For a massive undertaking like Fantasy Points Data, we need a large team of dedicated and educated charting professionals to ensure that we can get statistics posted on the website both accurately and quickly.
While the data-charting process is, by nature, objective, our team will obviously form opinions about what they saw, given we have to watch every play multiple times.
Every week, we’ll select the most notable observations and back them up with the objective data we’ve become known for.
Here are our top observations for 2024 NFL Week 8.
Week 8 Data Charter Observations
1. “The Commanders are missing a red zone threat. Jayden Daniels moved the ball pretty well, particularly in the first half, only to come away with all field goals. There just isn’t someone who can win in short areas or on jump balls, causing their offense to stall. His deep ball seems to be his best throw where he can find Terry McLaurin and Noah Brown downfield.”
A miraculous Hail Mary from rookie sensation Jayden Daniels propelled the Commanders to an 18-15 win over the Bears in Week 8. Daniels connected on 10 of 18 passes for 237 yards and the aforementioned touchdown on throws of 10 or more yards downfield, but failed to complete a pass on 4 attempts in the red zone leading to the Commanders settling for 3 short field goals. On the season, Daniels owns a -6.9% CPOE, 68.0% ADJ COMP, and 41.4 ACC% in the red zone highlighting the Commanders' lack of a dominant presence within the opponent's 20-yard line. Despite the lack of success in the red zone, the Commanders rank second in points scored with 236 on the year, trailing only the Ravens’ prolific offense. Up next is a divisional matchup with the Giants, who have been middling against the pass, surrendering 216.9 pass yards per game (11th fewest).
2. “This was a tough game for the Houston offensive line. CJ Stroud was under extreme duress for the majority of the game, and he was just never able to get in a rhythm. Losing Stefon Diggs didn't help matters, as they used him all over the formation in various motion packages and design plays. Joe Mixon struggled to get going in the first 3 quarters. The offensive line struggled to push the trenches and lost many of the 1v1 matchups. The majority of Mixon’s production came in the 4th quarter.”
The Texans were able to pull out another victory in a 23-20 victory over the Colts in Week 8 despite their offense failing to convert long drives into touchdowns. Texans’ QB CJ Stroud finished the day with 25 completions on 37 attempts for a solid 285 yards and a score, but the Texans had just one touchdown drive longer than 10 yards. Already without WR Nico Collins, the Texans lost WR Stefon Diggs for the season due to a torn ACL leaving WR Tank Dell as the main target in the passing game.
Dell has been a bit of a disappointment this season, averaging just 32.7 receiving yards per game, and it appears he is still working his way back from a broken leg last season and a gunshot wound in the offseason as his ASS has fallen from an elite 0.257 in 2023 to .0144 in 2024. Collins is slated to miss at least one more game as the Texans travel to New York to take on the Jets on a short week in Week 9.
3. “Cedric Tillman is thriving in the outside receiver role vacated by Amari Cooper. This is the second week I am writing about Tillman, as it seems to me like he is the receiver to trust for fantasy, whether we have Jameis Winston or, eventually, Dorian Thompson-Robinson. Winston was the gunslinger we expected him to be. Would you be shocked if I told you he had multiple throws that could and should have ended up in a turnover? Either way, it’s very similar to the “I’ve got nothing to lose” attitude we saw from Flacco last year.”
Browns fans and fantasy owners finally got the wish that they have been clamoring for all season, with QB Jamies Winston taking over for an injured Deshaun Watson. Winston did not disappoint to the tune of 27/41 for 334 yards and 3 touchdowns, but what was more important was his ability to get the ball out quickly to his playmakers. Winston had a time-to-throw average of just 2.37 seconds, which is dramatically down from Watson’s 2.76 mark so far this season. Of course, Winston had a 4.9% TWT (7th highest in Week 8), but Cedric Tillman, Elijah Moore, Jerry Jeudy, and David Njoku all posted yardage totals north of 60 yards in Winston’s first game as the starter.
It appears that the Browns’ offense needed someone to get the ball out quickly while taking chances to revitalize the fantasy production we have been waiting for all year. Next week, Jameis and the Browns take on the Chargers, who have been stingy against opposing passing games, allowing 210.4 passing yards per game (8th best).
4. “Puka Nacua makes all of the difference in the world for this offense. He made plays all over the field and showed off excellent run-after-the-catch ability. Matthew Stafford looked for him consistently whenever the Rams needed a play while Cooper Kupp was stuck running short routes all night long.”
Rams WR Puka Nacua displayed how sorely he was missed leading the Rams to a 30-20 win over the Vikings in Week 8, bringing their record to 3-4 on the season. QB Matthew Stafford had struggled to find open receivers in Puka’s absence, but got back on track with his second-most passing yards in a game in 2024 with 279 while tacking on 4 touchdowns in Week 8.
To date, WR Jordan Whittington led the Rams in ASS at 0.141, and Puka immediately took over the lead spot for the Rams with an excellent score of 0.190 in his first back from injury. Puka’s success in getting open helped teammates Cooper Kupp and Demarcus Robinson get back on track with a combined 7/86/3, which accounted for most of the Rams' scoring. Now on a two-game win streak, the Rams square off with the Seahawks in Week 9 in a crucial mid-season divisional matchup.
5. “Marvin Harrison looked like a dude. He toasted Jalen Ramsey a few times, and with a more active route tree, instead of run offs and hitches, he thrived and had a big day. He could take off if they continue to utilize him like this.”
Cardinals’ rookie WR Marvin Harrison Jr. re-entered the 2024 rookie WR conversation with a bounce-back performance in Week 8 against the Dolphins. After failing to reach 50 receiving yards in any game since Week 3, Harrison found paydirt on his way to 111 yards on 6 catches to help lead the Cardinals to a 28-27 comeback win. Harrison ran a more robust route tree while posting a positive ASS score on 6 different patterns, which allowed him to find openings all game long. All told, Harrison posted an elite ASS of 0.294 for the game allowing QB Kyler Murray to hook up with the rookie for 5 big first downs to keep drives alive. The Cardinals surprisingly sit atop the NFC West standings due to tiebreakers with a record of 4-4 and will get an opportunity to push their record above .500 in a difficult Week 9 matchup against the Bears’ solid defense.
6. “Davante Adams looks like a shell of himself. Maybe his hamstring injury in Las Vegas was real or he’s matched up with a couple good corners, but he cannot get open through two games. Whatever chemistry he had with Rodgers in Green Bay certainly hasn’t been found yet in New York. Aaron Rodgers looks his way often, but there are too many times where a defender is there to break up the pass.”
The Jets’ season continues to spiral downwards after Gang Green hit rock bottom following a 25-22 loss to the Patriots in Week 8. Through two games with the Jets, WR Davante Adams ranks second on the team with a 92.8% route percentage and 17.9% target percentage, but has translated that to just 84 scoreless yards and a disappointing 1.31 YPRR. QB Aaron Rodgers cannot get things going, and while he is more concerned about winning games, Rodgers has not thrown for 300 yards in a game since Week 14 of the 2021 season. The Jets must find a win on a short week against the injury-riddled Texans at home in Week 9.
7. “Dallas is just a bad offense. Everything runs through CeeDee Lamb, The run game continues to show no life against good run defenses and it puts them behind early every time. Even with the return of Micah Parsons on the horizon potentially, the defensive secondary looks really bad.”
The Cowboys’ lack of a second option not only in the passing game, but on offense in general continued to be an issue in a Week 8 loss to their kryptonite in the 49ers. WR CeeDee Lamb was the offense for the Cowboys, registering a Week 8 high 16 targets while converting the looks into 13/146/2 to at least give his team a shot at a comeback. It comes as little surprise that the Cowboys rank last in the league in rushing with 519 on the season, but what is surprising is they are yet to have an explosive run through 7 games, with their longest run being just 13 yards (CeeDee himself has runs of 10 and 12 yards on the season).
All-Pro LB Micah Parsons has missed the last three games. While the Cowboys were able to get past the Steelers, the defense has badly missed his presence against better offenses in the Lions and 49ers, allowing 47 and 30 points in the past two games, respectively. Parsons's return will be needed in Week 9, as the Cowboys have a road matchup against Kirk Cousins and the Falcons, who rank fourth in passing yards per game at 265.0 yards/game.
Bonus Observations
Colts RB Jonathan Taylor — Any questions about Jonathan Taylor after injury can be put to rest. He looked elite out there, making people miss in short space, pushing the pile and falling forward for extra yards, and showing the breakaway speed to bust his long run. Taylor returned from a three-game absence to post an excellent explosive run rate of 10.0% and a 3.90 YACO/ATT rate on his way to 105 yards and a touchdown.
Broncos QB Bo Nix — Denver seemingly used this matchup with Carolina as a way to experiment more with the playbook and their downfield passing game. The last few games, the training wheels are coming off the offense, and instead of a flurry of quick passes and screens, you are seeing more 5-7 step drops and Nix letting it rip downfield. Nix had easily his best game of his young career with a stat line of 28/37 for 284 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also registered excellent numbers with 13.3% CPOE, 10.9 aDOT, 83.3% ADJ COMP, and 89.2% CATCH%.
Chiefs WR DeAndre Hopkins — Well, the Hopkins slot work was not there. He ran just 2 out of his 14 routes out of the slot… but he was targeted both times he ran a route out of the slot. We must remember that it was his first game with the team on a short week, and he had just a 33% route participation. This may translate well as he gets more familiar with the team. He had just 2 catches for 29 yards, but he did post a solid win rate of 14.3%. Better days ahead for the veteran WR as he gets acclimated to his new team.
