Ray Rice has been battling a knee injury, but it didn’t appear to bother him on Sunday, as he gained 133 yards on 27 carries with two touchdowns. Willis McGahee failed to punch it in from close early in the game, so the Ravens used Rice around the goal line and he rewarded them with two scores. He’s back in ‘must-start’ territory going forward. Anquan Boldin (1-8) was very quiet and Joe Flacco (198 yards) didn’t throw for a TD, but he snuck one in early on. On the other side of the ball, Brandon Lloyd (5-135-1) — this year’s Miles Austin? — and Jabar Gaffney (9-87) helped Kyle Orton (314 yards, 2 TD) to another good fantasy line.
Another guy who is oscillating in and out of ‘stud’ territory is Maurice Jones-Drew, who only gained 84 yards in a great matchup against a terrible Bills’ rush defense. It’s important to note that rookie Deji Karim (15 carries, 70 yards) was the Jags’ RB2 this week. Marcedes Lewis (4-54-2) and Mike Sims-Walker (4-46-1) led the Jags in receiving. For the Bills, Steve Johnson (5-46-2) caught a TD for the third straight game.
For the Bucs, I’ve seen some owners considering cutting rookie Mike Williams (7-99-1), but his performance in a tough matchup proves that he’s absolutely worth holding onto. The Tampa Bay RBBC is getting ugly with Carnell Williams (11 touches, 33 yards), Earnest Graham (3 carries, 65 yards, TD), LeGarrette Blount (4 carries, 3 yards) and Kareem Huggins (1 carry, 4 yards) all getting some work. For the Bengals, Terrell Owens (7-102-1) had another big game while Chad Ochocinco (3-20) was once again quiet.
The Sunday morning news about Peyton Hillis (14 touches, 77 yards, TD) was that his injury could be related to a major leg injury that he had while in college and the Browns did try to limit his touches, getting Jerome Harrison involved (6 carries, 6 yards) with no success. Jake Delhomme relieved Seneca Wallace and threw two interceptions. If Delhomme is back under center in future weeks, the Browns are a team to target when trying to decide which fantasy defense to start.
The Lions lit up the Rams to the tune of 44 points, and Shaun Hill (227 yard, 3 TD) spread the ball around nicely. Calvin Johnson (4-54-1) left the game with a shoulder injury, but the team doesn’t seem too concerned about it at this point. Brandon Pettigrew (4-26-1) had his fourth straight good game. The Rams also lost Mark Clayton (1-6), who has a season-ending knee injury. Look for Danny Amendola (12-96) and Brandon Gibson (2-34) to get most of his targets. Laurent Robinson (1-11) could also be a factor.
In the much-discussed KC backfield, Jamaal Charles (19 touches, 101 yards) out-touched Thomas Jones (8 carries, 19 yards), who was dreadful against a sketchy Colts’ rush defense. Dwayne Bowe (2-33) had a couple of drops, including a long one that would have been a TD. The big news for the Colts is that Joseph Addai (22 touches, 89 yards) left the game with a shoulder injury. Mike Hart (12 touches, 55 yards, TD) was the Colts’ RB2 today, but if Donald Brown can get healthy, he’ll be involved.
The Packers’ offense was dreadful in the second half and overtime, and Aaron Rodgers (293 yards, TD, INT) may have suffered a concussion. Jermichael Finley and Donald Lee were also injured, so look for Andrew Quarless (4-51) will get the starting nod if both Finley and Lee are out for Week 6. Greg Jennings (2-22, five targets) continued his spotty play. It’s time to start benching him if there are other good options available. Brandon Jackson busted a 71-yard run early on, and finished with 140 yards on 15 touches. John Kuhn had 17 yards on five touches. For the Redskins, Ryan Torain (20 touches, 67 yards) is the clear RB1, but he didn’t look terribly good against the Packers.
Matt Forte (24 touches, 188 yards, 2 TD) destroyed the Panthers’ rush defense, but the Chicago passing attack was absolutely dreadful with Todd Collins (32 yards, 4 INT) under center. DeAngelo Williams (15 touches, 59 yards) got off to a good start, but once Carolina fell behind, the writing was on the wall for Williams.
Eli Manning (297 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT) had a nice game, with special thanks to Hakeem Nicks (12-130-2) who is entering ‘must-start’ territory, if he’s not already there. Steve Smith 2.0 (6-89-1) also posted a good line. Andre Johnson (5-95) played on his sore ankle, but Matt Schaub (196 yards, INT) was pretty awful even though the Texans trailed for the entire game. Give the Giants DT a look as a fantasy defense. They have played very well the last two weeks against a couple of good offenses.
The Saints weren’t particularly sharp in their loss to the Cardinals , but Drew Brees (294 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT) still had a decent fantasy day thanks to a late TD pass to Robert Meachem (4-72-1). Lance Moore (1-8) was very quiet so it looks like the Saints are back to a rotation at fantasy WR2. Ladell Betts (44 yards) and Chris Ivory (39 yards) each had 10 carries, but Betts had 5-26 in the passing game and got all three carries inside the Cards’ 5-yard line, so he’s the goal line back too with Pierre Thomas out. Thomas appears to be on the verge of returning, but if his ankle injury keeps him out any longer, Betts appears to be the NO back to own. There isn’t much to discuss with regard to the Cardinals, other than the fact that Beanie Wells‘ workload (21 touches, 40 yards) dwarfed that of Tim Hightower (4 carries, 6 yards), so maybe we’ve seen a sea change in the Arizona backfield. The Cardinals DT scored three defensive touchdowns in a terrible matchup, so if you’re playing Defensive Team By Waiver Wire (DTBWW) keep them in mind when they have good matchups at home.
After a surprisingly quiet (2-20) outing against Houston, Miles Austin bounced back in a big way against the Titans with 9-166-1, giving him 9+ catches in three of four games on the season. Roy Williams (6-87-1) also continued his fine play. Despite all of the fantasy fatigue that owners must have, Williams is looking like a must-pickup in 12-team leagues. With regard to the running game, the report out of Dallas this week was that the Cowboys were determined to get Felix Jones (19 touches, 126 yards) more involved in the offense. As result, Marion Barber‘s touches (6 carries, 19 yards) were way down. Jones looks like the DAL RB to own going forward. Chris Johnson (19 carries, 131 yards, 2 TD) quieted all the doubters with a big day against a pretty solid Dallas rush defense. There was one reader on our Q&A who even considered benching him this week. Let’s hope he came to his senses. Kenny Britt (4-86-1) continues to emerge as Vince Young’s go-to guy in the passing game, and should be owned in all leagues at this point.
I think it’s safe to say that Malcom Floyd (8-213-1) came to play on Sunday. Like a lot of fantasy owners, I was worried that he might draw regular coverage from Nnamdi Asomugha, but that wasn’t the case and Floyd took advantage. The running game saw Mike Tolbert (11 carries, 12 yards, TD) and Ryan Mathews (9 carries, 59 yards) split the work, but Mathews was far more productive. Tolbert appears to be the Chargers’ goal line back, at least for the time being. For the Raiders, Michael Bush (29 touches, 135 yards, TD) had a predictably heavy workload, and he was pretty productive. Darren McFadden owners might be nervous, but given how great McFadden was before the injury, I’d expect a 60/40 (McFadden/Bush) split when DMC comes back. Jason Campbell (159 yards, TD) was decent filling in for Bruce Gradkowski, who aggravated his shoulder injury. Zach Miller (6-62-1) was the only Raider receiver worth his salt in Week 5.
