Fantasy Football Start and Sit Advice: Week 8

Our weekly pick of players to start or sit in your fantasy football team.Editor's Note: FanDuel is hosting a FREE Week 8 fantasy football league where half the teams win cash on Sunday. New users only. Join now!

The Miami Dolphins are off this weekend, having played on Thursday night football in a game I think we would all like to forget. That does not, however, mean we don't have fantasy football to take care of this weekend. Here is our weekly look at some players you should consider starting or sitting this afternoon.

Start

Quarterback: Philip Rivers, Chargers - The Chargers face the Ravens today, which means it is time to start Rivers this week. Baltimore has been miserable against opposing quarterbacks this year, allowing the most points for the position. It helps that San Diego does not have a running game, so everything falls on Rivers' shoulders, and he should be able to carve up the Ravens this weekend, earning you a bunch of points.

Running Back: Doug Martin, Buccaneers - Much like Rivers at the quarterback position, this comes down to matchup. Martin has been really good the last few weeks, and now comes into a game against the Falcons' defense, which has allowed running backs to pick up points in bunches this year. Add in that Vincent Jackson and Austin Seferian-Jenkins are both out of this game, and Martin becomes an even bigger part of the game plan for Tampa Bay.

Tight End: Delanie Walker, Titans - The Titans have done a good job this year of getting Walker involved in the game plan, and Marucs Mariota has used him as his top target. Of course, Mariota is out this week with a knee injury, so it will be up to Zach Mettenberg to get the ball to Walker. He should be able to do that, and it should show up in your fantasy points this week.

Wide Receiver: Keenan Allen, Chargers - If Rivers is going to have the big game he appears poised to have, someone is going to benefit as a receiver. Allen makes the most sense from that group. Double down on the Chargers passing game with Allen and you should see good returns.

Sit

Quarterback: Ryan Fitzpatrick, Jets - The matchup is there for Fitzpatrick, playing against a Raiders defense that is not exactly shutting down opposing passing attacks, but Fitzpatrick is looking more and more like the quarterback that was allowed to leave the Bills, the Titans, and the Texans in the last three years. He just makes too many mistakes, and your fantasy team could be punished by those mistakes. The possibility for a high scoring game from Fitzpatrick exists, but it is much more probable that he will get you just a handful of points and the Jets will rely on the running game to beat Oakland.

Running Back: Darren McFadden, Cowboys - Seattle does not allow running backs to get into the endzone, which will kill any McFadden value this week. His 29 carries, 152 yards, 1 touchdown performance last week has a lot of fantasy players high on McFadden right now, but was averaging just over 7 carries a game the five weeks before that. If McFadden shows up this week, then you can start looking to use him in the future. Banking on him this week is just too risky.

Tight End: Ben Watson, Saints - A couple of weeks ago, Watson appeared to be breaking out in the Saints' offense, and was scoring huge fantasy points. Last week, he snapped back to his normal 3-4 receptions a game performance. Watson's incredible game against the Falcons seems like an anomaly more than anything else at this point.

Wide Receiver: Anquan Boldin, 49ers - The matchup is not a good one for Boldin, plus he is playing in San Francisco, where there does not appear to actually be a passing game. Colin Kaepernick has been brutal this season, and it is killing Boldin's fantasy value. If you don't have a choice, Boldin will get you a handful of points, but you probably have a choice.