ICYMI: Catch everything you need to know about this weekend’s games and Faraz and Zach’s first-snap reactions on the latest episode of the Upper Hand Fantasy Podcast! Plus, stay tuned later today for this week’s Week 9 waiver wire episode to see which players you should be targeting and FAAB recommendations for each player!

• Colts HC Shane Steichen wouldn’t commit to QB Anthony Richardson starting for Indianapolis in Week 9

  • So he does have eyes, after all. It’s been an incredible eight-week fall from grace for Anthony Richardson, who was by and large the darling of draft season thanks to his dual-threat upside. However, that hasn’t even come close to manifesting itself through the first half of the fantasy season with Richardson standing currently as the overall QB27 on the year. His 4:7 touchdown to interception ratio certainly isn’t helping matters, but it’s been an abominable 44% completion percentage that’s cast considerable doubt on Richardson’s grip on the starting job. Of course, having the all-powerful Joe Flacco breathing down his neck could also be shortening the leash as the Colts continue to drop games at the halfway point of the season. Flacco’s 7:1 touchdown to interception ratio ‘ratios’ Richardson’s, and his ability to lift WRs Josh Downs and Michael Pittman to fantasy relevance has fantasy managers clamoring for a switch under center. The noise only grew louder with Richardson tapping himself out of the game for a play because he was ‘tired’, and it now appears that Steichen could be mulling a switch in Week 9 in what is a solid matchup overall for passing games against the Vikings. Should Flacco ultimately be installed as Indy’s starting QB, Pittman Jr. and Downs would be immediately upgraded as potential top-24 options.

• Bengals HC Zac Taylor says that WR Tee Higgins is considered ‘day-to-day’ with his quad injury suffered late last week

  • Higgins was a surprise addition to the injury report on Friday of last week before being ultimately ruled out of Sunday’s loss to the Eagles. In his five healthy games this season, Higgins has been Joe Burrow’s favorite target – his 29% target share from Weeks 3-7 paced the team and was well ahead of Ja’Marr Chase’s 24% target share. Without Higgins in the lineup, Chase was able to take control of the Bengals’ passing game by notching nine catches on eleven targets against the Eagles for 54 yards and a touchdown. A day-to-day designation doesn’t tell us much, and it essentially leaves all of the heavy lifting as far as decoding Higgins’ status for next weekend’s game against the Raiders up to the injury reports. The good news is that it sounds like there’s a legitimate chance that Higgins is able to play in Week 9, but fantasy managers should be ready with a backup option in the event that he’s ultimately unable to go. TE Mike Gesicki was the primary beneficiary of Higgins’ absence against the Eagles, racking up the second most targets (8) and the most receiving yards (73) of any Bengals pass catcher on the day. If Higgins is able to play, though, there would be no reason to hold him out of lineups given the way Burrow has locked onto him this season.

Jameis Winston transforms Cleveland’s offense

We should temper expectations a little bit given how good this matchup was for the passing game, but Winston did what he has been doing throughout his career - throwing for a lot of yards and making his receivers relevant. Cedric Tillman is a must-add off of waivers given his performances since taking over for Amari Cooper (7/99/2l, 22% target share). Elijah Moore led the team with a 29% target share, resulting in a 12/8/85 line, followed by Jerry Jeudy (8/5/79, 19.5%), and then David Njoku (7/5/61, 17% target share). Moore should be prioritized off of waivers as well, but Tillman should be the first add given his downfield usage.

De’Von Achane returns to his fantasy RB1 ways

Achane now has three Top-3 fantasy finishes with a healthy Tua behind center. He’s averaging almost 20% target share in these games, so he’s basically a WR in a RB’s body. Even without goal line work (Mostert handled all of that), Achane’s usage is that of a RB1. Achane took 10 carries for 97 yards, and caught 6 of 8 targets for 50 yards along with a red zone TD as a WR. He sees the Bills next week, who are tied for the most receptions given up to RBs this season.

Rams offense is back to full strength with Puka & Kupp back

With Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua back for the Rams, they looked like a completely different offense - they’re back. This helps everyone, including Kyren Williams, to be more efficient. The Vikings clearly had a game plan for Kupp, as he was double teams and bracketed on almost every one of his routes, but they had no plan (or expectation to play) for Puka Nacua, who was getting it done down the field. Both WRs got it done for fantasy with WR2 finishes, but neither played a full complement of routes - 82% for Kupp and 65% for Puka. They have a great matchup against Seattle, and both of them are must-starts as they get closer to full strength.

Check out the full takeaways post on our IG!