Eli Manning disappointed fantasy owners again in Week 5
Quarterbacks seized the day in Week 5 and the top fantasy scorer of the week came out of nowhere.
Marcus Mariota was outstanding against the Miami Dolphins and was the only 30-point scorer in fantasy football. The problem was, he might not have been started by many owners.
There were plenty of surprising studs from Week 5. Here are the studs and duds from the week.
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Points listed are from standard scoring leagues.
Studs
Marcus Mariota – 30 points
Mariota tore up the lowly Miami Dolphins for arguably his best performance of his career. He threw for only 163 yards, but he tossed three touchdowns and rushed for 60 yards and a touchdown during Tennessee’s 30-17 win.
Tom Brady – 29 points
Welcome back TB12. Brady’s revenge tour started with a bang, as he threw for 406 yards and three touchdowns as the Patriots thrashed the Browns 33-13.
Martellus Bennett – 24 points
The tight end position is so mediocre that this performance from Bennett has to be celebrated. Bennett caught all three of Brady’s touchdown passes and that was with Rob Gronkowski looking like the Gronk of old. The Patriots finally have a tight end duo that is capable of emulating the 2011 tandem featuring Gronk and Aaron Hernandez.
Ben Roethlisberger – 29 points
After being a dud in Week 3, Big Ben has followed up with consecutive stud performances. Roethlisberger picked apart the porous Jets secondary for 380 yards and four touchdowns.
Sammie Coates – 25 points
Coates caught six passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns and he could’ve had another if not for a horrible drop at the goal line. Coates dominated the Jets, who had staggered their coverage toward Antonio Brown. What’s weird is Coates could have very easily had a better day if not for several drops.
David Johnson – 29 points
With Carson Palmer out, the Cardinals gave Johnson a heavy dosage of carries. He answered the bell wonderfully, racking up 157 rushing yards and two touchdowns as he carried Arizona to a 33-21 victory last Thursday night.
Ezekiel Elliott – 28 points
Zeke is starting to come into his own and owners who invested a first-round pick in him are reaping the benefits. Elliott rushed for 134 yards and two touchdowns as Dallas’ rookie tandem of Elliott and Dak Prescott got the Cowboys to 4-1.
Adam Vinatieri – 23 points
He’s 42 years old, but Vinatieri is still a stud when it comes to kickers. Vinatieri nailed five field goals and might have won you a fantasy game as the Colts beat the Bears 29-23.
Duds
Marvin Jones – 9 points
Jones is starting to cool off after a blistering hot start. He was bailed out by a touchdown, but only caught four passes for 37 yards. Jones probably isn’t as much of a sell high candidate as he once was.
Eli Manning – 9 points
He finally threw a touchdown pass to Odell Beckham Jr., albeit in garbage time. But Manning and the Giants offense stunk against a banged-up Packers secondary. New York’s offensive line is in shambles and that could kill Manning’s fantasy potential.
Alshon Jeffery – 7 points
Jeffery should’ve fared much better against arguably the worst secondary in the NFL. He caught five passes for 77 yards, but we’ve seen less talented receivers have big days against Indianapolis this season. Jeffery hasn’t established a strong rapport with backup quarterback Brian Hoyer.
Matt Forte – 5 points
The Jets don’t seem to know what to do with Forte after he was outstanding through the first two weeks of the season. Forte saw only 12 carries for 53 yards and was targeted just twice. Backup running back Bilal Powell was targeted eight times. Why aren’t the Jets throwing to Forte?
A.J. Green – 5 points
Outside of two outstanding performances, Green has been pretty lousy. He caught only four passes for 50 yards against a mediocre Cowboys secondary. Green has 47 combined fantasy points in Weeks 1 and 4, but just 15 total points in Weeks 2, 3 and 5.
Julian Edelman – 3 points
Plenty of Patriots receivers got in on the fun during Brady’s return. Edelman wasn’t one of them. He caught only five passes for 35 yards against the Browns.
Isaiah Crowell – 3 points
Crowell might have crashed back down to earth after putting up at least 20 fantasy points in three of his first four contests. Crowell rushed only 13 times for 22 yards as the Browns dug themselves into an enormous hole against New England. That might be more of the norm for Cleveland.
Julio Jones – 2 points
After dazzling the fantasy world, Jones was shutdown by the Broncos secondary. He caught only two passes for 29 yards and was targeted only six times. Jones went from stud to dud awfully quick.
Lamar Miller – 2 points
It’s getting to the point where it might be time to give up on Miller, who still doesn’t have a touchdown. This week he got only nine touches as the Texans were forced to abandon the run early. He rushed for 20 yards.
Jarvis Landry – 2 points
This might be more of an indictment on Ryan Tannehill. How does Landry garner only three targets when he’s clearly Miami’s most reliable option?
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Who were your studs and duds from the fifth week of the season? Reach out on to Matt on Twitter @RealMattBarbato.
