The “hot takes curse” strikes again. Ugh. Anthony Richardson led the Colts on a really nice drive down the field, but took a nasty shot to his hip and left the game. It’s tough out here in these fantasy football streets. The injuries around the league are so rampant that even Trey Sermon is a priority waiver addition in Week 5. I’m not sure who’s stabbing the voodoo doll, but it’s already tattered and scarred. There were some star players who stayed healthy in Week 4, only to bless us with awful performances. Some of them will continue to struggle, but others should rebound in a big way to make the tilted overreacting crowd rue the day they gave up after a minor rough patch early in the season.

Week 5 marks the first set of teams on a bye week, as well as the first Sunday morning international game in London. The rubber meets the road when fantasy managers are flung by their ears into a vicious cyclone of setting lineups with a slew of unavailable players. Fantasy football is fun, they say. I say we start swinging for the fences. This is the slate where nothing will make sense. For all intents and purposes, the NFL season really starts right now. I hope you’re ready to get creatively freaky in order to win.

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Fantasy Football Hot Takes: Week 5

Jets Fly to London and Shut Down Sam Darnold and Previously-Unbeaten Vikings in London, Holding Them Under 17 Points; Garrett Wilson is a Top-5 WR in PPR with 10 Receptions, 140 Yards and a Touchdown

While I am convinced Brian Flores’ defense is completely legit, the same cannot be said for Sam Darnold’s offense in Minnesota. Foggy London town hosts a 6:30am kickoff for us Californians. We will be dunking our lineup choices in hot coffee and lamenting our Saturday night choices all the same. One choice that’s clear is that Aaron Rodgers needs to find Garrett Wilson in this Jets passing game a lot more often than he does his longtime soulmate Allen Lazard. Rodgers has seen the blitz-happy Flores type hundreds of times over. Wilson and running back Breece Hall are matchup nightmares for opposing defenses every week.

Darnold has looked sharp this season; he passed the “Feed Jefferson” test with flying colors and now has Jordan Addison back healthy again. The Jets defense is a really tough test in their own right. I can’t help but expect some regression from Minnesota this week, with all the unique challenges piled on from the English festivities. The key to keeping the undefeated season alive is the running game with Aaron Jones and Ty Chandler. New York has shown vulnerability in the trenches. Another Jets loss and Robert Saleh’s seat will have smoke billowing from it.

Brock Purdy Continues His Fantastic Start to the Season with 350 Yards and Four Touchdowns; 49ers Annihilate Cardinals by 24 Points at Levi’s Stadium

The 49ers are a lot better than I thought they would be and that statement goes double without Christian McCaffrey. While I thought Brock Purdy was a terrible draft pick (even as Mr. Irrelevant), he has improved exponentially since his debut and is among the best in the league. The weaponry has mostly returned to health, just in time for a date with their division rival Cardinals. Kyler Murray has given San Francisco fits over the years, but I don’t think that will be the case on Sunday. My concern is with the Cardinals defense having no answer for the 49ers offense, creating a scenario where they are put into catchup mode early in the game. The Niners are nearly unbeatable when the opposing offense is forced to become one-dimensional. Arizona showed the blueprint for beating them soundly last week versus the Commanders.

Green Bay Drops a 50-Burger on Defenseless Rams; Tucker Kraft is the TE1 on the Week in PPR with Two Red Zone Touchdowns

This game is what happens when an unstoppable force is barely inconvenienced by a bug on their windshield. The Packers have Jordan Love back, which means Matt LaFleur is going to dial up a genius, multifaceted plan of attack. Love goes for broke trying to create explosive plays, and Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks are notorious for helping them come to fruition. Christian Watson‘s injury paved the way for Wicks to step in as the vertical slasher, and Reed can do it all. When it comes to their TE room, Tucker Kraft is very clearly the preferred passing target over Luke Musgrave.

The Rams are terrible on defense. Even if they can somehow disrupt Green Bay’s rhythm in the passing game, they still must contend with Josh Jacobs against their abysmal run defense. It won’t matter what the Rams can muster when Matthew Stafford takes the field. The Packers are going to light it up.

Najee Harris Accounts for 150 of Pittsburgh’s 300 Rushing Yards; Steelers Have Twice the Time of Possession as Cowboys in Embarrassing Two-Score Rout of America’s Team

Dallas is the worst 2-2 team in the NFL. They have no running game and have shown very little resistance at defending the run. Aside from a few star players, the Cowboys have a paper-thin roster and are poorly coached. The Steelers finally lost last week, as I predicted they would. Indianapolis cut them up with the short passing game, which isn’t something Dallas can really replicate. The Cowboys are getting pushed around in the trenches, an area of strength for Mike Tomlin’s Steelers.

I’ve talked a lot of trash about Arthur Smith over the years, but he is doing a fine job in Pittsburgh so far. Justin Fields is finally showing the potential he obviously had as a first round prospect. Najee Harris is the hammer, while Fields’ rushing upside is waking up. The Steelers will continue to win football games with this formula, whereas the Cowboys will get bullied by similarly built teams. Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb can’t beat this defense by themselves.