An offense that exploded against a cupcake opponent in Week 4 stayed hot in Week 5. It was also a get-right week for an offense that entered the season with aspirations to be among the NFL’s best. Running backs were a story in Week 5, too. And, unfortunately, everything wasn’t roses, as injuries and continued stagnation from an offense that generated buzz in the offseason were also meaningful storylines in Week 5.
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Surprises
Just Add the Bears, and You Have a Shootout
Chicago has turned their offense around in the previous two weeks. They hung 28 points on the hapless Broncos in Week 4. However, more impressively, they hung 40 on the Commanders in D.C. after a quick turnaround. According to Pro-Football-Reference, Chicago has exceeded 450 yards of offense in back-to-back games.
Since Week 4, Justin Fields has completed 43 passes on 64 attempts (67.2%) for 617 yards, eight touchdowns and one interception. Fields also scampered for 78 yards on 13 attempts in those contests.
DJ Moore did the heavy lifting on the receiving end of Fields’s passes, hauling in 16 receptions for 361 yards and four touchdowns in the previous two weeks. Cole Kmet was also stellar, securing 12 receptions for 127 yards and three touchdowns.
Khalil Herbert consolidated the backfield work during those two games. He handled 28 of the backfield’s 44 rush attempts for 179 yards. Moreover, per Pro Football Focus (PFF), Herbert ran 43 routes versus 12 for Roschon Johnson. Unfortunately, he got nicked up on Thursday night and will likely miss a few weeks.
Chicago’s offense’s excellence during the two-game stretch is only part of the story. The Bears have coughed up at least 20 points every week and at least 27 points in four games. They’ve also yielded over 300 yards of offense to all their opponents. If the Bears can maintain their momentum offensively, their games could be outstanding sources for streaming, DFS selections and general fantasy football fireworks.
Who Dey? Indeed
The Bengals shook off their early-season struggles and hung 34 points on the Cardinals in Arizona, despite Tee Higgins missing the game with his rib injury. Joe Burrow completed 36 of 46 passes for 317 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. He also moved around less gingerly and had a 10-yard rush.
The passing game was funneled through Ja’Marr Chase and, to a lesser extent, Trenton Irwin and Tyler Boyd. Chase barbecued the Cardinals for 15 receptions, 192 receiving yards and three touchdowns on 19 targets. Irwin also had 10 targets, eight receptions and 60 receiving yards, making him an intriguing option in larger leagues as long as Higgins is out. As long as Burrow doesn’t suffer a setback with his calf injury in practice this week, he’s back in the circle of trust in fantasy football leagues.
The Jets Are Done With Their Running-Back-By-Committee (RBBC) Approach
Breece Hall wasn’t a one-man show this week, but he was the clear-cut featured running back. The sensational sophomore handled 22 of Gang Green’s backfield’s 29 rush attempts, steamrolling the lowly Broncos for 177 yards and one touchdown.
In addition, per PFF, Hall ran 10 routes and had three targets, three receptions and 17 receiving yards. Michael Carter paced the backfield in routes (17), but Dalvin Cook ran only four. It’s wheels up for Hall. Conversely, Cook can be cut in anything shallower than 14-team leagues.
Disappointments
Buffalo’s Defense Is In Rough Shape
In Week 4, TreDavious White suffered a season-ending Achilles injury. In London in Week 5, Matt Milano broke his leg, and DaQuan Jones injured his pec. The former is likely to miss the season, and the latter could miss significant time, too.
Kaiir Elam was burned throughout the entire contest. The first-round pick from the 2022 NFL Draft was active for the first time this year because White and Christian Benford were out. Elam was so ineffective he grabbed pine in favor of UDFA Ja’Marcus Ingram at the end of the contest.
What was a chaos-causing unit to start the year might be a group to pick on while the Bills attempt to navigate critical injuries at all three levels of their defense. The Giants are unlikely to take advantage of the situation in Week 6, but Buffalo’s other opponents in the near future could.
Baltimore’s Offense Still Hasn’t Hit Its Stride
Lamar Jackson hasn’t done well against Mike Tomlin’s Steelers in his career, and mind-meltingly bad drops by Rashod Bateman and Nelson Agholor hurt his numbers in Week 5. Still, Baltimore’s pass-catchers and the offensive line were healthy, and the Ravens mustered 10 points.
New offensive coordinator Todd Monken was supposed to unlock an uptempo and pass-happy offense, and it hasn’t happened. Jackson is still a locked-in weekly starter. Unfortunately, Mark Andrews is the only other must-start player weekly, with Zay Flowers stuck in the WR3/flex territory (maybe WR2 during byes).
The Pass-Catching Pecking Order Is Murky and Meh.
Patrick Mahomes is elite, but it’s not trickling down to his pass-catching weapons. He targeted 10 players in Week 5, including six wideouts. Among Kansas City’s wide receivers and tight ends, according to PFF, Noah Gray ran the most routes (30), followed by Marquez Valdes-Scantling (29), Travis Kelce (23), Skyy Moore (23), Justin Watson (23), Kadarius Toney (17), Rashee Rice (10), Blake Bell (eight) and Justyn Ross (six).
Kelce left the game for an extended period of time with an ankle injury but returned and was peppered with targets. He’s the only consistently targeted player in the passing attack, and he hasn’t performed up to his elite standard. Kelce is also now dealing with an ankle injury. Obviously, he’s a must-start player.
Beyond him, it’s a fantasy football nightmare. Watson can occasionally have DFS utility as a big-play punt, and Rice is worth stashing in case playing time increases. Rice had four receptions for 33 yards and a touchdown on five targets. Furthermore, the target he didn’t catch was a misfire in the end zone.
The Chiefs play on Thursday, giving them a mini bye of sorts before Week 7. As a result, Rice could enjoy a post-faux-bye rookie bump. He’s worth stashing in 12-team leagues or larger.
Miscellaneous Notes
Pump The Brakes on The UDFA Rookie RB Darling
Jaleel McLaughlin was a popular player on waivers before Week 5 and delivered 89 scrimmage yards, three receptions and a touchdown against the Jets. He was a successful addition to fantasy rosters.
Sadly, his underlying usage was less encouraging than his statistics. Per PFF, the UDFA played 21 snaps and ran 10 routes. Meanwhile, Samaje Perine played 38 snaps and ran 28 routes. Gamers shouldn’t cut or give McLaughlin away. However, they should sell him if someone is willing to pay a price commensurate with his box-score production.
Welcome New England to The List of Offenses to Stream DSTs Against
New England’s offense has scored fewer points every game since opening with 20 in Week 1, dipping to 17, 15, 3 and 0.
Uncoincidentally, Mac Jones‘s production has cratered. He passed for 316 yards in Week 1 before sliding to 231, 201, 150 and 110. The third-year pro has been lifted early in back-to-back games, tossed multiple picks in those two contests, thrown at least one interception in four games and taken nine sacks this year, avoiding getting sacked in only one game. The Patriots are a team to target when streaming defenses, starting with scooping up the Raiders for Week 6.
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Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.