Disclaimer: Your regularly scheduled writer, Rich Holman, is unavailable this week, so I’ll be taking over this piece for him. So, if I end up losing you your fantasy week, please don’t yell at Rich, yell at me instead. The biggest QB storyline of Week 5 was undoubtedly Deshaun Watson’s 41.7 point explosion against the Falcons, with the Clemson product throwing for 426 yards, combined with 5 passing TD’s, no turnovers and 47 rushing yards. That said, Week 5 was a solid one for quarterback streaming, with 4 of the QB1’s from this week being classified as streamable. This continues the trend of having at least 3 streamable QB’s finish in the Top 12 at the position every week so far. Let’s take a look at the leaderboard for Week 5:
| Quarterback | Week 4 Opponent | Fantasy Points | Percentage Owned |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deshaun Watson | vs. Falcons | 41.7 | 100% |
| Matt Ryan | at Texans | 32.9 | 98% |
| Russell Wilson | vs. Rams | 29.9 | 99% |
| Teddy Bridgewater | vs. Buccaneers | 28.3 | 9% |
| Dak Prescott | vs Packers | 26.2 | 97% |
| Kyler Murray | at Bengals | 25.4 | 90% |
| Tom Brady | at Washington | 24.9 | 98% |
| Gardner Minshew | at Panthers | 21.2 | 24% |
| Kirk Cousins | at Giants | 20.5 | 41% |
| Andy Dalton | vs. Cardinals | 19 | 35% |
| Jared Goff | at Seahawks | 18.9 | 93% |
| Josh Allen | at Titans | 18.5 | 51% |
| Patrick Mahomes | vs. Colts | 18.5 | 100% |
“Stream of the Week” Jacoby Brissett did not perform particularly well despite toppling the undefeated the Chiefs, finishing at #18 among quarterbacks, a rushing TD somewhat salvaging an otherwise putrid fantasy week. The Colts leaned particularly hard on the run game this week, running 45 times compared to just 29 attempts for Brissett. What should have been a game where Indy had to throw constantly to keep up with the explosive Chiefs offense was instead a defensive grudge match with just 9 points scored in the second half total. Given the over-under was 55.5 points, for the two teams to combine for just 32 was incredibly unexpected. There’s no reason to run when you don’t have to, and an efficient outing for Marlon Mack ensured that Brissett’s fantasy value was capped.
After the first half, it looked like Andy Dalton was on his way to another terrible fantasy day, as he had just 22 passing yards at the half. He came alive in the second half though, racking up 240 yards and 2 TD’s to salvage his week. He just barely cracked the Top 10 at the position this week though, even with as juicy of a matchup as the Cardinals provided. Had it not taken him an entire half to get warmed up though, he likely would have finished well within the Top 5.
Continuing the momentum of Jared Goff from Week 4, Teddy Bridgewater exploded for a huge performance against Tampa Bay. He completed 26 of 34 passes for 314 yards and 4 TD’s, throwing a single interception on a batted pass. The 4 TD’s tied a career high, while the 314 yards were a career best for the Saints backup, who is somehow only 26 years old. The Buccaneers’ surprisingly stout run defense held Alvin Kamara to 3.9 YPC (Came into Week 5 with a 4.75 mark), so the Saints, like the Rams before them, were forced to turn to a primarily aerial attack.
Kirk Cousins (41% Owned)
Much media fanfare has been made this season about Kirk Cousins‘ poor performance, and the Vikings offense’s frustration about this. After apologizing for sucking though, Kirk Cousins went on to throw for a seaosn-high 306 yards and a pair of TD’s against the Giants, finishing as a Top 10 quarterback for the first time since Week 16 last year. Additionally, he hadn’t thrown for 300+ yards since Week 11 of last year. Captain Kirk has managed to finish as a Top 10 QB in back-to-back weeks just twice since coming to Minnesota, so it’s understandable to be hesitant about starting him this week.
However, the Eagles provide one of the more tantalizing QB matchups in football right now, always worth a look when you have weapons as ridiculously talented as Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs. The Eagles currently sit at the 6th worst mark of passing yards allowed, at 271.2 per game. This includes a matchup with the hilariously bad Luke Falk though, where he threw for just 120 yards surrounded by a sad Jets offense. Coming into last week they were allowing 330.8 passing yards per game, worst in the NFL. This isn’t a new problem for the Eagles. as they also had the 3rd worst pass defense in 2018, a year where they just so happened to face the Kirk Cousins led Minnesota Vikings. Cousins completed 30 of 37 passes for 301 yards in that contest, also throwing a touchdown as the Vikings beat the defending Super Bowl champs. The Eagles continue to be a punching bag for QB’s, and Cousins has proven he can swing right along with them. What’s not to like here (besides Kirk Cousins)?
Kyle Allen (10% Owned; Pick of the Week)
Despite being incredibly efficient since taking over as the Panthers’ starter, Kyle Allen hasn’t done too much for fantasy owners outside of a strong Week 3 performance against the Cardinals. Then again, neither had Teddy Bridgewater before facing off against Allen’s Week 6 opponent, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bucs have allowed upwards of 300 passing yards in every week outside of Week 1 against the 49ers, and Allen isn’t hurting for weapons to make another 300 yard week happen, with Curtis Samuel and D.J. Moore providing dynamic secondary options to Christian McCaffrey, who should be getting plenty of work through the air given the Buccaneers strong run defense. This is a passing defense bad enough to let Daniel Jones drop 336 on them despite losing offensive engine Saquon Barkley, so I have no doubts the Panthers offense can carve them up. For what it’s worth, Cam Newton dropped 332 passing yards on Tampa back in Week 2, in a game where Christian McCaffrey was held to 16 carries and just 2.3 YPC.
Colt McCoy (1% Owned)
My first two choices were pretty safe all things considered, so lets get spicy. Washington is 0-5, has the 6th worst offense in football, and could be running with their 3rd string tight end. So how on earth could I recommend Colt McCoy? One word. Dolphins.
The Dolphins have been truly awful as a football team this year, and might be the worst team we’ve ever seen. Their 296.3 passing yards per game is the second worst in football. Their 12 passing TD’s allowed is the second worst in football, just one behind Washington themselves. The craziest part of that is despite the Dolphins having already taken their bye week, and thus having 1 less game to allow passing stats than 97% of the NFL, they’re still just barely not the worst. Their 74.4% completion percentage allowed is also the 2nd worst in football, behind only Washington once again. So we have a passing defense that’s allowed 3 passing TD’s a game, almost 300 yards, and whose own awful defensive opponent means they should be able to score a decent amount. This sounds like a great opportunity for Colt McCoy to have his first Top 10 performance at QB since Week 13 of 2014. This game will likely go one of two ways:
- A shootout, because how could it not be a shootout when the NFL’s two worst pass defenses throw down?
- A snoozefest where two offenses that can’t move the ball continuously fail to move the ball for 60 minutes and combine for 17 points.
I’m at least reasonably willing to say Washington can get something going against Miami given their solid receiving group, led by rookie standout Terry McLaurin, who should have a standout game in his own right. Technically at this junction Washington hasn’t announced a starter, but I would be shocked if they turned back to Case Keenum. I probably wouldn’t stream McCoy unless you somehow can’t get either Kirk or Kyle, but he has a respectable chance of returning value in this matchup, before going back into hibernation for the remainder of the year.
(Photo by Icon Sportswire)