Raiders vs. Jets Fantasy Football Worksheet, Week 8

The Worksheet, a comprehensive fantasy football preview by Rich Hribar, breaks down everything you need to know about the Raiders vs. Jets Week 8 matchup.

Find a breakdown of every Week 8 NFL game in our Worksheet Hub.

Trust = spike production for that player

Raiders vs. Jets Fantasy Quarterback Preview

Kirk Cousins

Cousins enters Week 8 leading the NFL in passing touchdowns (16), third in passing yards (1,877), and QB11 in fantasy points per game (18.8).

The Raiders have played a string of games in the past month against true title contenders, showing they are still a ways off.

Those game environments helped Cousins accrue a ton of counting stats.

Cousins has the most fourth-quarter fantasy points over the past four weeks (38.3), including a game where he was benched.

In those fourth quarters, Cousins has averaged 9.3 yards per pass attempt with 5 touchdown passes.

He is the QB20 in points scored over the opening three quarters of those weeks (36.9), throwing for 6.5 Y/A and 2 touchdowns.

This is a spot where the Raiders could find themselves in a more neutral script.

In Weeks 1, 2, and 3, when they won all three games, Cousins dropped back to pass 33.3 times per game (21st in the league).

Over the past four weeks, he has dropped back 42.3 times per game (5th).

Opponents against the Jets have thrown the ball 2.2% below expectations (25th).

While that lowers the floor for Cousins, he still hangs around as a high-end QB2 and potential streamer for those who have been using him.

The Raiders may not be able to run the ball effectively, so they need to pass to score.

In neutral game scripts, this offense can lean more into their base offense and utilize play action.

Cousins is still the top-rated passer using play action, completing 70.8% (46 of 65) of those passes for 8.5 Y/A with 8 touchdowns and zero interceptions.

The Jets also haven't been as strong defensively lately as they were at the start of the season.

Allowing a QB3 week to Drake Maye in Week 6 is nothing to be ashamed of, but then coming back the next week and allowing 9.9 yards per pass attempt and 2 touchdowns to Malik Willis raises some eyebrows.

The Jets have allowed multiple passing touchdowns in four of their past six games.

My one worry about ceiling upside is that the Jets grind this game out without scoring truckloads of points like the Raiders have given up the past month.

Las Vegas has not stopped the run, and the Jets will run if you let them.

The good news for the Jets is that Cousins isn't going to run.

The Jets have allowed Deshaun Watson (40 yards), Maye (24 yards), and Willis (37 yards and a touchdown) to extend plays against them.

Geno Smith

Smith took advantage of a good matchup and needed to score points last week to deliver a QB5 (23.5 points) scoring week against Miami.

Smith completed 23 of 30 passes (76.7%) for 287 yards (9.6 Y/A) and 3 touchdowns, throwing an interception.

Smith has completed 70% of his passes (3rd in the league) for 7.8 yards per attempt (8th), with 10 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.

The Jets haven't let Smith air it out, though, which is a concern.

Smith is averaging 33.9 dropbacks per game (20th).

Part of his reduced volume is because he's been efficient with his pass attempts, but the Jets are also 20th in pass rate versus expectations.

Smith's two QB1 scoring weeks this season have come chasing points against the Lions and Dolphins.

That makes Smith more of a high-floor QB2, but he should be efficient when passing, with added upside that the game gets pushed into a better game state than implied.

The Jets just lost to Miami, so that is well within the range of outcomes.

The Raiders are allowing a 65.8% completion rate (20th), 7.7 yards per pass attempt (28th), and a 7.2% touchdown rate (30th).

They have allowed multiple passing touchdowns in five straight games.

Raiders vs. Jets Fantasy Running Back Preview

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