Just when a star quarterback returns from injury, that's when we lose another one to injury. Drew Brees returned to the field on Sunday night and looked pretty good. The Cowboys defense gave him a very good test and held him in check for most of the game. If the game had ended before overtime, they would have allowed less than 300 yards passing and a touchdown.
Fantasy football rankings, Week 5: Quarterbacks
Quarterbacks are slowly returning from injury but bye weeks are just beginning. Four teams are on bye this week and you might need a replacement at quarterback. Check out our Week 5 rankings for some help.
The 80 yard touchdown reception by CJ Spiller really boosted the fantasy points for Brees. I thought that the Saints' offense had their best game of the season and that gives me optimism moving forward. With Spiller healthy and Willie Snead looking like a poor man's Lance Moore, I think Brees can turn things around.
Andrew Luck surprisingly missed Sunday's game against Jacksonville and that hurt all of his owners in fantasy football. Most of us had to quickly grab someone to replace him at the last minute. Matt Hasselbeck had a pretty good game filling in for Luck with 282 passing yards and a touchdown. It looks like Luck will be ready for Thursday night against Houston barring any setbacks. His season hasn't been going the way we thought it'd be going but I believe it's only a matter of time before he's back on track. This passing offense has too many weapons to just crash and burn.
Teams that are on bye this week are Carolina, Miami, Minnesota and the New York Jets. We'll be without Cam Newton, Ryan Tannehill, Teddy Bridgewater and Ryan Fitzpatrick. Tannehill has certainly not made the jump that we all thought he would. He definitely has not produced like a top-10 quarterback so far this season. Hopefully the coaching change and bye week will provide a spark that this passing game desperately needs.
Bridgewater faced the tough Broncos defense and played very well. It would have been nice if he could've beaten a few of those pass rushes but we must remember that it's only his second year. Comparing this performance to his performance in Week 1, it was like watching two completely different quarterbacks.
I expect big things following the Broncos’ bye week and down the stretch. Ryan Fitzpatrick had his three-game streak of passing for two touchdowns broken on Sunday. The Jets offense was more ground based on Sunday, but I think there’s room for the passing game to have some strong games ahead. Devin Smith could be a potential deep threat.
If you're looking for a bye week or injury replacement, Josh McCown should be given a look. He faces a suspect Ravens defense this week. McCown passed for 356 yards and two touchdowns in a loss to San Diego in Week 4. Cleveland may not have big names on offense but that seems to be working in their favor.
Another sleeper is Sam Bradford. Many have given up on Bradford and he’s probably sitting on fantasy waivers right now. If things are going to reverse course, this should be the week. He’ll face a weak New Orleans team at home. I’m giving Bradford a chance this week because I liked that he took some deep shots against Washington. This offense is too talented to continue to fail.
Quarterbacks, Week 5
(DK: Daniel Kelley; AM: Andrew Miller; JD: John Daigle; SK: Scott Kaliska; Dan Ciarrocchi has the week off. Carolina, Miami, Minnesota and the New York Jets are on bye)
| Rk | Consensus | Tm | Opp. | DK | AM | JD | SK |
| 1 | Aaron Rodgers | GB | STL | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 1 | Tom Brady | NE | @DAL | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | Matt Ryan | ATL | WAS | 4 | 3 | 7 | 3 |
| 4 | Carson Palmer | ARI | @DET | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| 5 | Drew Brees | NO | @PHI | 11 | 5 | 3 | 6 |
| 5 | Andrew Luck** | IND | @HOU | 3 | 9 | 6 | 7 |
| 7 | Peyton Manning | DEN | @OAK | 10 | 8 | 5 | 4 |
| 8 | Eli Manning | NYG | SF | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 |
| 9 | Philip Rivers | SD | PIT | 7 | 6 | 10 | 9 |
| 10 | Tyrod Taylor | BUF | @TEN | 8 | 11 | 9 | 11 |
| 11 | Russell Wilson | SEA | @CIN | 9 | 13 | 15 | 10 |
| 12 | Marcus Mariota | TEN | BUF | 13 | 12 | 12 | 13 |
| 13 | Andy Dalton | CIN | SEA | 17 | 10 | 13 | 14 |
| 14 | Jay Cutler | CHI | @KC | 12 | 17 | 11 | 15 |
| 15 | Sam Bradford | PHI | NO | 19 | 14 | 14 | 12 |
| 16 | Blake Bortles | JAC | @TB | 20 | 15 | 18 | 18 |
| 16 | Alex Smith | KC | CHI | 16 | 23 | 16 | 16 |
| 18 | Joe Flacco | BAL | CLE | 15 | 22 | 20 | 17 |
| 19 | Josh McCown | CLE | @BAL | 18 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| 20 | Derek Carr | OAK | DEN | 24 | 16 | 22 | 21 |
| 21 | Michael Vick | PIT | @SD | 21 | 20 | 24 | 19 |
| 22 | Nick Foles | STL | @GB | -- | 19 | 21 | 23 |
| 23 | Kirk Cousins | WAS | @ATL | -- | 25 | 17 | 22 |
| 24 | Colin Kaepernick | SF | @NYG | 14 | -- | -- | 25 |
| 25 | Matthew Stafford | DET | ARI | 25 | 21 | 25 | 24 |
| -- | Jameis Winston | TB | JAC | 22 | 24 | -- | -- |
| -- | Brandon Weeden | DAL | NE | 23 | -- | 23 | -- |
SB Nation presents: NFL Week 5 sit/start fantasy football advice
