The Week 5 matchup between the Arizona Cardinals in the Detroit Lions features two teams looking to rebound from tough losses last week. We’ve got the fantasy projections courtesy of numberFire.
Fantasy football projections, Week 5: Cardinals-Lions featuring Carson Palmer, Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson
We break down the Week 5 matchup between the Arizona Cardinals and the Detroit Lions.
Arizona Cardinals
Todd Gurley and the St. Louis Rams walked into Arizona last week and surprised everyone around the league by beating the Cardinals and spoiling the team’s undefeated record. Quarterback Carson Palmer was held in check in reality, but still managed to get his fantasy points throughout the contest. He finished with 29 completions for 352 passing yards and one touchdown. The yardage total marked his highest of the season. Things didn’t work out against St. Louis, but if Palmer posts those kinds of numbers against Detroit, the Cardinals should walk out of Motor City with a win.
A solid performance from Palmer will add to the numbers of wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald had fallen off many fantasy leaderboards over the last few seasons, but now with a healthy Palmer and a move to the slot, he’s back. Fitzgerald didn’t find the end zone last week but still managed seven catches for 99 yards. One extra yard would’ve given him at least 100 in three straight games. That’s not bad for a guy most people thought would probably be too old at this stage in his career to lead his team in receiving. No one should be surprised if Fitzgerald gets back into the end zone on Sunday.
Detroit Lions
It’s safe to say that Calvin Johnson may be in for a down year in 2015. So far this season he’s yet to eclipse 83 receiving yards in a game. That includes just one touchdown catch. It’s not all Johnson’s fault. The offensive line in Detroit has been shaky this year. Nevertheless, it does impact his fantasy value. The Cardinals have a very good defense and Johnson will likely face up against Patrick Peterson down the field. Megatron is just too good not to have a big game sooner or later, but this matchup might not be the game.
His fantasy owners and quarterback Matthew Stafford certainly hope it will be. Like Johnson, Stafford too has had a down year. Usually a passing yardage machine, Stafford’s season-high this year is just 286 yards. He’s posting a good average compared to mediocre quarterbacks, but in terms of being an elite fantasy pivot, he’s going to have to do better. Only two teams in the NFL have given up fewer points to quarterbacks than the Cardinals, so Stafford’s owners are in tough this week.
