When does NFL Week 8 start?

Week 8 runs from Thursday 29 October, the Panthers at the Packers, to Monday 2 November, the Bears at the Seahawks: 14 games.

Which NFL teams have a bye in Week 8?

The 49ers, the Giants, the Saints and the Texans.

Who are the biggest favourites in NFL Week 8?

The Bengals by 10 against the Titans, the Jaguars by 10 against the Colts and the Cowboys by 7 against the Cardinals.

Which NFL Week 8 game has the highest total?

The Ravens at the Bills and the Cardinals at the Cowboys, at 54.5 points.

Fantasy GameDay Week 8: Four Ballers Captains, the Stars Lineup and the Cheap Seats

Published October 29, 2026 by Statz NFL.

Every Week 8 contest on Fantasy GameDay from their salary file: the captains for Thursday, Chargers-Rams, Sunday night and Monday night, the Stars and Classic lineups for the ten-game Sunday slate, and the cheap names the projection rates.

The week's contests

Fantasy GameDay's Week 8 file covers all fourteen games. Four are Ballers contests, each a five-player lineup for £25,000 with a non-quarterback captain at 1.5 times and four superflex seats: Panthers at Packers on Thursday, Chargers at Rams on Sunday afternoon, Eagles at Commanders on Sunday night and Bears at Seahawks on Monday night. The other ten games make up the Sunday slate: the Stars (£45,000, a captain plus a full lineup) and the Classic (no captain, two flexes). Full PPR, four-point passing touchdowns.

The projection is the weekly matchup number on the Fantasy GameDay optimiser, which also has every lineup below in full. Check the injury table before you submit: several of the names below are questionable, and a scratch costs a seat.

Ballers, Thursday: Panthers at Packers

Tetairoa McMillan is the captain at £6,000: 14.2 projected points, 21.3 as captain, in a game with a 47.5 model total. The optimiser's five is McMillan, Matthew Golden (£5,600, 13.8, questionable with a shoulder), Jalen Coker (£4,000, 13.3), Josh Jacobs (£5,800, 11.8) and Tucker Kraft at £3,600 for 10.5, exactly £25,000 and 70.7 projected. Coker is the best value in the pool at 3.33 points per £1,000, with Kraft next at 2.92. Jordan Love (£7,600, 15.6) and Bryce Young (£6,800, 15.2) are the quarterbacks if you want a stack. The Panthers at Packers preview has the game.

Tetairoa McMillan, captain — WR, CAR · £6,000 · 14.2 projected — at £6,000 — 21.3 with the multiplier. Golden is questionable, so check the inactives. Game preview
Thursday lineup — CPT McMillan · Golden · Coker · Jacobs · Kraft — at £25,000 — Coker for Golden is the swap if he is out. Game preview

Ballers, Chargers at Rams

This is a Puka Nacua game. He is the captain at £8,000, projected at 22.5 points and 33.8 as captain, and the optimiser builds around him: Kyren Williams (£7,400, 19.1), Justin Herbert (£5,000, 15.0), Tyler Higbee (£2,400, 7.9) and KeAndre Lambert-Smith at £2,200 for 6.4, exactly £25,000 and 82.2 projected. Lambert-Smith is on the Chargers' injured-reserve list in our injury table, so treat that seat as open and spend it on a player who will play: Keaton Mitchell at £2,400 for 7.7 and Colby Parkinson at £2,800 for 7.8 are the cheap options, and Parkinson is questionable with a rib injury. Matthew Stafford at £7,200 projects 16.5. The model has the Rams by ten, which is why three of the five are Rams.

Ballers, Sunday night and Monday night

Eagles at Commanders is a short-slate game with a 44.3 model total against a market of 40.5. DeVonta Smith is the captain at £5,800, 15.1 projected and 22.7 as captain, with Jayden Daniels (£6,800, 19.8), Tanner McKee (£4,400, 13.0), Stefon Diggs (£4,200, 12.1) and Rachaad White at £3,800 for 11.9, £25,000 and 79.5 projected. Smith is questionable with a hamstring and Diggs with a hand, so this is a lineup that depends on the inactives. The Eagles at Commanders preview has the game.

Bears at Seahawks is a Jaxon Smith-Njigba game. He is the captain at £9,000, 23.1 projected and 34.7 as captain, with Sam Darnold (£5,800, 14.3), Colston Loveland (£4,000, 11.8), Emanuel Wilson (£4,000, 9.8) and AJ Barner at £2,200 for 8.2, exactly £25,000 and 78.8 projected. The captain is a third of the lineup's points, and Barner at £2,200 is the cheap seat that makes it affordable. The Bears at Seahawks preview has the game.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba, captain — WR, SEA · £9,000 · 23.1 projected — at £9,000 — 34.7 with the multiplier. The one elite receiver in the pool. Game preview
Monday lineup — CPT Smith-Njigba · Darnold · Loveland · E. Wilson · Barner — at £25,000 — Caleb Williams is not in the optimiser's five. Game preview

Stars and Classic: the ten-game Sunday slate

The Stars lineup is £45,000 for 167.0 projected points, led by Jahmyr Gibbs as captain at £8,400: 27.9 projected and 41.9 as captain. The rest is Josh Allen at quarterback (£8,000, 22.9), Chase Brown (£5,200, 18.8) and Bhayshul Tuten (£5,600, 17.9) at running back, Michael Wilson (£4,000, 17.5) and DK Metcalf (£4,200, 14.0) at receiver, Trey McBride at flex (£5,800, 21.5) and Travis Kelce at tight end (£3,800, 12.5). The Classic lineup is the same eight without the captain, at £45,000 and 153.0, with Gibbs at running back and Tuten at flex.

Gibbs is questionable with a shoulder and Wilson with ribs, so the safe version swaps whichever one sits for the next name on the value list. The cheap seats are Wilson at 4.38 points per £1,000, Pat Freiermuth at £2,600 for 10.1 (3.88), Efton Chism at £2,200 for 7.9 (3.59), Kendrick Bourne at £2,600 for 9.3 (3.58) and T.J. Hockenson at £3,200 for 11.3 (3.53). McBride is the best value among the expensive names at 3.71. Kenneth Walker III at £8,000 projects 21.5 and is the other name near the top of the pool.

Jahmyr Gibbs, Stars captain — RB, DET · £8,400 · 27.9 projected — at £8,400 — 41.9 with the multiplier. Questionable with a shoulder. Game preview
Michael Wilson — WR, ARI · £4,000 · 17.5 projected — at £4,000 — The best value in the pool. Questionable with ribs. Game preview

Put it to work

Fantasy GameDay Optimiser Every contest's board: their salaries against the weekly projection, and the cap-legal lineup.
How to play Fantasy GameDay Ballers, Stars and Classic explained, with the promo code.
Injuries Gibbs, Wilson, Smith and Diggs are the names to check before the lock.