Fantasy football start/sit advice, Week 8: Quarterbacks

With six teams on bye in Week 8, the fantasy talent pool gets pretty thin -- particularly at quarterback with Eli Manning and Joe Flacco unavailable. Case Keenum and Colin Kaepernick are also on bye, but you probably weren’t using them in your lineups anyway. And Ben Roethlisberger gets a free week to rest his knee, though his timetable to return is still uncertain.

Nevertheless, fantasy owners have some decisions to make about QB, unless they have an obvious option (play Russell Wilson in the Superdome, don’t play Ryan Fitzpatrick ever). So here are three QBs worth starting in Week 8, and three you should probably stay away from.

Jameis Winston, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (vs. Oakland Raiders)

Winston has been much more effective in recent weeks with Jacquizz Rodgers giving the running game a pulse. The interceptions remain a problem, but he had little trouble carving up the San Francisco 49ers last week. Winston gets another dream matchup with the Raiders, in what could be one of the highest-scoring games of Week 8.

Josh McCown, Cleveland Browns (vs. New York Jets)

McCown is back from his shoulder injury and will get the start in Cody Kessler’s place. He was playing fairly well before the injury and should be getting Corey Coleman back from his own injury soon. McCown doesn’t have a high fantasy ceiling, but he’s a decent start against the Jets’ poor pass defense.

Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions (@ Houston Texans)

Stafford is playing some of the best football of his career and is pretty much an every-week starter in fantasy now. He hasn’t thrown an interception since Week 4 and his fantasy value is nice and steady at the moment. Look for him to continue putting up QB1 numbers against the Texans.

Kirk Cousins, Washington (vs. Cincinnati Bengals in London)

Cousins has been putting up decent fantasy numbers this year, but the turnovers continue to be a huge problem. He has six interceptions on the year and lost a fumble against the Lions last week. In addition, the London games have a way of depressing offense, so everyone in that game should be downgraded in fantasy. Keep Cousins on the bench for now.

Trevor Siemian, Denver Broncos (vs. San Diego Chargers)
The last time Siemian faced the Chargers, he managed just 230 yards on 50 pass attempts, an incredibly low 4.6 yards per attempt. The Chargers’ defense is completely different with Joey Bosa in the lineup, and the running game took a big hit with C.J. Anderson going on injured reserve. Siemian is an easy bench this week.

Jay Cutler, Chicago Bears (vs. Minnesota Vikings)

Cutler is back under center after Brian Hoyer broke his arm, but fantasy owners shouldn’t get too excited about him sparking the offense. He wasn’t playing well before his thumb injury, throwing two interceptions and losing a fumble in two starts, and now he’s going up against the Vikings’ fierce secondary. Cutler is more name than game at this point in his career.