Fantasy football projections, Week 8: Patriots-Bills featuring Tom Brady, LeGarrette Blount, LeSean McCoy and more

The Week 8 matchup between the New England Patriots and the Buffalo Bills features division rivals going head-to-head for the second time this season. We’ve got the fantasy projections courtesy of numberFire.

The Buffalo Bills rank fifth in the NFL at defending fantasy quarterbacks. It shouldn’t matter to Tom Brady. He has over 1,000 passing yards to go alongside eight touchdowns and no interceptions so far this season. He didn’t need to do much against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 7. The running game was incredibly effective. Still, Brady finished with 19 completions for 222 passing yards and two touchdowns. The effort represented his lowest totals of the season. The flow of the game simply called for Brady taking it easy as the Patriots jumped out to a second half lead in the contest. He’ll be up to his same old tricks in Buffalo.

Running back LeGarrette Blount will be a good bet to help his quarterback in the rush attack. Blount has scored touchdowns in all but one game this year. He has eight on the season. He carried the ball 24 times for 127 yards and two scores against Pittsburgh. Buffalo isn’t nearly as solid against running backs as they are against quarterbacks. Once Tom Brady exposes the Bills secondary unit, Blount should find room to run and capitalize on the opportunity. Fantasy owners have to love what they’re getting out of him these days.

The Buffalo Bills might be in some trouble. The team lost a heartbreaker to the Miami Dolphins in Week 7. It also appears that receivers Marquise Goodwin (concussion) and Robert Woods (foot) might both miss the game against the Patriots. If so, tight end Charles Clay might be an interesting streaming option. He’s surpassed 50 receiving yards just twice this season and has yet to find the end zone for a touchdown. That said, teammate Justin Hunter failed to impress despite increased playing time in Week 7. The Bills are going to spend most of Sunday’s game trailing by a wide margin. Clay just might find the end zone in garbage time and surpass his projections because of that.

While Clay would certainly be a risky play even in deeper leagues, running back LeSean McCoy might be too. He carried the ball eight times for 11 yards against the Dolphins before leaving the game with a re-aggravated hamstring injury. Teammate Mike Gillislee will need to be added to fantasy rosters as a backup. If McCoy does play against New England, his touches may be limited. At the same time he also may benefit from a late game touchdown with his team trailing by a lot. It’s hard to say whether or not he can surpass his projections if he does play. It may be better to bench McCoy in Week 8.