With six teams on bye, Week 8 may be the toughest week of the 2025 fantasy football season. It’s more important than ever to make sure you have players you can trust in good situations to succeed.
With that in mind, it’s time for another week of finding the best (and worst) matchups at every position using the FantasyPros Fantasy Points Allowed tool. Standards may be slightly lower this week with so many options unavailable, but we can still find players to target and fade based on their opponents. Let’s get started.
- Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
- Weekly Fantasy Football Expert Rankings
- Fantasy Football Start/Sit Advice
- Fantasy Football Trade Tools
Fantasy Points Allowed: Best & Worst Matchups (Week 8)
Week 8 Quarterback Fantasy Football Matchups
Good Matchup: Bo Nix (QB – DEN) vs. Dallas Cowboys
One team that isn’t on bye this week is the Dallas Cowboys. And when the Cowboys’ defense is available, it’s usually a pretty good idea to start the quarterback facing them. This week, that honor belongs to Bo Nix. Nix absolutely exploded last week with 40 fantasy points in a furious comeback against the Giants, but he had previously struggled to begin his sophomore season, averaging just 16.9 points through six weeks.
Thankfully, Nix gets a perfect matchup to follow up that breakout performance with another solid outing. Dallas easily leads the league with 25.5 points per game allowed to opposing quarterbacks. They allow both the second-most passing yards and the second-most rushing yards to quarterbacks, perfect for Nix’s dual-threat skill set. Especially given the lack of other options this week, he is a no-brainer QB1 at home against the Cowboys.
Bad Matchup: Justin Herbert (QB – LAC) vs. Minnesota Vikings
Even with the Chargers ranking second in the league in pass rate over expectation, Justin Herbert’s fantasy results have been just OK. He is the QB8 in points per game, but has finished with fewer than 20 fantasy points in five out of seven outings. Unfortunately, this week looks like it might be another relative dud for the Chargers’ QB1.
The Vikings’ defense has given up the sixth-fewest points per game to opposing quarterbacks. They have also allowed the sixth-fewest passing yards per game, as well as the third-lowest expected points add (EPA/9per dropback. This matchup isn’t all bad — Brian Flores loves to blitz, and Herbert has been solid against blitzes this season — but it’s certainly not good. Even with other top options unavailable, Herbert is just a backend QB1 this week.
Week 8 Running Back Fantasy Football Matchups
Good Matchup: Breece Hall (RB – NYJ) @ Cincinnati Bengals
I imagine that Breece Hall managers are fairly frustrated with their early-round running back right about now. The fourth-year RB is just the RB26 in half-PPR points per game and has scored 5.9 and 6.2 points in his last two outings. But Hall should still be in lineups for the Jets’ Week 8 trip to Cincinnati. His usage without Braelon Allen has been excellent, and this matchup is as soft as it gets.
The Bengals lead the league with 28.4 points per game given up to opposing backs. They rank second in rushing yards and fourth in receiving yards allowed to running backs, the only team to rank in the top five in both metrics. Hopefully, the Jets will also start Tyrod Taylor this week. He will be able to keep their offense at least slightly on schedule. But no matter who is under center, Hall deserves one more chance as a solid RB2 against Cincinnati.
Bad Matchup: Rhamondre Stevenson (RB – NE) @ Cleveland Browns
Despite fantasy managers constantly calling for him to be benched for TreVeyon Henderson, Rhamondre Stevenson has had a solid start to the 2025 season. His efficiency metrics are bad (although still better than Henderson’s), and his fumbling issues haven’t gone away, but he is the Patriots’ clear lead back. He has turned that role into a respectable 8.8 half-PPR points per game. I promise I won’t bring up the byes in every blurb, but they make him seem like a viable Flex or even RB2 this week.
Unfortunately, Stevenson is best avoided unless you have truly no other options. The Browns’ defense has shut down opposing backs so far this season to the tune of just 13.7 points per game. They have also allowed the second-lowest rush EPA, the second-lowest rush success rate, the sixth-fewest running back rushing yards, the second-fewest running back receiving yards… You get the picture. This is not a defense that even elite running backs have had success against, and Stevenson is not an elite running back. If you have any other viable option at all, leave Stevenson on your bench.
Week 8 Wide Receiver Fantasy Football Matchups
Good Matchup: Elic Ayomanor (WR – TEN) @ Indianapolis Colts
Brian Callahan was fired heading into Week 7, and Cam Ward immediately had the most productive game of his young career. Don’t get me wrong, he still wasn’t great, but 255 yards and a touchdown on a 73.5% completion rate is a step in the right direction. This improvement comes at the perfect time for fellow rookie Elic Ayomanor, as the Titans are heading into a very soft matchup against the Colts’ defense.
Indianapolis has been dealing with a whole rash of injuries in their secondary, and they now rank second in points per game allowed to opposing receivers. Calvin Ridley has yet to return to practice with a hamstring injury suffered in Week 6, so Ayomanor should be the Titans’ top option to take advantage of this matchup. It might have to come in garbage time, as the Colts are 14-point favorites, but I like Ayomanor’s chances to provide a stream-worthy outing this week.
Bad Matchup: Keon Coleman (WR – BUF)/Khalil Shakir (WR – BUF) @ Carolina Panthers
Don’t look now, but the Panthers’ pass defense might actually be good. They have allowed just 20.9 points per game to opposing wide receivers, the third-lowest mark in the league. Wide receivers against the Panthers are averaging just 116.7 yards on 9.4 catches per game, the fourth-lowest and second-lowest marks, respectively, in the league.
Meanwhile, the Bills are spreading the ball around. Keon Coleman and Khalil Shakir are their top two receivers, but neither has earned more than a 19% target share or a 29% air yards share (both Coleman). They’ve both had big games, but their overall results have been mediocre: 7.8 points per game for Coleman and 8.6 for Shakir. Given the tough matchup, we are more likely to see disappointing outings than booms from this pair of young Buffalo wideouts.
Week 8 Tight End Fantasy Football Matchups
Good Matchup: Mason Taylor (TE – NYJ) @ Cincinnati Bengals
Last week, the Bengals gave up 7.7 points to Darnell Washington… and 10.3 to Jonnu Smith… and 25.6 to Pat Freiermuth. This absolute disaster-class, combined with some other big outings allowed, means they now easily lead the league with 18.8 points per game given up to opposing tight ends. While this is partially due to surrendering a league-high 1.29 touchdowns per game to the position, they also give up a league-high 76.6 yards per game. That sets up perfectly for Mason Taylor, a second-round rookie who is seeing decent usage in the Jets’ offense.
Over the last four weeks, Taylor has recorded a 19% target share on an 80% route participation rate. Like Breece before him, he stands to benefit if Tyrod Taylor can turn the Jets’ offense into a vaguely NFL-caliber operation. Especially if Garrett Wilson is sidelined again, Taylor is an excellent streaming option for managers missing Trey McBride or Sam LaPorta this week.
Bad Matchup: Theo Johnson (TE – NYG) @ Philadelphia Eagles
The Giants’ second-year tight end is coming off a bit of a breakout game, as he caught three of his seven targets for 66 yards and a touchdown against the Broncos on Sunday. He also posted an absolutely elite 92% route participation rate, which is an incredibly optimistic sign for his fantasy value going forward.
Unfortunately, Johnson’s potential march toward TE1 status is likely to hit a bump this week. The Eagles have allowed just 6.0 points per game to opposing tight ends, tied for the third-least in the NFL. While they actually rank near the middle of the pack in targets allowed to the position, they have given up just 31.4 yards per game to tight ends, again the third-fewest in the league. Even in a week where there are not many bankable tight end options, I recommend avoiding the Giants’ No. 1 TE if you can.
Subscribe: YouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | iHeart | Castbox | Amazon Music | Podcast Addict | TuneIn
Ted Chmyz is a fantasy football contributor for FantasyPros.com. Find him on Twitter and Bluesky @Tchmyz for more fantasy content or to ask questions.
