Start Jared Goff or Matthew Stafford? Week 8

Updated Oct 27, 7:21 AM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 9 answer posts Tuesday.

Start Matthew Stafford over Jared Goff

Start

Matthew Stafford

QB · LAR · vs LAC

Market projects: 19.4; recent weeks avg
LAC D vs QB: 15.2; 7th fewest to QBs (2026)
Upside: Limited; 9 of 100 at QB
Snap share: 98%; Through Week 7

Sit

Jared Goff

QB · DET · vs MIN

Market projects: 18.6; fantasy pts
MIN D vs QB: 8.8; fewest to QBs (2026)
Upside: Limited; 25 of 100 at QB
Snap share: 99%; Through Week 7

Should I drop Matthew Stafford for Jared Goff?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Jared Goff projects 169 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (16.9 a game over 10 games), Matthew Stafford 149 (16.5 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Matthew Stafford over Jared Goff. So make the move after his Week 8 game.

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Our Week 8 call

Start Matthew Stafford over Jared Goff in Week 8.

Market-based projections have Matthew Stafford at 19.4 points and Jared Goff at 18.6, a gap of 0.8. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. Jared Goff's number is scaled up from a partial market: not every stat the position needs is posted yet, so the rest is estimated from what is. No player market is posted for Matthew Stafford this week yet, so his 19.4 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5, 6 and 7 (20.7, 21.1 and 16.5); the call is rebuilt when his market posts. Drafters take Matthew Stafford at ADP 75 and Jared Goff at 106.

What the market projects

No Week 8 player market is posted for Matthew Stafford yet. His market-based projections were 20.7, 21.1 and 16.5 points in Weeks 5, 6 and 7, an average of 19.4, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

Player markets imply 18.6 fantasy points for Jared Goff, with 70 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

The market-based projection for Jared Goff is 267 passing yards, 1-2 passing touchdowns and 0.1 rushing touchdowns (10, 12 and 12 market sources).

That puts Matthew Stafford 0.8 points ahead of Jared Goff on these projections.

Week 8 matchups

Matthew Stafford and LAR host LAC on Sunday at 4:05 PM ET.

LAC allowed 15.2 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 6 games, the 7th fewest in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 216 yards and 1.2 touchdowns a game against LAC, with 0.8 interceptions a game.

Jared Goff and DET host MIN on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

MIN allowed 8.8 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 6 games, the fewest in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 181 yards and 0-1 touchdowns a game against MIN, with 1.2 interceptions a game.

By points allowed to the position, Matthew Stafford has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Matthew Stafford is not on the injury report.

Jared Goff is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 8

Through Week 7, Matthew Stafford played 98 percent of LAR snaps, dropped back 290 times and threw an average of 8.0 air yards per attempt.

Matthew Stafford, Week 4 against PHI: 84 of 84 snaps, 32 of 51 passes for 317 yards, 0 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, 2 carries for 11 yards.

Matthew Stafford, Week 5 against BUF: 82 of 82 snaps, 40 of 54 passes for 383 yards, 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions.

Matthew Stafford, Week 6 against ARI: 58 of 58 snaps, 25 of 33 passes for 222 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions.

Matthew Stafford, Week 7 against LV: 72 of 72 snaps, 23 of 29 passes for 195 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception.

Through Week 7, Jared Goff played 99 percent of DET snaps, dropped back 240 times and threw an average of 7.9 air yards per attempt.

Jared Goff, Week 3 against NYJ: 65 of 65 snaps, 25 of 32 passes for 269 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 2 carries for 8 yards.

Jared Goff, Week 4 against CAR: 71 of 71 snaps, 32 of 52 passes for 412 yards, 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions.

Jared Goff, Week 5 against ARI: 63 of 66 snaps, 19 of 30 passes for 271 yards, 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 1 carry for 1 yards.

Jared Goff, Week 7 against GB: 68 of 68 snaps, 22 of 32 passes for 303 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 1 carry for 0 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Matthew Stafford played 17 games for LAR and scored 358.4 PPR points, 21.1 a game, finishing QB3.

He completed 388 of 597 passes for 4707 yards, 46 touchdowns and 8 interceptions, and ran 29 times for 1 yards and 0 touchdowns.

He was on the field for 99 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

In 2025, Jared Goff played 17 games for DET and scored 305.1 PPR points, 17.9 a game, finishing QB9.

He completed 393 of 578 passes for 4564 yards, 34 touchdowns and 8 interceptions, and ran 19 times for 45 yards and 0 touchdowns.

He was on the field for 98 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Their other Week 8 calls

Locks at kickoff, graded after. When the start/sit engine grades week 8, the call and the result appear on the public record, wrong ones included.

Drop or keep

Should I drop Matthew Stafford for Jared Goff?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Jared Goff projects 169 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (16.9 a game over 10 games), Matthew Stafford 149 (16.5 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Matthew Stafford over Jared Goff. So make the move after his Week 8 game.
Should I drop Jared Goff for Matthew Stafford?
No. Keep Jared Goff: he projects 169 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (16.9 a game over 10 games), Matthew Stafford 149 (16.5 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Matthew Stafford over Jared Goff.

Should I drop Matthew Stafford?