Kirk Cousins · Tyler Shough · 2026 week 8

Kirk Cousins or Tyler Shough?

Wondering who you should start this week — Kirk Cousins or Tyler Shough? The start/sit call and the numbers behind it are below, plus who wins a straight-up trade. Rebuilt nightly.

Start Kirk Cousins — barelyThis one is a coin flip — the projections are within 0.2 points. The matchup leans Kirk Cousins (NYJ allow the 19th-most QB points), but you can defend either call.

Player	Wk 8	Proj (PPR)	Matchup	Form L3	Trade value	Status
Kirk Cousins START	@ NYJ	16.8	19th	17.9	404	healthy
Tyler Shough	vs CLE	16.6	25th · tough	14.5	790	healthy

QBs vs NYJ recently: Deshaun Watson 12.2 pts (W5) · Drake Maye 23.8 pts (W6) · Malik Willis 26 pts (W7).

QBs vs CLE recently: Geno Smith 10 pts (W5) · Tyler Huntley 13.4 pts (W6) · Cam Ward 6.7 pts (W7).

🎓 The coach's read

Projections are 0.2 apart — too close to call on projection alone.
Kirk Cousins faces NYJ, 19th most generous to QBs.
Tyler Shough faces CLE, 25th most generous to QBs.

Who wins a straight-up trade?

Tyler Shough carries the higher trade value — 790 against 404 (a 49% gap). In a one-for-one, the side receiving Tyler Shough gets the most. Momentum: Kirk Cousins +220 and Tyler Shough -644 over the last 30 days.

Open in Start/Sit (any scoring) Open in the Trade Analyzer

More QB decisions

Kirk Cousins or C.J. Stroud?Kirk Cousins or Bryce Young?Kirk Cousins or Bo Nix?Tyler Shough or Patrick Mahomes?Tyler Shough or Matthew Stafford?Tyler Shough or Jordan Love?

All numbers are the 2026 season, refreshed nightly.