Fantasy Football Week 8: Tim Tebow and 5 Players Sure To Cost You a Win

After losing a week in fantasy football, you can often look back and ultimately blame one or two players for performing below expectations. No matter how strong your team is, losses are going to happen, and even your elite players are going to have rough weeks.

Even if you know one of your big guns isn't going to play as well as usual, there normally isn't much you can do about it. Sure, you can bench them, but you'll end up kicking yourself if they end up having a big game. Here are five players that will cost you a win if you start them in Week 8.

Peyton Hillis: RB, Cleveland Browns

The 2011 season has been a rough one for Cleveland Browns running back Peyton Hillis. After coming from out of nowhere to have a breakthrough season last year, expectations were quite high for the Madden 12 cover boy.

Hillis has been plagued by injuries, however, including a hamstring injury he is currently nursing. He also missed a game against the Miami Dolphins earlier this season. That has left a sour taste in the mouth of many fantasy owners who believe he should have tried to tough it out.

While he is currently questionable to play this week, it might be best to avoid putting Hillis in your lineup, even if he does start. Not only might he split carries with Montario Hardesty while trying to fully recover from his ailment, but the San Francisco 49ers have one of the league's best run defenses.

Hillis hasn't been particularly effective while on the field this season anyway, as he is averaging less than four yards per carry. Hillis is probably 50/50 in terms of whether he is going to play this week, but even if he does, the matchup is far from ideal. Don't expect many points out of Hillis.

Arian Foster: RB, Houston Texans

After an incredible 2010 campaign, Houston Texans running back Arian Foster fell upon hard times to begin this season. He was forced to miss significant portions of three games with a hamstring injury, and many fantasy owners were worried that the injury would linger all season long.

That doesn't seem to be the case, though, as he has gone over 100 yards rushing twice and over 100 yards receiving twice since his return to the lineup. Foster has been excellent in the absence of stud wide receiver Andre Johnson, and he will likely need to come up huge again for the Texans to be successful against the Jacksonville Jaguars this week.

The Jags upset the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night and absolutely shut down running back Ray Rice. Running room won't be easy to come by for Foster, and with Johnson seemingly on the shelf for one more week, Jacksonville will be able to key in on the running game.

Even though quarterback Matt Schaub may still be able to beat them, I don't think the Jaguars will allow Foster to do the same. I certainly wouldn't sit him, but I think Foster is in line to perform well below his normal production this week.

Matthew Stafford: QB, Detroit Lions

Despite the fact that Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford suffered an ankle injury at the end of last week's loss to the Atlanta Falcons, all signs point to him starting against the Denver Broncos. That would normally be considered a favorable matchup, but I would be cautious with Stafford this week.

Just because Stafford is playing, it doesn't mean he'll be 100 percent or even close to it. The injury didn't look good at all when it happened, and who knows how he will react if he gets hit. Von Miller will probably get into the backfield for the Broncos a couple times, and it isn't likely to feel good from Stafford's perspective.

Aside from the ankle injury, Stafford really struggled last week against a weak Atlanta Falcons secondary. Denver isn't particularly great against the pass either, but they have performed far better than the Falcons have.

I expect Detroit to win, but I think it will be a bit on the lower scoring side. Denver might sell out against the pass as well, and that will open up running room for Maurice Morris, Keiland Williams and co. If you have another good option, this might be a good week to leave Stafford out of your lineup.

Larry Fitzgerald: WR, Arizona Cardinals

Despite being one of the most talented pass catchers in the league, Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald hasn't exactly put up elite numbers over the past couple seasons. It is understandable why that was the case last season, as he had the likes of Derek Anderson, Max Hall and John Skelton throwing to him.

The quarterback situation was supposed to be significantly better this year, but that hasn't been the case—Kevin Kolb has been extremely inconsistent. To make matters worse for Fitzgerald, he has one of the toughest matchups you can ask for this week as the Cards take on the Baltimore Ravens.

Kolb is going to try to get the ball to Fitzgerald as much as he can, but he may not have much time to throw in the face of Baltimore's vicious pass rush. Because of that, Fitzgerald won't be able to properly develop routes and it will be difficult for him to make big plays down the field.

Fitzgerald has just two touchdowns this season, and the Ravens aren't likely to allow too many points to the struggling Cardinals. When you take all those factors into account, it could be a rough one for Fitzgerald and the entire Arizona offense.

Tim Tebow: QB, Denver Broncos

Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow is certainly very unorthodox. In his first start of the season for the Broncos last week, Tebow looked very poor for the majority of the game, and most of his yardage came on the ground. Thanks to grit and determination, he was able to lead Denver to a comeback victory and turn in a great fantasy performance as well.

While I think Tebow will actually be a very valuable fantasy commodity moving forward due to his running ability, his prospects aren't great in Week 8. Tebow will have to deal with a Detroit Lions defense that, although it can give up some yardage through the air, is incredibly adept at rushing the passer.

Tebow was dropped by the Miami defense time and time again last week, and that is a big reason why he couldn't get anything going until the fourth quarter. The Lions have an even better pass rush than the Dolphins, so it is hard to imagine the likes of Ndamukong Suh, Cliff Avril and Kyle Vanden Bosch not getting to Tebow.

Since he'll probably be running for his life, Tebow may have a nice rushing total, but I don't expect the passing yardage or touchdowns to be there. At this point, Tebow is starter worthy against weak opponents, but the Lions are most certainly not weak.