NFL Week 8 Recap: Immediate fantasy football takeaways from Giants-Steelers Monday Night Football

• Tyrone Tracy Jr. shines for the New York Giants: Tracy, after the best game by a Giants running back this season, has made it clear he’s the team’s lead running back.

• Pat Freiermuth’s role shrinks: The Pittsburgh Steelers’ receiving tight end hasn’t played as many snaps and hasn’t seen as many targets the past two weeks.

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Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes

PFF’s fantasy football recap focuses on player usage and stats, breaking down all the vital information you need to achieve fantasy success in 2024.

New York Giants @ Pittsburgh Steelers

• Tyrone Tracy Jr.: 20 carries, 145 yards, 1 touchdown, 2 receptions, 5 receiving yards
• Calvin Austin III: 3 receptions, 54 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 punt return touchdown

Tyrone Tracy Jr. takes stronger hold of the Giants’ backfield: The Giants’ fifth-round rookie was their clear lead running back.

Devin Singletary was consistently playing at least 68% of offensive snaps in September, but he missed two games and Tracy made the most of his opportunities. In Week 7, Tracy got the start and received the vast majority of snaps, but there were some drives when he wasn’t on the field. Tracy ran the ball six times compared to five for Singletary, so the difference in touches wasn’t as stark as in snaps. Singletary was also limited in practice leading up to Week 7, so the Giants could have been easing Singletary into action.

This week, Singletary was not on the injury report. Tracy was consistently the first running back on every drive against the Steelers. Singletary’s role was just giving Tracy a break a few plays into the drive if the team gained a first down or two. Tracy also dominated touches, with 22 compared to four for Singletary.

Tracy exited the game in the last four minutes to be examined for a concussion, and he was then taken to the locker room. The Giants play in six days, so Tracy could miss a game. Ideally, it won’t be a long-term problem.

Tracy is available in more than 50% of ESPN leagues and is, by far, the best running back option on the waiver wire in those leagues, even if he misses a week or two with a concussion. It’s still worth holding onto Singletary even if Tracy is fine because he should be one of the most valuable handcuffs. The Giants have the second-best schedule for running backs over the rest of the season, with largely favorable matchups. This game was one of the hardest left on the slate, and the running backs did fine outside of not scoring a touchdown.

The Steelers’ tight end rotation continues: Pat Freiermuth is being rotated out more now than a month ago.

The Steelers started the season with a three-man tight end rotation. Freiermuth played around 75% of snaps in 11 personnel but rarely played in 12 personnel, with Darnell Washington and MyCole Pruitt being the typical 12-personnel players. Pittsburgh averaged 14 snaps out of 13 personnel per game with all three tight ends.

Then, Pruitt missed three weeks due to injury. Freiermuth saw a boost in snaps, getting 77% of the 12-personnel reps. The Steelers continued to use 13 personnel 10 times per game — but with Connor Heyward. Pruitt returned last week, kicking Freiermuth out of 12 personnel again. It didn’t matter as much last week as it could have because the Steelers used 13 personnel on 20 snaps.

Pittsburgh rarely deployed 13 personnel against the Giants on Monday Night Football until late in the fourth quarter, and Freiermuth wasn’t used at all in 12 personnel. The Steelers made up for it by letting Freiermuth play more in 11 personnel than usual, but it ultimately led to fewer snaps.

He caught two passes for 19 yards. This was his third straight game with only two receptions after catching at least three per game over the first five games. Russell Wilson hasn’t consistently thrown to a tight end since Jimmy Graham from 2015-2017. He has spent only one week as a fantasy starter this season and can be dropped in most leagues.

Miscellaneous Notes

• Steelers third-round rookie Roman Wilson was placed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury. He started the season nursing a high ankle sprain he suffered early in training camp. Wilson was active for only one game (Week 6), and he played five offensive snaps without a target. Brandon Johnson was elevated off the practice squad to be the fifth wide receiver this week, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he signs to the 53-man roster at some point.

• Cordarrelle Patterson missed his fourth straight game with an ankle injury. Aaron Shampklin had been the third running back in recent weeks, but the Steelers opted to make a change by cutting Shampklin and signing Jonathan Ward to the 53-man roster. Ward’s only offensive snap was on the kneel-down to end the game.

Table Notes

• Snaps include plays called back due to penalties, including offensive holding or defensive pass interference. The other three stats have these plays removed.