Fantasy football stats: The best of Week 5
It was a good week to be involved in the Denver passing game.
I gave brief thought to retitling the week's best-performers column "Denver Broncos roundup" this week, but ultimately opted against it. That Denver offense was insane Sunday, and we'll be talking about the team a lot in the paragraphs to come.
Outside of Denver, there were still a lot of big performances this weekend, to the point that big performers like Eddie Lacy (24 fantasy points), Matt Forte (20) and Tom Brady (19) don't even appear. Here's hoping you managed to have some of these guys:
Best quarterbacks in Week 5
Peyton Manning, DEN (479 passing yards, 4 passing touchdowns, 2 interceptions, -2 rushing yards, 31 fantasy points)
Early on in Sunday’s game, it looked like we’d get one of those good-not-great Peyton Manning games, like ... well, like the ones he’d put up this season before Week 5, with 20-ish fantasy points. On five drives, he had gone three-and-out once and thrown two touchdowns and two interceptions. And then he kicked it into high gear, with no more of those floating passes that had been picked off early on. He ended up with four passing touchdowns, and his 479 passing yards marked a career-high.
Next game: The Broncos have a road game at the Jets Sunday. Have you seen the Jets play football? This could get ugly.
Austin Davis, STL (375 yards, 3 passing touchdowns, 30 rushing yards, 2 lost fumbles, 26 fantasy points)
A quarterback generally needs one of two things to happen to have a crazy-big fantasy day (in addition to, you know, being good at football): Either they need to get involved in a shootout where they can't let off the gas, or they need to fall way behind early and have to battle back. It was the latter proposition for the Rams Sunday, who trailed 13-0 and 34-7 before scoring 21 unanswered to get within a score at the end of the game. The Rams gained 143 yards of offense in the first half, then had more than 300 in the second. It might not be the way to win football games, but fantasy owners enjoy it.
Next game: The Rams host the 49ers on Monday Night Football in Week 6. Davis now has 20-plus fantasy points in consecutive games, but those have come against Dallas and Philadelphia. We'll see what he does against a better defense.
Jay Cutler, CHI (289 passing yards, 2 passing touchdowns, 2 interceptions, 22 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdowns, 1 fumble lost, 21 fantasy points)
Brian Hoyer, CLE (292 passing yards, 3 passing touchdowns, 1 interception, 2 rushing yards, 21 fantasy points)
Philip Rivers, SD (288 passing yards, 3 passing touchdowns, 1 interception, 3 rushing yards, 21 fantasy points)
Normally, when there's a three-way tie here, I just pick one and go with it, but you tell me which one to pick there? Cutler did more good things, but did more bad as well. Hoyer was the underdog, but Rivers was fantasy relevant. It was just three good games. Rivers led the Chargers to a runaway victory. Cutler jumped out to a big lead before the Bears gave it up; Hoyer and the Browns fell in a hole and mounted a crazy comeback. Not one of those performances stands out over the others. Just sit back and enjoy.
Next game: The Bears travel to Atlanta in Week 6. The Chargers go to Oakland; the Browns host Pittsburgh. Nothing there is particularly scary for those quarterbacks, so a repeat appearance in this space is definitely on the table.
Best running backs in Week 5
Branden Oliver, SD (114 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown, 68 receiving yards, 1 receiving touchdown, 29 fantasy points)
I'm claiming this one! I touted Oliver in last week's Ticker, under the thinking that Donald Brown isn't actually that good, Danny Woodhead is done for the year, and who knows if and when Ryan Mathews will ever be able to maintain health. Sure, I didn't see this out of Oliver, against a Jets run defense that had heretofore actually been good, but still, this was a monster game from a nice sleeper. We'll see about Brown's prognosis after suffering a concussion, but if you were the Chargers, wouldn't you stick with Oliver right now?
Next game: The Chargers take on Oakland next week. Woodhead’s gone. Mathews won’t be back yet. Brown might be terrible. Basically, Oliver isn’t only a must-add right now, he might be a Week 6 must-start.
Arian Foster, HOU (157 rushing yards, 2 rushing touchdowns, 15 receiving yards, 28 fantasy points)
Foster troll level: professional. Dude missed Week 3, played Week 4, but probably shouldn’t have, then came into Sunday with all sorts of “he might not be totally healthy” talk, probably scaring some fantasy owners out of using him altogether after being quasi-burned last week. And then all he did was have a career game, rushing for a pair of touchdowns and gashing the Dallas defense for 172 yards from scrimmage. Troll hard, Arian. Troll hard.
Andre Ellington, ARI (32 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown, 112 receiving yards, 1 receiving touchdown, 26 fantasy points)
With a disappointing pair of quarterbacks in Sunday's game, the Cardinals could only put up two touchdowns. The first, Ellington's rushing score, was pretty straightforward, a 5-yarder after a short drive created by an interception. The second was also a one-play drive, but it was on a fluky 81-yard catch-and-run by Ellington, and it ended up being the only completion backup quarterback Logan Thomas had in eight pass attempts. Ellington, who hadn't found the end zone this season before Sunday, silenced any doubters with that performance.
Next game: The Cardinals host Washington next Sunday afternoon, which could mean good things for Ellignton. The worry is that the Cardinals’ quarterback situation could keep the team from long drives and scoring chances, but still, if you have Ellington, you’re using him.
Best wide receivers in Week 5
Demaryius Thomas, DEN (226 receiving yards, 2 touchdowns, 34 fantasy points)
I started seeing a lot of Demaryius Thomas-related worry in the last couple weeks, considering the receiver had only 141 yards and a touchdown through three games, disappointing numbers for a receiver who went second in most fantasy drafts. He silenced every last one of those worries with Sunday’s dominant performance, setting a new Broncos record for receiving yards in a game and scoring a 31-yard touchdown and an 86-yarder within six minutes of game time of one another. Thomas was targeted 16 times -- otherwise known as “Hey, DT, it’s your old buddy Peyton, and I’m sorry I haven’t been feeding you enough.”
Next game: What do you want out of me? The Broncos at the awful Jets pass defense, and Thomas just had his coming-out party of the season. Have fun with it.
Brian Quick, STL (87 receiving yards, 2 touchdowns, 20 fantasy points)
Quick had been pretty quiet in his two-year career before 2014, but he’s been huge through four games this season. After 87 yards and two scores Sunday, he now has 21 catches on 31 targets for 322 yards and three scores, strong numbers for any receiver. Sunday, he had an 8-yard touchdown in the second quarter, then a 5-yarder late as the Rams attempted a furious comeback. With no other really strong receivers on St. Louis, it looks this is the Quick we’ll have for a while.
Next game: The Rams get to host San Francisco next Monday night. Quick might not be a WR1, but at the minimum he needs to be in fantasy lineups.
Kendall Wright, TEN (47 receiving yards, 2 receiving touchdowns, 43 rushing yards, 20 fantasy points)
The problem with Kendall Wright's 2013 was that, despite more than 1,000 yards, he barely found the end zone, with only two touchdowns all season. This year, he still wasn't scoring, but his yardage was down as well, entering Sunday on pace for barely 700 yards and with no game of more than 55. And then Sunday, he matched all of last year's touchdown total in a single game, and with two rushes for 43 yards, he reached 90 total yards in the game. We'll see if it's something he can continue, but all of those who bought in on this being Wright's coming-out year had to enjoy it.
Best tight ends in Week 5
Greg Olsen, CAR (72 receiving yards, 2 touchdowns, 19 fantasy points)
I tend to flip around the TV on Sundays, and saw Olsen hobble off partway through the second quarter with an ankle injury. Mentally, I wrote him off for the game, then tuned back in later and realized the Carolina tight end had returned to the game and scored a touchdown. And then he scored a second one late in the game to give Carolina the win. It’s jarring to see a guy you thought was done for the day explode like that. Anyway, Olsen now has three games of at least 12 fantasy points this season. It’s been good times.
Next game: No other Panther had more than 51 total yards or 46 receiving yards, low numbers for a team that scored 31 points. Olsen, though, is the pet, and he’ll continue bailing out the offense. Next week, at Cincinnati, he might not have as good a situation, but he’s a must-start nonetheless.
Julius Thomas, DEN (66 receiving yards, 2 touchdowns, 18 fantasy points)
All week, Thomas is going to be giving interviews and talking to people who will be like, “But how about that Demaryius Thomas game, huh?” without realizing that he had two touchdowns in his own right. I mean, I don’t feel bad for him or anything, but he had the quietest big game in some time. He now has seven touchdowns through four games, which is just ... it’s silly, right? That’s insane.
Next game: I keep mentioning it. Broncos. Jets. Sunday. Jets bad against the pass. Broncos good at the pass. Julius Thomas? No. 1 tight end.
Antonio Gates, SD (60 receiving yards, 2 touchdowns, 18 fantasy points)
OK, whatever Antonio Gates. This is how his season has gone: Decent yardage in Week 1, but not such a great game that he was widely used in Week 2. Then he scored three touchdowns, but he wasn’t in many lineups. After that, everyone had to use him, so he started for everyone the last couple weeks, and responded with 38 yards total -- basically fantasy-worthless. And now, Week 5, when everyone was moving on again, he comes back with another huge game. He now has 275 yards and five scores in five games on the season, and he might not have actually helped anyone in fantasy yet.
Next game: The Chargers have a road game at the Raiders next week. You have to start Gates if you have him. Which of course means he'll have one catch for 5 yards, because WHATEVER.
Best kickers in Week 5
Stephen Gostkowski, NE (5/5 FG, 4/4 XP, 21 fantasy points)
There were no kickers with 20 fantasy points in a game this season before Phil Dawson (look down an inch or so) Sunday afternoon, and then Gostkowski bounced back with an even better game Sunday night. Gostkowski now has 10-plus points four times in five games. Even if New England's offense isn't what it used to be, the team's kicker is.
Phil Dawson, SF (5/5 FG, 1/1 XP, 20 fantasy points)
Dawson was quiet the first three games this season, with 12 total fantasy points. Now he has two games with a total of 37 fantasy points, which is ... better. He was the No. 6 kicker last year. He might be better than that this year.
Best defense/special teams in Week 5
Green Bay Packers (10 points allowed, 2 interceptions, 1 fumble recovery, 1 touchdown, 6 sacks, 23 fantasy points)
The Packers' defense looked like basically a stay-away when it seemed like Teddy Bridgewater would start for the Vikings Thursday night -- just a rookie in his second start, sure, but it's not like the Packers had done much this season before that (11 fantasy points in four games). But as soon as it was announced that Bridgewater was out and Christian Ponder would start, the Packers became a hot commodity, and it paid off in a big way.
