Week 8 Love/Hate: De’Von Achane, Derrick Henry, Rashee Rice, Jalen Hurts

Summary

Fantasy Football Happy Hour with Matthew Berry

Episode: Week 8 Love/Hate: De’Von Achane, Derrick Henry, Rashee Rice, Jalen Hurts
Date: October 23, 2025

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Overview

This episode delivers Matthew Berry’s Week 8 “Love/Hate” analysis, focusing on crucial fantasy football choices with a special eye on running backs and wide receivers worth starting or sitting. Matthew, Jay Croucher, and Lawrence Jackson offer bold rankings, dig deep into player matchups, and share inside jokes and personal stories that keep the conversation light and entertaining for fantasy football fans looking to gain an edge on their lineups.
Main Focus: Week 8 Love/Hate lists for running backs, WR/TE, and QBs, with matchup breakdowns and best bets for Thursday Night Football.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Childhood TV Crushes & Show Banter (01:08–05:29)

• The team humorously reminisces about 90s TV icons as their childhood crushes: Jay Croucher confesses to Xena and Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar), Lawrence Jackson goes with JLo and Maya from Family Matters, and Matthew Berry vouches for Kelly Kapowski (Tiffany Amber Thiessen).
• Frequent asides and wisecracks highlight the show’s relaxed, conversational style.
• “[Kelly Kapowski] is the all time goat of childhood crushes. Spans many generations.” – Matthew Berry (03:26)

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2. Week 8 Fantasy RB: Who’s on the Love List? (05:29–17:45)

Breece Hall vs. Cincinnati Bengals

• Despite underwhelming recent play, Berry doubles down:

  “Every single game this year, the Cincinnati Bengals have allowed at least 16.9 fantasy points to a running back... Breece Hall is a running back. Ipso, ergo facto. Ipso facto bingo bango. Obviously.” – Matthew Berry (07:12)

• Couches with context: six teams on a bye, many injuries, volume is key.

De’Von Achane vs. Falcons

• Jay: Falcons are fast but “can be run on”; Dolphins should try to reestablish ground game after rough outing.
• Lawrence: “Even when you go before that 49ers game... James Cook in the third quarter, nine carries, 53 yards against the Falcons. It was working. They just stopped doing it.” (10:44)
• Berry notes the Falcons’ secondary is strong, but their run D is 29th over last month.

Derrick Henry vs. Bears

• Berry expects a bounce-back: Bears’ defense gives up chunk runs & are a soft matchup for RBs.
• “Ravens actually have the third highest implied team total in week eight. So I have Henry as a top ten play. I know it hasn't been great. Believe me, no one knows it better than I...” – Matthew Berry (12:38)

Isaiah Pacheco vs. Commanders

• Lawrence: “It seems like they're shifting more to Pacheco as he starts to look more like himself. Commanders [are] the 12th worst rushing defense in the NFL.” (14:24)
• Berry: “Of course the only time this entire effing season that Isaiah Pacheco actually falls in the endzone is when he's against me on Lawrence's team...” (14:28)

Bonus Love List RBs (16:47)

• Rico Dowdle (Bills vs. Commanders): Buffalo allows rushing points; game script may favor Dowdle.
• Tyjae Spears (Titans): 40%+ snap share, negative game script vs. strong Colts.
• Tyler Allgeier (Falcons): In Falcons wins, nearly 15 touches/game; Miami giving up the most rushing yards recently.

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3. Hate List - RBs to Avoid (18:13–22:26)

Jacory Croskey-Merritt (Commanders)

• Berry: “[He] has a 5% target share... never had a game with more than two targets. If they're down big... he's just not going to be the field.” (18:31)

Quinshon Judkins (Patriots matchup)

• Lawrence warns: “Patriots have given up two [rushing TDs] this year. Ashton Genti, Devon Achane, James Cook, Jalen Warren, Alvin Kamara all held to under 50 rushing yards.” (21:19)
• Berry: “I'm turning down the [trade]... this week I need Derrick Henry over Judkins.” (21:33)

Woody Marks vs. 49ers

• “The Niners... tackle. They didn't let Bijan Robinson get free at all. And if [he] can't... I don't think Woody Marks will either.” – Jay Croucher (22:26)

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4. Love/Hate: Wide Receivers & Tight Ends (23:14–34:23)

Rashee Rice (Chiefs vs. Commanders)

• Heavily targeted on limited snaps.

  “10 targets, four red zone targets, targeted on 52% of his routes. When he was out there, Mahomes was looking for him...” – Matthew Berry (23:51)

• Commanders are allowing most yards to slot WRs, where Rice lines up frequently.

T. Higgins (Bengals)

• Flacco at QB means “insane” volume. “He's had at least five receptions with eight targets in his two starts with Joe Flacco.” – Lawrence Jackson (26:11)

Zay Flowers (Ravens)

• 29% target share, faces Bears secondary that struggles with high-target WRs.
• “Wide receivers [with] at least seven targets against the Bears... averaging 18.9 fantasy points per game.” – Berry (28:48)

A.J. Brown (Eagles vs. Giants)

• Jay: "He just looks right again... The pass game has worked lately, I think they’ll continue to lean into that."

TE: Tucker Kraft (Packers)

• Pittsburgh a fantasy-friendly TE matchup: “Steelers have given up at least 14 points to a tight end in three of their past four games.” – Berry (30:36)

Additional “Others Receiving Votes”

• DeVonta Smith (Eagles), Courtland Sutton (Broncos), Quentin Johnston (Chargers), Dalton Schultz (Texans), Cade Otton (Bucs). (33:19–34:23)

Hate List – WR/TE to Fade

• Jaylen Waddle (Dolphins): “Bottom five implied team total... Waddle just merely WR25, he’s on the hate list.” – Berry (34:43)
• Kyle Pitts (Falcons): Run-heavy game script, reliance on TDs makes him a ‘meh’ TE play.
• Michael Pittman (Colts): Egalitarian offense, Colts are huge favorite, game script likely to limit volume. (36:17–37:08)

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5. Quarterback Love/Hate (39:43–49:47)

Love List QBs

• Bo Nix (Chargers) vs. Cowboys: Cowboys allow 25.1 PPG to QBs (highest in league).

  “They're not only bad [vs QBs], they're significantly worse than every other team.” – Berry (41:42)

• Jalen Hurts (Eagles) vs. Giants: Coming off stellar game, faces banged-up Giants secondary.
• Justin Herbert (Chargers): Consistent volume, faces susceptible Vikings pass D.
• Michael Penix Jr. (Falcons): Dolphins allow 5th most QB fantasy points. “Has averaged 268 passing yards in his last three games.” – Lawrence (44:46)
• Others: Caleb Williams (Ravens match), Jackson Dart (Eagles match); both recommended streamers in “byemageddon” week.

Hate List QBs

• Jordan Love: Faces Steelers, only one game all year with more than 31 attempts. “I have Jordan Love as more a high end QB2...” – Berry (46:35)
• 49ers QBs (Brock Purdy/Mac Jones): Texans allow fewest QB points, just 4 passing TDs allowed.
• Drake Maye: Faces brutal Cleveland defense, may not have necessary volume.

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6. Notable Moments & Quotes

• “Every single game this year, the Cincinnati Bengals have allowed at least 16.9 fantasy points to a running back... Breece Hall is a running back. Ipso, ergo facto. Ipso facto bingo bango. Obviously.” – Matthew Berry (07:12)

• On Mahomes "padding" stats:
  “I don't have a stat to prove this...But I think Patrick Mahomes, after having the worst game of his professional career in the Super Bowl...came to the season with a chip on his shoulder.” – Berry (25:11)

• On fantasy tough love:
  “I put Breece Hall on the love list last week...He stunk...I was wrong. That was wrong. You guys were right...And yet here I am back again.” – Berry (07:12)

• “I have to pick a hate quarterback. I wanted to pick somebody you heard of, so I’m lowering expectations for Jordan Love, but...he’ll be fine as a QB2.” – Berry (47:10)

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7. Thursday Night Football Best Bets (52:37–55:10)

• Jay: Aronde Gadsden OVER 44.5 receiving yards (“This man went seven for 164 last week—he can be 45 yards tonight.”) (53:04)
• Lawrence: Justin Herbert OVER 25 rushing yards (“He’s had at least 30 rushing yards and four out of his seven games...Minnesota has only played two QBs that run.”) (53:50)
• Matthew: Quentin Johnston OVER 49.5 receiving yards (“QJ is their deep threat...Vikings allow second highest completion rate on deep passes...I think QJ gets deep for one in this one.”) (54:31)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [05:29] – Love/Hate begins; Week 8 RBs: Hall, Achane, Henry, Pacheco
• [16:47] – RBs “Others Receiving Votes”
• [18:13] – Hate List – RBs to avoid
• [23:14] – Pass catchers: Rashee Rice, T. Higgins, Zay Flowers, A.J. Brown
• [34:23] – Hate List, WRs/TEs: Waddle, Pitts, Pittman
• [39:43] – QB Love/Hate: Bo Nix, Jalen Hurts, Justin Herbert, Michael Penix
• [46:35] – Hate List QBs
• [52:37] – Thursday Night Football Bets
• [55:41] – Who to Start: Chargers/Vikings, Mason/Jones update

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Top Takeaways

• Buyes/injuries create opportunities: Several bold picks hinge on volume due to bye weeks and injuries, elevating players like Allgeier and even marginal starting QBs into starter range.
• Follow matchups over names: Defenses that funnel targets (e.g., Falcons secondary vs. runners; Commanders vs. slot) shape who’s “love/hate.”
• Mahomes wants to “scorch the earth” for narratives/MVP, benefiting top Chiefs pass-catchers.
• Berry’s approach blends data and intuition (“I can’t prove it in a court of law... but I think [Mahomes] wants to win the MVP.” – 25:11)

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Memorable Quotes

• “Every single game this year, the Cincinnati Bengals have allowed at least 16.9 fantasy points to a running back... Breece Hall is a running back. Ipso, ergo facto. Ipso facto bingo bango. Obviously.” – Matthew Berry (07:12)
• “If I'm throwing the ball up and it's T. Higgins versus Sauce Gardner, give me T. Higgins all day just on the strength.” – Lawrence Jackson (26:11)
• “In games that the Falcons win, Tyler Allgeier averages 14.7 touches.” – Matthew Berry (17:45)
• “If they're down big... [Croskey-Merritt] is just not going to be on the field. It's going to be Jeremy McNichols.” – Berry (18:31)
• “They blitz a lot, so they'll leave a guy on an island and you could see a scenario where QJ has a one-on-one, they bring pressure and Herbert just, you know, hits him on the fly.” – Jay Croucher (55:21)

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Tone

• Fast-paced, fun, full of playful rivalry and jokes.
• Candid about fantasy calls—admits mistakes with self-deprecating humor.
• In-depth stats and actionable advice woven into the banter.

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Conclusion

This episode is packed with actionable insights for navigating a tough, bye-heavy Week 8, balancing signature Berry humor with sharp matchup-focused fantasy advice. The team’s chemistry and candidness drive home the episode’s core point: fantasy success in a chaotic week comes from understanding trends, trusting volume, and leveraging matchups—not just clinging to big names.

Transcript

[Matthew Barry]

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[Jay Croucher]

What about Xena, the Warrior Princess? She's a great ex, man.

[Lawrence Jackson]

You should have had that one in.

[Jay Croucher]

Your back pocket yesterday.

[Matthew Barry]

What happened? Where was that one?

[Jay Croucher]

I needed it. In the moment I chart as a.

[Matthew Barry]

Young boy growing into manhood in Australia. There's a lot of Xenia, Warrior Princess in this boy's life.

[Jay Croucher]

Don't you feel like she's a hero to Australian boys? I also actually just started watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which is a huge win because like, see you later, Paw Patrol. I actually watch a real show because I actually quite like Buffy. Big jump.

[Matthew Barry]

Buffy's great.

[Jay Croucher]

Oh yeah.

[Matthew Barry]

Anytime you get the kids into something like you like as. As you are. Right? Yeah.

[Jay Croucher]

Producer Pete is asking me if people get killed on Buffy a big jump Patrol the buck. I don't know if you know this people. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. When you slay, you kill the vampires. So ye. Right.

[Matthew Barry]

Fantasy Football Happy Hour with Matthew Barry.

[Jay Croucher]

Welcome to F Football Happy Hour. Jay Croucher, Lawrence Jackson, Matthew Barry, the Warrior Princess and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. They drink free today. Matthew.

[Matthew Barry]

Yeah. You know what? And. And you love hate, by the way. It's Love Hate day all the way. But so right. Zena Xena, Warrior Princess was an inspiration, if you will, to a young Jay Croucher as a boy growing into manhood in Australia. Not much to do.

[Jay Croucher]

Still trying to reach Australia. Still trying to reach manhood.

[Matthew Barry]

Haven't gotten there. Haven't gotten there. Yeah. K. I don't know how to pronounce this guy's name.

[Jay Croucher]

KJM already knows.

[Matthew Barry]

Yeah, exactly. Anyway, says Lucy Lawless was flawless in some of those Xena scenes. If you know, you know. Lol. There's no question about it. And for a certain age of the population, Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Also right up there in the Parthenon of childhood crushes.

[Jay Croucher]

Parthenon.

[Matthew Barry]

Yeah, sure, Lawrence. Who was yours? Who was yours growing up?

[Lawrence Jackson]

I don't know. J.

[Matthew Barry]

Lo. Yeah.

[Jay Croucher]

Jlo.

[Matthew Barry]

You don't have to explain it. I'll tell you mine. I'm dating myself a little bit here, but mine is the all.

[Jay Croucher]

Is it Audrey Hepburn?

[Matthew Barry]

No. Screw you. No, it's not Audrey Hepburn. But mine is the all time classic. Which is. It's Kelly Kapowski. It's Tiffany Amber Thiesen.

[Jay Croucher]

Come on.

[Matthew Barry]

Kelly Kapowski is the all time goat of childhood crushes. Spans many generations. Many. She's talked about this before as well. I was a big Winona Ryder fan, especially in college Reality buzz. Oh, yeah, A big Winona Ryder fan.

[Jay Croucher]

Ethan Hawke was punching way above his weight.

[Matthew Barry]

Way above his weight.

[Lawrence Jackson]

You guys are going TV sitcoms. I said JLo. I like to switch mine to Maya from Family Matters. That was, you know, really? Yeah.

[Jay Croucher]

Interesting.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Over Laura Winslow. Over Laura Winslow was the bigger name, right?

[Matthew Barry]

That's the one Urkel was in love with. Urkel was in love with Laura Winslow.

[Lawrence Jackson]

And the one he didn't want was Elmira, but she loved him.

[Jay Croucher]

Oh, wow.

[Matthew Barry]

Honestly, I'll tell you, pretty much any cast member of Beverly Hills 90210 or Melvor's Place I was in on as well.

[Jay Croucher]

Comment from chummy leather daddies. Oh, this is not me. Terrifying profile picture as well. Barry looks like a Betty White type. That's a great comment, Chubby. Let the daddies listen.

[Matthew Barry]

Chubby leather daddies. There will be no Betty White as long as I'm alive. There will be no Betty White slander on this stage.

[Jay Croucher]

I'd also like to change mine, by the way. Not Xena or Buffy for me. Dana Scully from the X Files. Gillian Anderson, who is about your age now, looks a lot better than you.

[Matthew Barry]

Who doesn't?

[Lawrence Jackson]

Nobody said Topanga.

[Matthew Barry]

Topanga's a big one. Everyone loves. Everyone loves Danielle Fishel. Sure. And what's crazy is if you follow her on Instagram, she still looks exactly like Topanga. And she talks about that she Has a fun. She has a fun feed as well. So I'd be curious who the regulars chime in with theirs as we get into love hate. But I'm telling you, Kelly Kapowski is the undisputed champ.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Them saved by the bell gals. All them was on point.

[Matthew Barry]

Lark Voorhees. Yes, yes.

[Lawrence Jackson]

And then I don't know her real name, but Jesse.

[Matthew Barry]

Jesse, of course. Jesse Spano. Sure. Of course.

[Jay Croucher]

Okay.

[Matthew Barry]

Elizabeth Berkeley. That was played by. She was played by Elizabeth Berkley.

[Jay Croucher]

All right.

[Matthew Barry]

You should rent Showgirls one day. All right, here we go.

[Jay Croucher]

Lawrence isn't old enough to rent. Lots to get to today. Love hates. We're going to give out our best bets for charges. Vikings. Interesting Thursday night Football game. Looking forward to that. We'll give you our breakdown there. But let's start off with the running backs. And we heard from Breece hall, who makes the love list, not losing faith in the team. I think we have a very strong nucleus of our team and our coaches. And our coaches do a very good.

[Matthew Barry]

Job of, you know, bringing the juice every day and keeping us in it.

[Jay Croucher]

But I wouldn't say. I wouldn't say I'm necessarily worried.

[Matthew Barry]

You know, we still got to, like.

[Jay Croucher]

I said, we still got a show.

[Matthew Barry]

Up to work every day.

[Jay Croucher]

Guys got families to feed.

[Matthew Barry]

Guys got kids to take care of. There's a lot of, you know, other parts of motivation.

[Jay Croucher]

Guys are natural competitors as well.

[Matthew Barry]

So, like I said, I wouldn't be as worried about, you know, the morale of the team.

[Jay Croucher]

I think we all are very hungry and all want to win.

[Matthew Barry]

If you listen closely, he's almost able to talk himself into it. That was the most uninspiring we still believe in ourselves talk I've ever heard.

[Lawrence Jackson]

And brought the kids into it.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah, Kids to feed. Like what you NFL running back. The kids. He also said that he's not worried. I'd be very worried if I was. Bruce hall about the New York jets in their current state. But, Matthew, if you're ever going to get right, it's going to be against the Cincinnati Bengals defense. Bruce hall comes in, number eight.

[Matthew Barry]

Aloha Bricks. Saying Breeze hall looks like he's forced to read a teleprompter free Breeze. Good point. Aloha, Brick. Strong comment. Absolutely. He definitely had a hostage video feel to it. You know, I'm definitely not being held against my will. I'm definitely happy here. Here's what I will say about Breeze Hall. You see him right there? He's number eight. You have to Couch, everything with the idea, like, there are six teams on a buy and we also have a ton of injuries to deal with, so the ranks look differently than they might. And I hear you out there. I already know what you're saying. You're saying, listen, Barry, you put Breece hall on the love list last week. And then some of us clapped back at you, said, really? Against the Carolina Panthers, defense had been pretty good. And I said, yeah, yeah. But they've been struggling against pass catching running backs. And I believe that Justin Fields will be. There's no way Justin Fields can be as bad as he was the week before. And so, yeah, Bruce Hall's on the love list. That was last week. I was wrong. That was wrong. You guys were right. He should not have been in the love list. He stunk last week. The jets stunk last week. Justin Field stunk for a second week in a row. And yet here I am back again. Make no mistake, the loveless at least is bold. I'm back again. And the reason is. The reason is. Is you had me at Cincinnati, right? Every single game this year. Every single game this year. Jay Croucher. The Cincinnati Bengals have allowed at least 16.9 fantasy points to a running back. So you're telling me there's going to be a running back that gets at least 16.9 fantasy points in this game? Well, Breece hall is a running back. Ipso, ergo facto. Ipso facto bingo bango. Obviously.

[Jay Croucher]

Bang it out there. Bang it out.

[Matthew Barry]

Ergo, Reece hall makes the love list. He gets a lot of work here, especially if Tyrod Taylor is under center and he's less than 100%. I think they hand off quite a bit running backs that have seen at least 15 touches against your Cincinnati Bengals. Lawrence are averaging almost 20 fantasy points per game. Low how bricks on fire today.

[Jay Croucher]

Bricks. Bruce hall got the same energy when Connor found out he lost the Todd zeal for the Emmy. That's a very good comment, by the way. Connor just lost again yesterday. Again. That's why he's not here today. He'll be back tomorrow after he loses another Remy.

[Matthew Barry]

We have started to just. Just everyone knows we have here at the happy hour. We have started to look actively for awards that Conor is good enough to get nominated for but not win because we. We like that bit so much. We want him to. So anyone out there, like we put him up for a Webby award here? Yeah.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah.

[Matthew Barry]

What do you got?

[Lawrence Jackson]

You want right here because he hosts this show four out of the five days a week. Jay hosting right now. So you could have a fantasy football happy hour host of the year award. Certainly good enough to win that, right buddy? But because he's not the only one who does it.

[Matthew Barry]

Well then yeah, that's gonna be a Peacocky. Absolutely. If you want a strong bet, Conor gets nominated but loses Host of the year in the Peacockies at the end of the year.

[Jay Croucher]

I actually recently found out, you know, it's like the 40 under 40, like sports business Journal does that Forbes does as well. Connor came 41st, so yeah, just nailing this down.

[Matthew Barry]

Wait, hold on.

[Jay Croucher]

40, hold on.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Yeah, he was 41 and you were first or second.

[Jay Croucher]

I don't believe they list one to 40.

[Matthew Barry]

They don't put it in order, but.

[Jay Croucher]

If it's any case. All right, moving on. Devin A. Chan it's been an up and down season, mostly down for the Miami Dolphins. Achan has had his moments though, and if he's ever going to get right, it's going to be in a game against the Atlanta Falcons run defense which cured Christian McCaffrey's efficiency and, and I get that George Kittle came back and that was probably a big part of it. It's like George Kittle turns you from a three yards per carry running back into a five and a half yards per carry running back. The Falcons, they just don't have big people on their defensive line or on their defense. They can be run on and if the Dolphins are ever going to lean into the run, it's going to be after two or Tagovailo just through a million picks against the Browns. So I think that the Dolphins, they try and establish the run and they.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Lean on Devon H. I really like that call Jake, because even when you go before that 49ers game when the Falcons played the Bills, they were all over the passing game and Josh Allen and getting pressure. They went to James Cook in the third quarter. He had nine carries for 53 yards against the Falcons. It was working. They just stopped doing it. Well, the 49ers wasn't that dumb. They not going to take the ball out of their running backs hands and Christian McCaffrey has his best game on the ground last week. So I do see it for that reason. They're not. The Falcons aren't stout up front on defense but they're fast and athletic so that definitely makes sense there.

[Matthew Barry]

They're. Their strength of the defense is that secondary which is the number one pass even the last four weeks. But they're 29th against the run over the last month. So I'M with you on Devon H. Hand.

[Jay Croucher]

Yep. King Henry, another guy who can get up off the Schneider superstar quarterback Lamar Jackson is back and he has a matchup against the Bears where the Ravens are pushing towards touchdown favorites.

[Matthew Barry]

Yeah, off the by. Hopefully Henry is a little bit fresher. I have a friend that literally tried to trade for Derek Henry, offered me Quinn, Shawn Judkins.

[Jay Croucher]

You don't want to do that.

[Matthew Barry]

I'm still thinking about it. Still thinking about it. I literally think about this week and I do love him this week again. I need to win this week. Lawrence. I'm playing Adam. This is my Super Bowl. This is my chance to get up the Schneide to get to put a W on the board here as well. My awful team. The worst team I've ever owned in fantasy football in 30 plus years of playing. At any rate, he's playing the bears literally. Only two teams in the NFL have given up more 20 yard runs to running backs than the Chicago Bears. And running backs that see at least 10 or more carries against Chicago averaging 5.4 yards per carry. Obviously they're going to run Derrick Henry quite a bit. Ravens actually have the third highest implied team total in week eight. So I have Henry as a top ten play. I know it hasn't been great. Believe me, no one knows it better than I how it hasn't been great. But in a game where the over under is 49 and a half we expect a lot of points to be scored. The Ravens believe it or not are actually six point favorites at home despite the fact that Bears are four and two. Right.

[Jay Croucher]

The Bears, Bears are four and two.

[Matthew Barry]

Bears are four and two and right. The Bears are one in five or whatever. Ravens are one of five.

[Lawrence Jackson]

They're still almost favorites to win that division. Like them in the studs is real close right now but Derrick Henry had a good time, a good game last time out. 24 carries, 122 yards versus the Rams when they had Cooper rush. So you know he, he's solid. He's getting a little better now that you get Lamar back. They're touchdown favorites. You see the implied team total. I see Derrick Henry getting in the end zone.

[Matthew Barry]

Yeah. I think he easily could get in maybe maybe twice. So we will see. If I end up trading him du j for Quinshawn Judkins, he will absolutely score twice.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Probably three times or a James Cook, you know.

[Matthew Barry]

Yeah, yeah.

[Jay Croucher]

The one concern with Henry is that even when he had Lamar outside of the week one against Buffalo, he wasn't The Dere Henry of last year, at least it wasn't. The rushing offense of last year didn't really do much against Detroit. Didn't do much against Kansas City. The one run against Detroit had the one touchdown run. But still trust for the most part in the talent of Henry and Lamar Jackson. Obviously such a cheat code. Another guy who has a good chance getting to the end zone Lawrence is Isaiah Pacheco who plays his commanders. And the Chiefs are pushing towards two touchdown favorites at this point.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Yeah, it's the same thing I mentioned about Pacheco when we did pregame. They were 11 and a half point favorites against the Raiders. Now they sit here as 12 and a half point favorites versus your commanders. Matthew, now. Yeah, Pacheco got his first rushing touchdown of the season. So that's not the thing. I'm.

[Matthew Barry]

Oh, I'm aware. He's on Lawrence's team. He's on Lawrence's team.

[Lawrence Jackson]

I had to start him.

[Matthew Barry]

Right.

[Lawrence Jackson]

I didn't do it like happily. I just had to do it.

[Matthew Barry]

But of course the only time this entire effing season that Isaiah Pacheco actually falls in the end zone is when he's against me on Lawrence's team last week.

[Lawrence Jackson]

And the beauty of it was it still wasn't inside the five because they will not give Isaiah Pacheco a carry inside the five look. But the thing is he had a season high 15 carries. That's the important part. It seems like they're shifting more to Pacheco as he starts to look more like himself. Brashard Smith getting in there a little bit but they're moving towards Pacheco. And because the commanders have the 12th worst Russian defense in the NFL then I like Pacheco's chances again this week.

[Jay Croucher]

Great comment from Raise the flags. Barry on Monday after his loss. We all have families to feed. I still believe in my team.

[Matthew Barry]

Yeah, totally. It's definitely this. Let's go to camera one right now. I'll tell you, no, look, we all have families to feed. I still, I still believe in my fantasy team. Yeah. Yeah. Next question. Yeah. Is that Breeze hall energy?

[Jay Croucher]

Brace Berry.

[Matthew Barry]

Bruce Berry. Thank you.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah. No. Isaiah Pacheco.

[Matthew Barry]

There you go. Master thespian right here.

[Jay Croucher]

Very favorable matchup. The one thing, it's not just the Kareem Hunt thing, it's the fact that when they do get in close, this is a little undercover.

[Matthew Barry]

Patrick Mahomes come a bit of an.

[Jay Croucher]

Aaron Rodgers touchdown merchant inside the five. They love checking into passport had a little kind of. You got Jump past play.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Yeah, rack up them. Look when the chief saw Matthew Stafford still throwing 1 yard touchdown passes to Devontae Smith Patrick Mahomes says so oh no, I gotta get Devonte Adams.

[Matthew Barry]

But yes.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Yeah. What'd I say?

[Matthew Barry]

DevonTae Smith.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Oh definitely Devonte Adams, not DevonTa Smith.

[Matthew Barry]

Very different players.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Yeah, very different players. Both good. Very different players.

[Matthew Barry]

All right, let's but I agree with you there's a little bit of like just stat padding with Mahomes because he can by the way Tony Romo was.

[Jay Croucher]

Very upset about it on the broadcast. He was like I did it once. I didn't know I could do this my whole career. I could have racked up an extra 40 touchdowns along the journey. But they can do it credit so it's not like Rashee Rice wants a rushing touchdown anyway. He wants receiving touchdowns too. All right, let's get to others receiving votes headlined by Uncle Rico who has not a great matchup against Buffalo in terms of game script but it is a defense that can be run on.

[Matthew Barry]

Yeah the Buffalo is allowing the third most rushing yards per game to running backs last year and at least this year and at least last week Dowdle average 5.3 yards per touch Hubbard just 3.4. How about Tajie Spears in a negative game script against York colts Titans a 14 point underdog Tajie Spears back to back games with at least 40% of the snaps and a 12% target share. And finally Tyler Algier again in games in which Tyler Algier you know in wins this season this stats unbelievable to me. In games that the Falcons win this year Lawrence Tyler Algier averages 14.7 touches. In games that the Falcons win Tyler Algier is getting almost 15 touches a game. Falcons are 7.5-point favorites here and so I just think they they like to run. They don't use Bijan as much when they feel like they've got the so always a chance to get into the end zone here and there's no team giving up more rushing yards per game over the last four weeks than the Miami Dolphins. So I do think in a Buymageddon type week Algier is a viable flex.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah there's a lot of chatter about or at least a lot of quotes about Bijon Robinson is the best player in the NFL. His coaches like Sir Bjorn Robinson is incredible. He may well be the best running back in the NFL. He only gets 59% of his team's carries like that's a real thing and it lessens his value and increases Tyler Algiers value because Tyler Algier is just legitimately good. It's two different coaching staffs now that have believed in Tyler Algier to give him plenty of work. So yeah, he's not going away and.

[Lawrence Jackson]

He'S a change of pace for them too.

[Jay Croucher]

For Atlanta he's a very good player. All right, let's get to the hate list. Sad to see this name on there, Matthew Jakory, Crosby, Merritt, after he had a very favorable matchup against Dallas, expected him to have a good, a little bit of it was outside of his control with the game script and Daniels going down. But disappointing game there. Doesn't get any easier against the Chiefs.

[Matthew Barry]

It certainly does not. I mean again Washington, as you mentioned, My commander is 12 and a half point underdogs to the Chiefs. They have the third lowest implied team total on the week eight slate. And so as, as double digit underdogs, one of the concern here is that on the season, Jacori Crosby Merit Bill has a 5% target share. He's never had a game with more than two targets. So if they're down big, which is what we expect of the Chiefs, he's just not going to be the field. It's going to be Jeremy McNichols very quietly. As much as we love the explosiveness, as much as we love the story of Jecory Crosky Merritt, Bill has now had under 11 fantasy points in five of the six games he's played this year, including the two Marcus Mariota starts. And so I'm going to have to start him on my crappy team because I just don't have anyone that's going to touch the ball and I'm hoping he falls in the end zone but like he's on the hate list. He's my running back 25. If you could avoid starting him, I would. Now again, some of the, some of the numbers are, you know, he's, he's lost a couple of fumbles so that's minus two points. So without the fumbles maybe the numbers look a little bit better but still it just, nothing here points to him having a great game.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Yeah, for the, for those couple of weeks like it started with the Chargers, he was starting to get that volume and that's what we really like. That's what we wanted to see be consistent. But to your point, if they do so fall behind then it's going to be a tough situation seeing McNichols come in when you have to actually start him in your leagues like you do?

[Jay Croucher]

Yep. Another running rookie running back who had high expectations last week and delivered unlike Jacm was Quincean Judkins, who got three touchdowns against the Dolphins. He wasn't particularly efficient though, and I don't think that was his fault because his yards after contact were phenomenal. It's just that he wasn't getting any yards before contact. Now he's a really tough matchup with.

[Lawrence Jackson]

The Patriots and one thing is for certain, if they get near the goal line, they'd rather snap him the ball and let him run it in than to just run a regular offensive play. But that's the Dolphins run defense. Now you're going against the Patriots who allow the six fewest fantasy points to running backs. They've. They've only allowed 59 rushing yards per game in two total rushing touchdowns this season to running backs. He Quinshot Juggerns had three touchdowns last week. The Patriots have given up two this year. Ashton Genti, Devon Hn, who we like this week, James Cook, Jalen Warren, Alvin Kamar have all been held to 50 rushing yards or under versus this New England Patriots defense. So for Quinshawn Juckins in such a conservative offense where if you're the defense, you know they want to run the ball and you know they're not going to throw the ball past four and a half yards, yeah, they're going to throttle down and they're going to play that run. So it's going to be tough for him this week.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah.

[Matthew Barry]

By the way, I'm turning down the trade just for this week. Yeah, that's very convincing, Lawrence. I'm happy to revisit it next week. I'll give you. But this week I need Derek Henry over. I'll give you Jakori Crosky Merritt for Quinshon Jenkins.

[Jay Croucher]

No deal. McClures throw in Derek Henry. Why have a deal? No question from vet Judkins or Scatterboard rest of season. That's close.

[Matthew Barry]

You know what? That is very close. I'm going to say Judkins just because I feel better about his role. I'm a little nervous about Scatterboo because Jackson Dart is a threat. I feel like they will ramp Tyrone Tracy up a little bit. Scattered. Still going to be the Giants running back you want but I just, I feel I could see a scenario where Scatterboo gets game scripted out where Judkins is just like it doesn't matter. They're just. They're gonna like he's well.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Against Pittsburgh, Judkins was limited to 12 carries, 36 yards when they got behind. So there's that. So you got something. There's something there.

[Matthew Barry]

But yeah, and it's a, it's a close one and obviously Scottaboo is more involved in the passing game than Judkins is. But I'm, I'm gonna still say with.

[Jay Croucher]

Judkins, yeah, I would go Judkins, Judkins for me too. He's just the fact that he gets work even in blowout losses is like 20 carries against the Lions when they lost by 20 plus points quickly. Woody Marks on the hate list for me. Difficult matchup against San Francisco games hovering around peak. Not sure if Nico Collins is going to play and they may see the Judkins treatment where just loading the box. The Niners, even though they're missing Nick Bosa and Fred Warner, still a very well coached Robert Salad defense. And the one thing about them too is they tackle. They didn't let Bajan Robinson get free at all. And if B John Robinson can't do much on the ground against the Niners, I don't think that Woody Marks will either. Let's jump to love hate pass catches. Where we heard from Rasheed Rice on his big return last weekend. Yeah, it meant a lot more today.

[Matthew Barry]

You don't really notice how much you love something gone or possibly could be gone. I was able to get a glimpse of that and you know, I don't.

[Jay Croucher]

Ever want to feel that again. So just being able to be out.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Here with my brothers, that's.

[Jay Croucher]

That's like the most love I'd have had in a long time.

[Lawrence Jackson]

I felt great.

[Matthew Barry]

I think it's a glimpse of what's.

[Jay Croucher]

Possible and what's to come. This was our first game being able to play with each other.

[Matthew Barry]

Like you said, coach said I had.

[Jay Croucher]

A minimum amount of plays, so maybe with more plays, more touchdowns, not even just from me, but from everybody else from, you know, just being on the field consistently.

[Matthew Barry]

Okay.

[Jay Croucher]

Rasheed Rice, excellent return, heavily featured.

[Lawrence Jackson]

He did a lot on a minimum.

[Matthew Barry]

Amount of 10 targets, four red zone targets targeted on 52% of his routes. When he was out there running a route, Patrick Mahomes was looking for him, over half of him. And that's right, you see him right there, number four wide receiver.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Like it's jersey number.

[Matthew Barry]

Yes. Damn right. You're like, why is Rasheed Rice on the love list? Because he's a top four wide receiver for me this week. Jay Croucher, he gets my commanders. My commanders are terrible. Right? They're allowing the most Yards per game to the slot so far this season? No, they're allowing the most yards per game to the slot for the season, which is where Rasheed Rice lines up a decent amount as a kind of a big slot for the Chiefs. And they're also giving up the fourth post yards after catch to opposing wide receivers. So again, this is Monday Night Football, like, big stage, I think, you know, you talk about Mahomes and sort of like the, you know, padding the stats a little bit. I did a radio interview earlier today and I was asked about Mahomes and, you know, can he keep this up? And I said yes, because I said, I don't have a stat to prove this. We've talked about this on the show a little before. I don't have a stat to prove this. I can't prove it in a court of law. But I think Patrick Mahomes, after having the worst game of his professional career in the super bowl, given all the stakes and the stage of that, everything, like, I would argue that's the worst game of his career and just getting their asses kicked by the Eagles, that Patrick Mahomes came to the season and said with a chip on his shoulder saying, like, listen, I'm still a bad man. And no one's, you know, everyone's saying the dynasty's over. I want to go scorch the earth here. I want to prove them wrong as a person. He's not that guy to talk boastfully. You know, he's always respectful at the podium and he's just, you know, he, you know, does it with his, his actions, not with his words. But that's what I think. I think he wants to put up numbers every single week. I think he wants to win the MVP this year, obviously wants to get the team back to the Super Bowl. So, yeah, I, I think he will continue to pad the stats, including against my commanders on a national platform. Monday Night Football, you know, at home. This is a perfect setup for Mahomes to Disco Nuclear. Yep.

[Jay Croucher]

I will say as well, in my homes credit, I think he is paying the stats a little bit with the touchdown stuff in close. He will, to his credit, which is what Aaron Rodgers never will do. If it's third and 17, he'll chalk it up for grabs and he doesn't care if he gets picked. He doesn't care about the interceptions. But. And that's what you should do on 3rd and 17, just chuck it up because otherwise you're punting anyway. So Mahomes still the best quarterback in the game. T. Higgins playing with the second best best quarterback in the game, Lawrence Joe Flacco. And he gets a very favorable matchup against the jets who might be missing source car.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Look, the jets are a bottom 10 run defense. They have a top five worst offense and then they. But they have a top 10, top 10 pass defense. Now we know why that use of air quotes, right? Definitely, definitely needed them. But this is all about having Joe Flacco. This is all about the volume. 45 passing attempts and Joe Flacco's first start, 47 in the next one. So you get that. That's plenty for Ja' Marr Chase and T. Higgins. He's had at least five receptions with eight targets in his two starts with Joe Flacco. So now you think about all of that, then you think about the jets and we could talk about whether Sauce Gardner will play or not, but hell if I'm throwing the ball up and it's T. Higgins versus Sauce Gardner, give me T. Higgins all day just on the strength. So all that being said, love T. Higgins this week because obviously we love Chase, Jamar Chase every week.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah, it's very strange but the two most interesting players in football to me this week, one, Arande Gadsden, who we're going to talk about a bit later and two, Jamal Chase, because we've never seen anyone just get like 17, 18 targets a game. Could this like Joe Flacco is a complete ally. Amari Cooper, in his last three games Joe Flacco had like 450 receiving yards. Like what if Joe Flacco, this is what he does because he wants to get the ball out quick, he doesn't want to get hit and he's just going to throw to the first read and the first read and at some.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Point we know he going to start throwing them picks. But if you're throwing picks, throwing the ball to Ja' Marr Chase, you ain't going to get in trouble for that.

[Jay Croucher]

All right, question from Bobby Showtime. Great name T. Higgins or Rome Dunze rest of season. Matthew.

[Matthew Barry]

It's close. I'm going to say Roma Dunze here. I just, you know, again we love the Flacco story. He's still an over 40 year old quarterback behind a bad offensive line. I just, I feel better about the young, the young offense in Chicago there with a dunes A. So it's close but especially by the way because there is a chance that like just like Jamar chase gets a 40% target share.

[Jay Croucher]

Let's see, he's had a 42% target share with Flacco so far.

[Matthew Barry]

So I'm going to say Roma dunes here.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Yeah, it is close. No, I do agree because there's going to be those gains and this even happens with Joe Burrow when it comes to T. Higgins, there's going to be those games where it's three catches for 13 yards like T. Higgins is just going to have them type of games.

[Matthew Barry]

Yep.

[Jay Croucher]

No, I agree. I think the other thing too, why Rome has fallen a little bit is that the Bears have had run game scripts the past four weeks and all these wins. The Bears are solid, but they're not going to be playing with the lead so frequently. The Bears, they go head to head with the Ravens and Zay Flowers. Matthew.

[Matthew Barry]

Yeah, so far this season, really quietly, he's at a 29% target share. He's had at least eight targets and four out of six games. And the reason I bring up that eight target mark that he's had in the majority of his games this year is that wide receivers that see at least seven targets against the Bears so far this year, they're averaging 18.9 fantasy points per game. Bears have allowed multiple touchdown passes to wide receivers in back to back games. And so Zay Flowers out of the buy. This is all assuming Lamar Jackson is back, by the way. We wake up tomorrow and Cooper Rush is starting or Tyler Huntley. All bets are off. Came to the top. Don't clip this. Don't clip this. Wow. Why does Barry love Zay flout? No, no, no, no, no. This is us all assuming. I know Rush will get you.

[Lawrence Jackson]

He'll give Zay about 5 for 50.

[Matthew Barry]

I do think, I do think given the way the season is and coming out of the bye, I do think the Ravens offense is going to be a lot better and the team is going to be a lot better. So Isaiah Flowers, believe it or not, is a top 10 play this week. He's my wide receiver. Nine.

[Jay Croucher]

Yep. I like it. Yes.

[Matthew Barry]

The Zay daddy.

[Jay Croucher]

Okay. All right. A.J. brown makes the love list for me going up against the Giants. I think the Eagles really figured something out last week against Minnesota. That's the best game I've seen Jalen Hurts play regular season in his career. He was magnificent. Perfect passer rating against the Brian Flores defense. And the key thing with A.J. brown, it's not so much anything statistically, it's just that he just looks right again and he didn't look right the first month of the season. He wasn't creating separation. He wasn't beating man coverage. He'd look like the old A.J. brown against the Vikings. He also looked fine when they played the Giants a couple of games ago. It's just the rest of the game got out of hand. I do think there is a revenge factor that will loom large with the Eagles here as they look to stick it to the Giants and don't want to go 02 in that matchup this season. Another kind of revenge matchup. Although apparently not a revenge matchup. Matthew, the Steelers face Tucker Craft and the Packers.

[Matthew Barry]

Yeah, the Tuckler, the tuck daddy. You know, Tucker McGee. I don't know. I'm making this up. What I'll say is that it's a yes. Claire, It's a nice matchup against the Steelers for, you know, the Steelers defense as we've talked about, the Steelers defense is not the Steelers defense of old. You can, you can honestly, you can run on them and you can throw on them, especially if you're a tight end. Pittsburgh has given up at least 14 points to a tight end in three of their past four games. They allow the fifth most yards per game to opposing tight ends. So you see it right there. Tucker Craft, my tight end. Five Sunday night at Pittsburgh. We will be there, by the way, on the turf at Acrisure Stadium.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah.

[Matthew Barry]

Jay Lawrence and myself for fantasy football pregame this Sunday morning, 11am Eastern.

[Jay Croucher]

George Severicis is suspended.

[Matthew Barry]

George Savari? Yeah. I don't know. He's making. He's making K pop Demon Hunters fanfic.

[Lawrence Jackson]

He didn't qualify to the 40 yard dash finals.

[Matthew Barry]

No, he did not make it. Right, exactly. So anyway, Savarikis won't be there, but the three of us will be, will be on the stadium at Acrisure Stadium. We'll see if we get more respect from the security guards because I'm not.

[Jay Croucher]

Ready to talk about that.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Last year we couldn't get on the field last year.

[Matthew Barry]

They were a holes last year.

[Jay Croucher]

Wow.

[Matthew Barry]

Yeah.

[Jay Croucher]

It was one of the great showdowns of our times. Yeah. Yeah.

[Matthew Barry]

Real Mahomes versus Brady. This, this short fat little. Come on. That guy was a. That guy was a. You know, you guys out there, you've met, you've met short fat people with egos like, you know, so here's this guy. Anyway, whatever.

[Jay Croucher]

He was in the wrong. He had an attitude. I didn't care for it.

[Matthew Barry]

This is somebody that had a modicum of power and was.

[Lawrence Jackson]

And just took it just a little.

[Matthew Barry]

Bit literally like this much as a security guard and like just took it to the nth degree and like to the point where like his bosses were apologizing to me and us and like it became Tom Garrett. You're damn right Tom Garrett. I am the grudgeler. That one I will embrace. You're goddamn right I'm the grudgeler. Yeah.

[Lawrence Jackson]

And you know what, it'll probably one of them tight jobs where it's hey, just make sure everyone get through safely and things like that. He took it to the max.

[Jay Croucher]

I assume NBC has burnt all the clips of our previous shows, but go back and watch the show after Cowboy Steelers last year before Matthew absolutely went on a tirade against this. To be fair, very annoying. Security guard Brian Murphy Sounds like Paul Blart put the clamps on the ankle.

[Matthew Barry]

I would have killed he said he put the clamps on the ankler. He did. But by the way, I'd have killed for Paul Blart. Paul Blart, much more professional than that.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Said he locked him up like Deion in 95.

[Jay Croucher]

Unbelievable. All right, others are saving votes. Amanda they couldn't put the clamps on last week. Matthew Devonte Smith over 60% of his.

[Matthew Barry]

Targets this year have come in the slot. Giants allow the third most yards per game to the slot. Devonte smith A top 13 play from this week. How about Cortland Sutton in a matchup against the Cowboys who have allowed the most touchdowns on deep passes season? We know Bo Nix likes to throw it deep to Cortland Sutton as a top 15 play. QJ playing tonight. We like him a lot. Vikings allow the second highest completion rate on deep passes, including giving up three touchdown passes last week on deep passes. QJ is a top 20 play for me this week. Tight ends of course we talked about Dalton Schultz in the waiver wire show, but since week three, Dalton Schultz is the eighth best tight end in fantasy on a points per game basis. Dalton Schultz. That's the world we live in that it is a Dalton Schultz world. Four straight games with at least five or more catches. Nico Collins, banged up, may not be able to play against the Niners. Schultz A top 10 play for me. And how about Kate Otten in games that Mike Evans has missed over the last two years, Kate Otten is averaging over 14 fantasy points per game. Has a 22% target share going against the Saints who have allowed three touchdowns to opposing tight ends in just the last four games. So Kate Otten a top 12 option in this by Mageddon Week 1?

[Jay Croucher]

Yep. Dalton Schultz, by the way, is going to be the number one option potentially for an NFL team in this economy.

[Matthew Barry]

All right, let's get in the year 2025.

[Jay Croucher]

Unbelievable. Let's get to the hate headlines by Jaylen Waddle against Atlanta. As we've mentioned Matthew, it's a bit of a run funnel defence and Waddle after starting off hot without Tyreek hasn't been so good lately.

[Matthew Barry]

He certainly hasn't. And for all the reasons that we like Devon Achan as you mentioned, it's the reasons we don't like Jaylen Waddle. Again you can run on the Falcons you can't really throw on them. They're allowing the second fewest fantasy points to opposing wide receivers this year. Only two wide receivers literally the entire year only two wide receivers have scored 12 or more fantasy points against Lawrence Jackson's Falcons. Dolphins have a bottom five bottom five implied team total in week eight. So Jaylen Waddle even though he's been getting wide receiver one looks in production on the road at Atlanta even in a bimeged week he's just merely wide receiver 25 he's on the hate list. You probably don't have a better option than to start him but lower expectations for him. I think this is a good game for your Falcons Lawrence birdup they better.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Be because the Falcons the loss will be is as bad for them as it would be for the Dolphins.

[Jay Croucher]

If the Falcons lose this that's like season on life support. You can't go to three and four losing to the Dolphins sticking in that game hate listen me Kyle Pitts against Miami who are a bit of a run funnel defense where as touchdown favorites I think that the Falcons will be leaning on Bijan Robinson and Tyler Algier the fairly low pass rate over expectation. They run the ball with a lead and like Kyle Pitts now it's just every week he set it like 43 and a half receiving yards on draftkings probably not going to score a touchdown. There's just not much there. He's just like a you know a tight end, high end tight end two that you can look for eight, nine points each week. So not not super exciting. Michael Pittman of my beloved Colts why have you put him on the hate list?

[Lawrence Jackson]

Well you know because they're going against the titans in their 14 point favorites you know also because the Titans have the fourth worst rushing defense in the NFL. So you know fourth worst rush defense. We have Jonathan Taylor run the hell out of Jonathan Taylor. Right. So solid game for Pittman last week caught seven and nine targets for 58 yards got the touchdown from in close but it should be noted too that alec Pierce caught five of 10 targets and we could possibly see Josh Downs come back this weekend. So I don't really think there's a true wide receiver, one that is Tyler Warren for the Colts. So don't don't like Pittman this week and again. But again, Bob McGedon if you have to go with him. He's still the starting wide receiver for the colts, but being 14 point favorites don't bode well for the past catchers.

[Jay Croucher]

Yep, very egalitarian pass game in Indianapolis. I like that we're going to get our first break. When we come back, Love Hate Quarterbacks Headlined by Bo Nix on the Love list.

[Matthew Barry]

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[Jay Croucher]

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[Matthew Barry]

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[Jay Croucher]

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[Lawrence Jackson]

Call 1-800-granger. Click granger.com or just stop by Granger.

[Jay Croucher]

For the ones who get it done. How long did it take for the.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Comeback to sink in, for you to kind of process and appreciate? Well, I still think it's pretty crazy. I crashed after the game. I was pretty tired, I think emotionally and physically exhausted.

[Matthew Barry]

But it was a good win for.

[Lawrence Jackson]

For us, you know, obviously much better than the alternative. But, you know, that was a big one for us and good team win and everybody got their flowers. But I think we're all ready to.

[Matthew Barry]

Move on and go play better.

[Jay Croucher]

A few bonix. Take a nap after a big comeback victory. You earned it. Always, always good to see.

[Lawrence Jackson]

I'm in Drago.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah. All right.

[Matthew Barry]

That's a good. That's a good.

[Lawrence Jackson]

You look like that's a good pull.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah, it's an interesting look. I don't mind it. All right. Bo Nicks. Strange year for Bo.

[Matthew Barry]

But the Bronco Nielsen on your list, Lawrence, you know, come on. Ivan Drago. Come on.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Why? Yeah. Hell yeah.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah.

[Matthew Barry]

Rocky Ford. Bridget Brigitte Nielsen.

[Jay Croucher]

Come on.

[Lawrence Jackson]

But when I thought of her just now, I thought about her flavor of flav.

[Matthew Barry]

Yeah, of course. Yeah. No, you have to think back to that.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Yes, yes.

[Matthew Barry]

She was Ivan Drago's wife. Right? Her girlfriend in that movie. Yeah. In Rocky iv.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah. Well, someone who's not Ivan Drago's wife is Beau Nix, who's number five, by the way.

[Matthew Barry]

Can I just take one minute here? Just like this. I just want America to know this. Like this is the. This is the torture that is my life. Like again, like I can barely remember my kids names, but somehow there's a brain synapse in there that has that. Oh, Brigitte Nielsen played Ivan Drago's wife in Rocky IV 30 years ago or whatever the hell it was. Like, it just like how I haven't drinking that brain cell away, but like, like I can't remember my blood type.

[Jay Croucher]

Like it's just, you know, drinking. Definitely not a word.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Yeah, that's how I go with sports stats too.

[Matthew Barry]

Yes.

[Lawrence Jackson]

You. You gonna know who running back five was this particular week?

[Matthew Barry]

Yes.

[Jay Croucher]

All right.

[Matthew Barry]

But my, but my wife's. You know, my wife's mom's birthday no idea.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah, well, nothing like drinking in a good Dallas pass defense for a quarterback. Matthew and Bo Nix gets a very favorable matchup.

[Matthew Barry]

He certainly does. No team allows more fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. Cowboys give up 25.1, but more importantly, not only did they give up 25.1, they give up three more points than any other team. So they're not only bad, but they're significantly worse than every other team in this particular category. They're also giving up the second most touchdown pass of the season. So Bo Nix coming up. The big fourth quarter last week against Denver is a top five play for me. This week, five of the seven quarterbacks to face Dallas have scored at least 24 fantasy points.

[Jay Croucher]

Yep, another clear top five play. Jalen Hurts, as you mentioned before, coming off perhaps the best game of his career, now gets the Giants past defense. It's really banged up. Brian Burns is going to play, but is a little nicked. Also Paulson a debo question mark there. And look, Saquon Barkley hasn't had a single good game on the ground this year. At some point you're seven weeks in. This is just what your offense is. The pass game has worked lately, so I think that they'll continue to lean into that a bit more than expected. And Hertz will have a good day against the Giants. Justin Herbert plays tonight. Matthew, he does get to and he gets the team that Jalen hurts just lit up.

[Matthew Barry]

Yeah, exactly. Over the past four weeks, Vikings giving up nine point yards per pass attempt. That's the most in the NFL over that stretch. They're also giving up touchdown passes at the fourth highest rate again over the last month. And so Justin Herbert, who leads the NFL in pass attempts this season, he's had at least 38 or more pass attempts in four of his past five games. They haven't been able to run the ball given the injuries to the offensive offensive line, the injury to Omarion Hampton. We like Kymani Vidal, but I think he's going to be more viable as a pass catcher in this game than as a runner. So Justin Herbert is my QB7. You already know that. Quinton Johnston is on my love list as well. QJ, Kenan Allen, Wide McConkey, Aronda Gadson is the is the real deal. Yeah, I'm in on Ronda Gadson as a, as a tight end one the rest of the way.

[Jay Croucher]

I might have four very quality weapons in that pass game and a defense.

[Matthew Barry]

That has so far underperformed. Underwhelming.

[Jay Croucher]

It's a middle of the pack defense where there was hopes that it might be elite defense that has been elite at times. Lawrence is Atlantis and you've chosen Michael Pennix for the love list. Explain yourself.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Yeah, well, you know, bird up again. A lot of bye weeks. Right. But this is, this is the selling point here. Well, a lot of bye weeks but.

[Matthew Barry]

Did I mention bye weeks?

[Lawrence Jackson]

Did I mention bye weeks? There's some good stuff though. Check it out. Miami allows the fifth most fantasy points per game. Two quarterbacks. Now the thing will be here with Michael Penix is he's only had one game this season where he's thrown for multiple touchdown passes. The Dolphins have allowed that four out of their six games this season. The two quarterbacks that didn't throw for two touchdowns versus the Dolphins was Justin Fields and Dylan Gabriel. So it'll be about the touchdowns for Michael Pennis. As we know he doesn't give you much on the ground but he has averaged 268 passing yards in his last three games. So he's going to have to get you know like some of those Patrick Mahomes cheap touchdown passes. But in a week where you got buys, you got injured, injuries. More of a stream type play. I like Penix against the Miami Dolphins.

[Jay Croucher]

As a lifelong die hard Atlanta Falcons fan. As a man who cried himself to sleep up to 28 3. What's the level of confidence in Penix going forward? 0 to 10.

[Lawrence Jackson]

It's solid middling. You know, still got to see more. You, you definitely want to see him take steps up. You would have liked to see him build on that Bills game and bring that to the Niners game. That didn't happen. So you want to see him light it up versus this Dolphins defense.

[Jay Croucher]

I only had nine curious thoughts.

[Matthew Barry]

You're the general manager of the Falcons.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Yeah.

[Matthew Barry]

I offer you a second for Kirk Cousins. You doing it right now? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Lawrence Jackson]

I like to take a second round pick. Yeah, yeah.

[Matthew Barry]

For Kirk Cousins versus, Versus. Hey, we don't know what panicks. We've still got a chance this year. Yeah, you might want, you want a veteran in there and something in case something happens to panics or he melts down. That's my point. They look like you believe enough in Penix that you're willing to trade away like a viable starting quarterback for a future asset.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Yeah, a second round pick. Definitely. They look like a 8 and 9 team right now just because of how they play up and down and stuff like that. So that's how I feel about them.

[Jay Croucher]

Okay, let's get others receiving votes 2 guys who aren't going to get traded anytime soon. Caleb Williams and Jackson Dahl.

[Matthew Barry]

Ravens allow the second most fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks. We already talked about this game 49 and a half over under. I think Caleb is a top 10 play this week. Baltimore last in pressure rate over the last month and how About Jackson Dart 23.6 fantasy points in the first matchup of Philadelphia, three of the last four quarterbacks to face the Eagles have scored at least 17 fantasy points. You know about the rushing, a touchdown and three of the last four for dart. I'm as a top 12 play.

[Jay Croucher]

Okay, let's jump to the hate list headlined by a guy this year who is kind of underwhelmed. Like the stats are fine for the most part they're efficient but it's not a ton of volume for Jordan Love.

[Matthew Barry]

Understand with six teams on a buy. Jayden Daniels also hurt like there's not a lot of options to pick a quarterback that you've heard of for the hate list. It doesn't do you any good for me to say like don't start Andy Dalton.

[Jay Croucher]

Right.

[Matthew Barry]

So understood Andy Dalton. Yeah. By the way I have Jordan Lovett QB13 but he makes the hate list because again given all the all the buys but he's had only one game this season with more than 31 pass attempts. Again this is the team that wants to run the ball. They're 30th in pass pass rate. This is a team that's a bottom three team in pass rate. The packers are Steelers give up the third fewest yards for pass attempt over the last four weeks. They're giving up touchdowns at the seventh lowest rate. I think on the road at Pittsburgh they're going to want to run the ball. I think this is a big Josh Jacobs game. Take you know take Acrishire Stadium out of it as well. And so I just don't see Jordan Love having a monster game. A lot of injuries around his his pass catchers. We like Tucker Kraft here but I have Jordan Love is more a high end QB2 than a low in QB1. Again like it's just the premise of the show is love hate. I have to pick a hate quarterback. I wanted to pick somebody you heard of so I'm lowering expectations for Jordan Love but he's he'll be fine as a QB2. Like I'm not. It's just you know, it's just ugly.

[Jay Croucher]

Just the touchdown passes haven't been there for this much. He's got 10 and 6 oh, yeah.

[Matthew Barry]

13 fantasy points last week.

[Jay Croucher]

Something like that is brutal indeed.

[Matthew Barry]

All right.

[Jay Croucher]

Another quarterback not likely to have a big game is whoever is in there for San Francisco against Houston's still very good defense.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Yeah, Brock Purdy could be back or it could be Mac Jones again. But Houston allows him fewest fantasy points per game. Two quarterbacks, they've allowed only four touchdown passes this year, yet they've gotten six interceptions. That is a crazy stat. Then you look at this over under 41 and a half for a game with the 49ers and then CJ Stroud on the other side. That's pretty damn low if you ask me. It's the second lowest four week eight. And they haven't just done it against bum quarterbacks. They've, you know, the Texans have played the Cooper Rushes of the world, but they also faced Baker Mayfield, they faced Matthew Stafford. So, you know, with the 49ers, I think they're going to. You're going to see a lot of Christian or at least they're going to force the issue with Christian McCaffrey. But don't love either. 49ers quarterback versus Texans defense.

[Jay Croucher]

Indeed, to Matthew's point, it's Bymageddon, so you're going to have to start. Drake May, for the most part, don't love the matchup against Cleveland. This is the best defense that he's played. I think Drake May's in Colonel. I think Drake May's the real deal. I think he's already a top 8ish quarterback in the league. He can do it all. His efficiency has been off the charts, but it's not a ton of volume in that offense. In the past game, they never throw when they're in the red zone. They run the ball a ton. Mike Rabel, kind of a conservative coach and also the stats that have been compiled of being against like the Raiders, the Dolphins, the Steelers, the Bills defense, which is great. The Saints, the Titans, like he hasn't had to play a ton. Yeah.

[Lawrence Jackson]

If you do do something against this.

[Jay Croucher]

Defense, then the, then the lid is off.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Yeah. It's like, all right.

[Jay Croucher]

But. But yeah. Drake may not expecting huge things, but you still probably have to start in in Buymageddon.

[Lawrence Jackson]

All right.

[Jay Croucher]

Sunday night, Aaron Rodgers faces Green Bay for the first time ever.

[Matthew Barry]

What? Really?

[Jay Croucher]

Yes. First time. That's what the promo says. As the Pittsburgh Steelers host Jordan Love and the Packers Sunday, seven Eastern on NBC. And Peacock. Still to come, our best bets for Vikings Chargers last goal is next.

[Lawrence Jackson]

You are no dummy, but you're kind.

[Jay Croucher]

Of acting like one.

[Lawrence Jackson]

You used to crush it in school, outsmarting opponents on the field, and now. Well, you're still smart, but not exactly challenging yourself. You could be advancing nuclear engineering in the world's most powerful Navy. You were born for it. So make the smart choice. You can be smart, or you could be nuke smart. Become a nuclear [e-mail], america's Navy.

[Matthew Barry]

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[Jay Croucher]

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[Matthew Barry]

I did not know who the crowns was but now I'm aware it is in fact yours. No one else can claim the crown because it is obviously yours with no doubt.

[Jay Croucher]

Okay, the masses think that thinks that the crown will belong to Jordan Addison. His old receiving yards is one of the Most popular bets. 40 plus minus 2, 233. A lot of stars in this game. Justin Jepsen, Lad Conkey, Justin Herbert, Kenan Allen. All of their alt props. Also favorable bets. My best bet, I believe in the Big R. The first man ever to be nicknamed the Big O. Aronde Gadsden. Yeah. Who is set at a mere 44 and a half receiving yards. This man went seven for 164 last week. He's had nine and eight targets the past two weeks. I believe in Gadson. I don't believe he's 160 receiving yards, but I believe he can be 45 receiving yards tonight. So that's my best bet.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Right on. I'm going to go with Justin Herbert in 25 rushing yards. That's that plus 141.

[Matthew Barry]

He's had money Jackson, of course already.

[Lawrence Jackson]

And you know I like me some running Justin Herbert like it is great football to be honest. You know, he's had at least 30 rushing yards and four out of his seven games. There's another game in there when he had 24. That's why we taking a 25 right here. Now Minnesota only allows 10 and a half rushing yards per game to quarterbacks, but they've only played two quarterbacks that run the ball. That's Jalen Hurts, Caleb Williams and Caleb Williams gave him 58 on the ground earlier in the season. So I like Justin Herbert to kind of break that one and then he'll probably chill out the rest of the way and get the rest through the air.

[Matthew Barry]

I like it. I'm taking Quentin Johnson. You already heard me talk about him on the level list. Well, his line here is 49 and a half, so give me the over on Quinton Johnson. We talked about this again. Like Vikings give up three touchdowns on deep passes last week, they're allowing the second highest completion rate on deep passes. QJ is their deep threat. I think Justin Herbert will take some deep shots, especially on the turf in min. I'm sorry, on the turf here in Los Angeles and so they'll take some deep shots against Minnesota Vikings traveling on a short week. You always like playing defenses that have to travel across halfway across the country on a short week. So I think QJ gets deep for one in this one which gives you basically almost all of that. 49.5. Give me the over. 49.5 on QJ.

[Jay Croucher]

Yep. One thing about Brian Flores defense is they can be boom or bust. Like the bikers, they give up explosives. Saw that with Devontae Smith and A.J. brown last week. Like he's very aggressive. Right. So there are explosives to be had.

[Matthew Barry]

They blitz a lot until leave a guy on an island and you could see a scenario where QJ has a one on one, they bring pressure and Herbert just, you know, hits him on the fly.

[Jay Croucher]

And Justin Herbert is a guy who certainly can extend the play to find the guy. Dave, let's take a look. Matthew, your top players for the matchup. Justin Herbert a no doubt start. Carlson Wentz probably don't want to start if you don't have.

[Matthew Barry]

Yeah, I mean you're starting Herbert. I think both the running backs in this one, Mason and badal, our top 20 plays obviously the wide receivers are all must starts. Jordan Addison we talked about yesterday and keep it up closing out. Jordan Hudson's been a top 10 wide receiver receiver the last couple of weeks as well. You just talked about Gadsden. I'm starting him Hawkinson. So both should be a lot of fantasy points here. The one thing I want to mention is it'll be interesting to see if Aaron Jones gets activated for this game. Probably not just activated off IR at the beginning of the year but if he does, then Mason would probably be more in the 25 range and Aaron Jones would be in the 35 to 40 range. Something like that. But I just think it's interesting it sort of went under the radar. They like Aaron Jones a lot, especially in this passing offense and so even if he's not activated tonight, they've opened the window for him to return. So it's worth looking on your on your waiver wire to see if Aaron Jones is out there. My suspicion is when he's back, it'll be 60, 40 Mason to Jones. But Jones is still a good player with value and he's out there in a bunch of leads because people are like ah, so I just. He's a sneaky grab and stash. If you can afford the roster spot before tonight's game going forward, how would.

[Lawrence Jackson]

You see Jordan Mason? You said 60, 40 possibly. But like, just like. Would you try to trade away Mason or try to get upgraded receivers if you can?

[Matthew Barry]

I think he's going to be more low end wide receiver to high end flex than sort of the borderline wide receiver one running back one two that he's been so far. Because Jones will cut into the receiving work, Mason will still get the goal line stuff. But they like Jones. Look, it's closing time, so you do not have to go home. But my friends, you have to. You have to to figure you have to go somewhere else. You can't stay here. For Lawrence and Jay, I'm magic. Go read 10 facts on NBC sports.com peace out. Love you. Kelly Kapowski.