The Indianapolis Colts will face the Houston Texans in Week 8. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding QB Anthony Richardson.
Is Anthony Richardson Playing in Week 8?
Richardson is not listed on the injury report this week, so barring any setbacks, he is on track to play this weekend.
We’ll continue to monitor the Colts’ injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.
Should You Start or Sit Anthony Richardson in Week 8?
The idea of investing in a player like this makes all the sense in the world. Richardson has every tool, and given that we had very little in terms of NFL reps entering this season, why would we not be excited about his potential?
Is his profile not similar to Jayden Daniels, but sacrificing a little bit of speed for 30 pounds of muscle?
That’s why we aim high. If you’re right, you put yourself in a position to win your league (I’m guessing the team with Daniels is sitting pretty in your league). If you’re wrong, players like Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold could have been had late or picked up off the wire to give you a chance. In essence, you have the chance to win your league without the risk of losing it.
The process I stand by, but the results are clearly a problem. Through three drives on Sunday, Richardson had as many fumbles lost as completions. Over his past three starts, he has two more rushing attempts than completions.
Simply put, this offense doesn’t match what their starting quarterback does well, and I don’t see that changing. The Texans have been challenged downfield as often as anyone with the highest opponent average depth of throw, but they allow the fewest yards per deep pass attempt and that tanks Richardson’s ceiling.
Could he run for multiple scores in an effort to keep this game close? Anything is possible, and he certainly wasn’t shying away from contact. But without any confidence in his passing numbers, Richardson ranks outside of my top 15 at the position this week.
For what it’s worth, I’m already intrigued about next week’s matchup against the aggressive Vikings. Can he punish them for single coverage downfield? Can he break off a few chunk runs? If the breakout is coming, that is a spot I view as more interesting than this one.
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 8 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Anthony Richardson’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 8
Richardson is projected to score 11.9 fantasy points in Week 8. This includes 118.4 passing yards, 0.6 passing touchdowns, and 0.7 interceptions. It also includes 4.4 rushing attempts for 26.6 yards and 0.5 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
Anthony Richardson’s Week 8 Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 2:30 PM on Friday, November 8. If you're in a Superflex league, make sure you check out our Weekly Consensus Superflex Rankings.
Week 10 QB PPR Rankings
1) Jalen Hurts | PHI (at DAL)
2) Lamar Jackson | BAL (vs. CIN)
3) Josh Allen | BUF (at IND)
4) Jayden Daniels | WAS (vs. PIT)
5) Joe Burrow | CIN (at BAL)
6) Sam Darnold | MIN (at JAX)
7) Kirk Cousins | ATL (at NO)
8) C.J. Stroud | HOU (vs. DET)
9) Brock Purdy | SF (at TB)
10) Jared Goff | DET (at HOU)
11) Kyler Murray | ARI (vs. NYJ)
12) Patrick Mahomes | KC (vs. DEN)
13) Baker Mayfield | TB (vs. SF)
14) Matthew Stafford | LAR (vs. MIA)
15) Tua Tagovailoa | MIA (at LAR)
16) Bo Nix | DEN (at KC)
17) Caleb Williams | CHI (vs. NE)
18) Russell Wilson | PIT (at WAS)
19) Drake Maye | NE (at CHI)
20) Justin Herbert | LAC (vs. TEN)
21) Aaron Rodgers | NYJ (at ARI)
22) Daniel Jones | NYG (at CAR)
23) Joe Flacco | IND (vs. BUF)
24) Derek Carr | NO (vs. ATL)
25) Mason Rudolph | TEN (at LAC)
26) Cooper Rush | DAL (vs. PHI)
27) Bryce Young | CAR (vs. NYG)
28) Will Levis | TEN (at LAC)
29) Mac Jones | JAX (vs. MIN)
30) Jacoby Brissett | NE (at CHI)
31) Anthony Richardson | IND (vs. BUF)
32) Andy Dalton | CAR (vs. NYG)
Indianapolis Colts at Houston Texans Insights
Indianapolis Colts
Team: One team this season is giving away at least five minutes in time of possession per game, and it’s the Colts – at -7:34 per game.
QB: Anthony Richardson’s 48.5% completion percentage is the lowest through a team’s first seven games since Josh Freeman in 2013.
Offense: The Colts are allowing pressure on just 27.9% of dropbacks, the third-lowest rate in the league.
Defense: Indianapolis has allowed a touchdown on just 2.2% of deep passes, the fourth-lowest rate in the league.
Fantasy: Tyler Goodson has finished each of the past three weeks as RB33 or better (Trey Sermon has finished worse than that in the past two weeks).
Betting: The Colts are 9-2 ATS in their last 11 road games with a projected point total north of 45 points.
Houston Texans
Team: A win would be Houston’s third straight over Indianapolis, tying their longest win streak ever vs. the Colts (also done from 2015-16).
QB: C.J. Stroud ranks second in EPA per dropback against man coverage (0.36), but only 24th against zone (-0.11). The Colts play zone coverage at the third-highest rate of any defense (78.7%).
Offense: The Texans allowed a 51.7% pressure rate in Sunday’s loss to the Packers, their second-highest in C.J. Stroud’s 22 career starts.
Defense: The Texans have allowed a touchdown on a league-high 7% of opponent passes.
Fantasy: Nico Collins was injured on Stroud’s way to a second straight game with over 330 passing yards and has missed two games now – Stroud has 278 yards through the air in those contests. In Weeks 1-5, Stroud completed 51.2% of his 8.2 deep pass attempts per game and was threatening defenses vertically on a consistent basis. Since, he’s at 36.4% on 5.5 attempts per game.
Betting: Unders are 9-4 since the start of 2020 when the Texans host a divisional opponent (69.2%).