The Buffalo Bills once again kept the majority of their opponents quiet in a Week 8 matchup against the Oakland Raiders, both in real football and fantasy football. While some of Oakland’s players had a decent day, most were held in check thanks to a fantastic effort from a banged-up Bills defense.
RB DeAndre Washington
Marshawn Lynch’s backup posted the highest-scoring day for an Oakland runner this season, notching 16.8 points in the loss. He ran for only 26 yards, but caught 8 passes for 62 yards and a touchdown. While the overall stat line looks good, quite a bit of his production came in the fourth quarter when the game was already out of reach.
QB Derek Carr
Even though he didn’t have a big day, Carr still scored in terms of fantasy production. He threw for 313 yards and a touchdown, but the Bills were able to intercept him twice, limiting his fantasy scoring total to 14.52 points. Carr appeared to be frustrated at numerous times throughout the game, throwing into coverage and yelling at his receivers about their positioning at different points.
TE Jared Cook
The big tight end had a few big gainers, but he was mostly quiet on the afternoon. Cook caught 4 of 5 targets, gaining 57 yards in the process. He nearly scored a touchdown late in the game, but he was tackled at the two-yard line. James Lofton noted during the broadcast that Cook looked uncomfortable catching the ball due to the weather, which limited his run after the catch opportunities on his way to a 7.7- point performance.
WR Michael Crabtree
While I projected that it would be Amari Cooper who gave the Bills trouble, they took Oakland’s number one receiver away by having Tre’Davious White shadow him for much of the game. Cooper’s line (10 targets, 5 catches, 48 yards, 7.7 fantasy points) was unimpressive, and he was beaten once again by his teammate. Crabtree also caught 5 of his 10 targets, but he amassed 83 yards on the day for a fantasy total of 10.8 points. Throughout the season, Crabtree has consistently outscored his more-hyped teammate, but Buffalo did a great job keeping both of Oakland’s receivers bottled up during the 34-14 victory.