Start 'Em, Sit 'Em Week 8: Advice for Unfavorable Fantasy Football Matchups

In Week 7 of the NFL season, there were six teams on bye. So that made it a bit more challenging for many fantasy football managers to fill out their lineups. Week 8 won't be as much of an issue.

This week, the only teams on byes are the Baltimore Ravens and Las Vegas Raiders, so most managers will have all (or nearly all) of their players at their disposal. But that could bring another challenge: lineup decisions.

Who should be put into lineups, and who should be left on the bench? At this point in the season, there's plenty of data and stats to help make those decisions, as we're starting to learn even more about trends for both offensive players and opposing defenses.

With that in mind, here's some start/sit advice heading into Week 8.

Since returning from injury two weeks ago, Tua Tagovailoa has put up some big numbers. Over the past two games, he's passed for 620 yards and six touchdowns, which included a four-touchdown performance in a loss to the Atlanta Falcons last week.

However, if you've been playing Tagovailoa in recent weeks, it'll be best to leave him on the bench this Sunday. He and the Dolphins' offense are going to have a challenging road matchup against the AFC East rival Buffalo Bills.

Buffalo is allowing only 11.18 fantasy points per game, which is the best in the league, per NFL.com. The Bills are going to be fresh coming off their bye, and they've already beat the Dolphins once this season, notching a 35-0 victory in Week 2 (although Tagovailoa left that game early with a rib injury).

It won't be smart to start most of Miami's offensive players in Week 8, and that includes Tagovailoa, who should only be inserted into lineups when much better matchups come along.

After Clyde Edwards-Helaire went down with a left knee injury, Darrel Williams became a strong fill-in option. He impressed in Kansas City's Week 6 win over Washington, as he rushed for 62 yards and two touchdowns while also contributing three catches for 27 yards.

Last week, Williams was much less involved in the Chiefs' loss to the Tennessee Titans, totaling only five carries for 20 yards and three receptions for 30 yards. He still played 64 percent of Kansas City's offensive snaps, though, so it may have just been a case of a bad overall day for the team.

Williams should bounce back in Week 8, as he and the Chiefs have a much better matchup against the New York Giants on Monday night. Kansas City needs to get back on track, and its offense will likely have much more success in this home contest.

So feel confident in plugging Williams into your lineup, who should return to his Week 6 production.

Not only has Jakobi Meyers still not scored a touchdown through his first 36 NFL games, but he's been less involved in the Patriots' offense in recent weeks. He had five receptions for 44 yards in Week 6 against the Dallas Cowboys, then he had the exact same stat line in Week 7 against the New York Jets.

Meyers has been most effective when he's been targeted at least 12 times (which has happened twice), but he's had seven or fewer passes come his way each of the past three weeks. And because he's not getting into the end zone, that's lowering his fantasy value in a big way.

This week, New England will be on the road against the Los Angeles Chargers, who are allowing a league-best 25.42 fantasy points to wide receivers, per NFL.com. The Pats are going to need to rely on their running game to have success, so Meyers likely won't be too involved in the game plan.

If you don't have any better options than Meyers on your bench, there's probably a solid fill-in player still available on the waiver wire who would be a better choice this week.

While the Rams' offense has impressed this year, Tyler Higbee hasn't quite developed into the top-tier fantasy tight end that some expected him to be. Instead, he's been an inconsistent performer who has been heavily dependent on touchdowns to have fantasy success.

Higbee hasn't had more than 46 yards since Week 1, but he's remained involved in Los Angeles' offense, receiving at least five targets in four of its past five games. So it's possible he could break out with a huge game at any point, especially as the Rams keep rolling.

That may finally happen this week, as Los Angeles goes on the road to take on the Houston Texans, who are allowing 18.54 fantasy points per game to tight ends—third-most in the league, per NFL.com. So count on Higbee as a strong option this week, and perhaps he'll even have his first multi-touchdown performance of the season.