Fantasy football managers are facing one of the toughest bye weeks of the season, forcing tough lineup decisions across every position. This week’s matchups will test depth, strategy, and a bit of luck. Some players are stepping into favorable spots, while others face uphill battles. Here’s who you should be starting and sitting in Week 8.
Start ‘Em: Tyler Allgeier, Atlanta Falcons
This week truly is bye-mageddon. The names firmly inside the top 36 at the running back position are wild. There will be plenty of fantasy managers out there just hoping to get a handful of points from their RB2.
Tyler Allgeier is coming off a game in which he managed a total of 16 yards on four carries. The Falcons struggled against an improving San Francisco 49ers defense. Without the ability to control the game from ahead, Bijan Robinson dominated this backfield, playing a season-high 87% of the snaps.
The thing with Allgeier, though, is that he’s been one of the easiest players to project.
The Falcons are 3-3. In their three losses, all of which featured negative game script, Allgeier has topped out at 2.4 fantasy points.
In their three wins, all of which featured positive game script, Allgeier has hit double digits in every single one.
The Falcons are coming off a tough loss in San Francisco. They are now at home against a Miami Dolphins team that has one win and just got blown out by the Cleveland Browns.
Miami is allowing the second-most fantasy points per game to running backs and the most rushing yards per game. Robinson is going to dominate. But he is not going to get 30 carries. This is the perfect script for Allgeier to mix in more frequently.
In Atlanta’s three wins, Allgeier posted carry counts of 16, 16, and 10. He’s also scored in all of them. He will need to score to justify his spot in lineups. However, with all of the players hurt or on bye, Allgeier is undoubtedly an RB3/Flex play in a very favorable spot.
Rico Dowdle, Carolina Panthers
This one is not necessarily about the matchup. It’s about the state of the Carolina Panthers’ backfield.
Chuba Hubbard returned after a two-game absence. He immediately reclaimed his starting role and played every snap on the team’s first drive against the Jets. But Rico Dowdle was way more involved than early in the season. He clearly earned an increased role.
This backfield was as even as it gets, with Hubbard playing just five more snaps and Dowdle handling just three more carries. What wasn’t even the production.
RBs with 200+ total yards in a game this season:
2x — Rico Dowdle
1x — Jonathan Taylor
1x — Bijan Robinson
1x — Christian McCaffrey
1x — Jahmyr GibbsOnly 2002 had more such games in the first seven weeks. pic.twitter.com/EsHpZVAq46
— StatMuse (@statmuse) October 21, 2025
Dowdle was the vastly superior option, racking up 79 yards on his 17 carries compared to a putrid 31 on 14 attempts for Hubbard.
Head coach Dave Canales knows Dowdle is the better back. But he seems to feel that Hubbard might have lost his job due to injury and doesn’t want to relegate him to pure backup.
That is not what fantasy managers should expect, either. However, if Dowdle continues to outplay Hubbard, we have to assume the scales will continue to tip in his favor.
Regardless, Dowdle saw 17 carries and two targets. Split backfield or not, a running back seeing 15+ opportunities is worth starting. In what could be a high-scoring game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Dowdle remains a weekly fantasy RB2.
Sit ‘Em: Rhamondre Stevenson, New England Patriots
Amazingly, despite fumbling three times and despite Antonio Gibson’s torn ACL, the New England Patriots’ backfield has shifted even further toward Rhamondre Stevenson. The veteran running back has seen his two-season highs in snap shares each of the past two weeks at 72% and 75%.
In New England’s victory over head coach Mike Vrabel’s former team, the Tennessee Titans, Stevenson carried the ball 18 times for 88 yards and a touchdown. TreVeyon Henderson touched the ball…twice.
Stevenson will see volume again this week against the Cleveland Browns. Unfortunately, the results will not be as good.
Two weeks ago, Stevenson had 13 carries for 18 scoreless yards against the New Orleans Saints. He’s certainly not about to supplement his production through the passing game, as he has two receptions for a total of zero yards over his past two contests.
The matchup doesn’t get much more difficult than against a Browns defense allowing the second-fewest fantasy points per game to running backs. They’re allowing the fourth-fewest rushing yards per game and are even top-five in terms of limiting pass-catching from running backs (not that Stevenson contributes in that department anyway).
For the Patriots to win this game, they will need to lean on Drake Maye and the passing attack. Stevenson only shoots at a proper outing if he falls into the end zone.
Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Washington Commanders
Remember when Jacory Croskey-Merritt was set to take over the Washington Commanders’ backfield ahead of two pristine matchups against the Chicago Bears and Dallas Cowboys, two of the worst run defenses in the league. How’d that go?
Croskey-Merritt followed up his breakout 111-yard, two-touchdown performance against the Los Angeles Chargers with a couple of stinkers. Against the Bears, he ran it 17 times for 61 yards. Against the Cowboys, he turned 13 carries into 33 yards.
Every Week 7 touch for Jacory Croskey-Merritt https://t.co/RrKX4nkvNQ pic.twitter.com/EoctQgEee8
— Jacob Gibbs (@jagibbs_23) October 21, 2025
Now, JCM gets a Kansas City Chiefs defense allowing the fewest fantasy points per game to running backs. With Marcus Mariota potentially starting, the Commanders are likely looking at a negative game script. That means more Jeremy McNichols and less Bill.
Perhaps the rookie can find his way into the end zone. But it was Chris Rodriguez who got the short touchdown against the Cowboys.
Given the bye week and injury situation, it’s hard to imagine you have a better option than Croskey-Merritt. If you do, JCM is very much a bench candidate this week.
