 TD (25 points)

6. Los Angeles Rams WR Brandin Cooks vs. Green Bay Packers: 6 catches, 120 yards, 1 TD (24 points)

7. Los Angeles Rams WR Robert Woods vs. Green Bay Packers: 7 catches, 100 yards, 1 TD (23 points)

8. Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR Mike Evans at Cincinnati Bengals: 7 catches, 90 yards, 1 TD (22 points)

9. Detroit Lions WR Golden Tate vs. Seattle Seahawks: 8 catches, 80 yards, 1 TD (22 points)

10. Pittsburgh Steelers WR JuJu Smith-Schuster vs. Cleveland Browns: 6 catches, 90 yards, 1 TD (21 points)

11. Cincinnati Bengals WR Tyler Boyd vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 6 catches, 90 yards, 1 TD (21 points)

12. Houston Texans WR DeAndre Hopkins vs. Miami Dolphins: 6 catches, 90 yards, 1 TD (21 points)

13. Baltimore Ravens WR John Brown at Carolina Panthers: 5 catches, 100 yards, 1 TD (21 points)

14. Kansas City Chiefs WR Sammy Watkins vs. Denver Broncos: 4 catches, 110 yards, 1 TD (21 points)

15. Denver Broncos WR Emmanuel Sanders at Kansas City Chiefs: 6 catches, 80 yards, 1 TD (20 points)

16. New England Patriots WR Josh Gordon at Buffalo Bills: 5 catches, 90 yards, 1 TD (20 points)

17. Kansas City Chiefs WR Tyreek Hill vs. Denver Broncos: 5 catches, 80 yards, 1 TD (19 points)

18. Chicago Bears WR Allen Robinson vs. New York Jets: 5 catches, 70 yards, 1 TD (18 points)

19. New Orleans Saints WR Michael Thomas at Minnesota Vikings: 5 catches, 70 yards, 1 TD (18 points)

20. Indianapolis Colts WR T.Y. Hilton at Oakland Raiders: 5 catches, 70 yards, 1 TD (18 points)

21. Oakland Raiders WR Jordy Nelson vs. Indianapolis Colts: 5 catches, 60 yards, 1 TD (17 points)

22. Detroit Lions WR Kenny Golladay vs. Seattle Seahawks: 4 catches, 60 yards, 1 TD (16 points)

23. New York Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr. vs. Washington Redskins: 4 catches, 60 yards, 1 TD (16 points)

24. Seattle Seahawks WR Doug Baldwin at Detroit Lions: 5 catches, 50 yards, 1 TD (16 points)

25. New England Patriots WR Julian Edelman at Buffalo Bills: 8 catches, 80 yards (16 points)

26. Oakland Raiders WR Martavis Bryant vs. Indianapolis Colts: 4 catches, 50 yards, 1 TD (15 points)

27. Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR Chris Godwin at Cincinnati Bengals: 4 catches, 50 yards, 1 TD (15 points)

28. New Orleans Saints WR Tre'Quan Smith at Minnesota Vikings: 3 catches, 60 yards, 1 TD (15 points)

29. Arizona Cardinals WR Christian Kirk vs. San Francisco 49ers: 4 catches, 50 yards, 1 TD (15 points)

30. New York Giants WR Sterling Shepard vs. Washington Redskins: 6 catches, 80 yards (14 points)

Matchup: Oakland Raiders WR Jordy Nelson vs. Indianapolis Colts

This matchup is a mixture of opportunity (Oakland Raiders wide receiver Jordy Nelson is the team's No. 1 wide receiver with Amari Cooper now a Dallas Cowboy) and opponent (the Indianapolis Colts allow the second-highest completion rate to opposing pass-catchers at 72.1 percent).

Nelson hasn't seen many targets (31 in six games), but he had eight targets in two consecutive games in Weeks 4 and 5 and delivered to the tune of 11 catches for 221 yards and two scores.

Furthermore, the Colts have not rated well against No. 1 wide receivers, per Football Outsiders. They have allowed 71.3 yards per game to top wideouts (the league average is 70.3) and are 24th in defense-adjusted value over average.

Finally, the Colts-Raiders game could become a shootout. Per OddsShark, the sportsbooks have pegged this game with a 50.5-point total. If this is a back-and-forth affair, then expect Nelson to stay busy.

Tight End

1. New England Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski at Buffalo Bills: 9 catches, 130 yards, 2 TD (34 points)

2. Philadelphia Eagles TE Zach Ertz at Jacksonville Jaguars in Wembley Stadium, London: 10 catches, 120 yards, 1 TD (28 points)

3. Kansas City Chiefs TE Travis Kelce vs. Denver Broncos: 8 catches, 100 yards, 1 TD (24 points)

4. Green Bay Packers TE Jimmy Graham at Los Angeles Rams: 6 catches, 80 yards, 1 TD (20 points)

5. Oakland Raiders TE Jared Cook vs. Indianapolis Colts: 6 catches, 70 yards, 1 TD (19 points)

6. Chicago Bears TE Trey Burton vs. New York Jets: 5 catches, 60 yards, 1 TD (17 points)

7. Indianapolis Colts TE Eric Ebron at Oakland Raiders: 5 catches, 50 yards, 1 TD (16 points)

8. San Francisco 49ers TE George Kittle at Arizona Cardinals: 4 catches, 50 yards, 1 TD (15 points)

9. Cincinnati Bengals TE C.J. Uzomah vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 4 catches, 50 yards, 1 TD (15 points)

10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers TE O.J. Howard at Cincinnati Bengals: 4 catches, 40 yards, 1 TD (14 points)

Matchup: Cincinnati Bengals TE C.J. Uzomah vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Buccaneers have allowed a league-worst 89.0 yards per game to opposing tight ends, per Football Outsiders. They have also given up the most points per contest (32.7).

Uzomah could take advantage of this spot. He's the No. 1 tight end in Cincinnati with Tyler Eifert out for the season with a broken ankle and Tyler Kroft battling a foot injury (he's expected to return this season but hasn't practiced ahead of Sunday's game).

Uzomah played 92 percent of snaps in Week 6 and 96 percent of snaps in Week 7. The 25-year-old has turned these opportunities into production, and he has eight catches for 67 yards and a touchdown during that span.

The Bengals have an implied team total of 30.9 points, per OddsShark. If Cincinnati passes the four-touchdown mark, then Uzomah would have most likely played a part in that scoring effort.