The New Orleans Saints will face the Los Angeles Chargers 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 Derek Carr.
Is Derek Carr Playing in Week 8?
Derek Carr has missed the New Orleans Saints’ last two games after suffering an oblique injury in Week 5. Carr did not practice leading up to last week’s Thursday night game vs. the Denver Broncos. However, he is back to throwing, which suggests a return could be imminent. However, he missed practice this week, and head coach Dennis Allen told reporters that Carr is unlikely to suit up in Week 8.
Saints coach Dennis Allen said Spencer Rattler is the expected quarterback Sunday at the Chargers.
Derek Carr has resumed throwing but isn’t likely to be back yet this week.
— Mike Triplett (@MikeTriplett)
With Carr likely sidelined again, Allen has made it clear that he’s sticking with fifth-round rookie Spencer Rattler at quarterback.
From a fantasy perspective, that’s bad news for the Saints’ offense. New Orleans scored 27 points in the second quarter of Rattler’s first start vs. Tampa Bay but has otherwise put up three points in seven quarters with him (Jake Haener led their only touchdown drive vs. Denver).
We’ll continue to monitor the Saints’ 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 Derek Carr?
Carr looked like an MVP candidate through two weeks of leading the new generation’s Greatest Show on Turf. But before his injury, the clock had struck midnight, and now without the field-stretching talents of Rashid Shaheed (knee, out for the season), asking Carr to return anything close to viable production when cleared is a long shot.
In the season’s first two games, Carr completed 61.5% of his deep passes with a 113.0 passer rating on such passes. Since then, his numbers (45.4 passer rating and 35% complete) look more like Spencer Rattler than an MVP candidate.
The Chargers are a top-10 pass defense across the board and ultra-methodical on the offensive end. If we get word that Carr will be returning this weekend, the value change sits with Chris Olave, but Carr shouldn’t be anywhere near your radar in any format.
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.
Derek Carr’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 8
Carr is projected to score 0 fantasy points in Week 8.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
Derek Carr’s Week 8 Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 11:45 PM ET on Saturday, January 25.
Conference Championship QB PPR Rankings
1) Josh Allen | BUF (at KC)
2) Jalen Hurts | PHI (vs. WAS)
3) Jayden Daniels | WAS (at PHI)
4) Patrick Mahomes | KC (vs. BUF)
New Orleans Saints at Los Angeles Chargers Insights
New Orleans Saints
Team: The Saints have lost five straight since starting 2-0. They’re the first team since the 2015 Dallas Cowboys to lose at least five in a row after starting 2-0 (that Cowboys team fell to 2-7 after starting QB Tony Romo was injured in Week 2).
Team: The Saints have won the past 11 games played in Week 8, out-scoring opponents 361-227 (+12.2 PPG) during that run.
QB: In the first two weeks of this season, Derek Carr completed 61.5% of his deep passes with a 113.0 passer rating on such passes. His numbers since (45.4 passer rating and 35% complete) look more like Spencer Rattler than an MVP candidate.
Offense: All the passing game injuries have also killed the running game. Since Week 3, the Saints are averaging 3.1 yards per carry on running back carries, second-worst in the NFL. That includes the third-fewest yards before contact per carry (2.2).
Defense: The Saints have allowed 502 rush yards in the last two games, their most in a two-game span since 1980. For the first time since 2012, New Orleans has given up 200+ rush yards in consecutive games; the last team to allow 200+ rush yards in three straight games was the 2019 Jacksonville Jaguars.
Fantasy: Alvin Kamara has not had a 10-plus-yard carry in three straight games, and over his past four, despite having a pair of rushing touchdowns, the majority (56.9%) of his fantasy points have come as a receiver.
Betting: The Saints have seen 13 of their past 14 games played on extended rest go under the projected total (most recently, Week 5 at Chiefs, a 26-13 loss with a 43.5-point closing total).
Los Angeles Chargers
Team: The average NFL game this season has seen 44.8 points scored – not a single Chargers game has reached 40 points yet.
QB: On Monday night, Justin Herbert became the first QB since Ryan Tannehill (Week 2, 2021) to throw for 345 yards without a touchdown or interception.
Offense: JK Dobbins was the story of the first two weeks this season (27 carries for 266 yards, 9.9 yards per carry), but he has failed to average even 4.0 yards per carry in the four games since, checking in under 3.0 in three of those games.
Defense: Los Angeles allows a score on just 25% of drives this season, the lowest rate in the league and 13 percentage points better than the league average.
Fantasy: The Chargers are amongst the most run-centric offenses, and on Monday night, when they took to the air, the early passes weren’t exactly going to the players on fantasy rosters – Will Dissly and Simi Fehoko saw eight of Justin Herbert’s first 10 targets.
Betting: Seven of Justin Herbert’s last eight home starts have finished under the total, including each of the past four.