Week 5 was a crazy one for the NFL and fantasy football! The Colts had the Monday night game locked in the bag, but a series of injuries and Lamar Jackson showing that good ol’ college passing work led the Ravens to an overtime victory. The Lions nearly had their first win of the year. The Packers-Bengals game was won and lost by their kickers. My fantasy football home league team won because my opponent forgot to switch out Dalvin Cook for Alexander Mattison. A weird week overall, but mostly a good one in terms of my recommendations for defensive streamers.
- Colts: -3pts – BUST
- Cardinals: 7pts – SUCCESS
- Vikings: 11pts – SUCCESS
- Browns: -6pts – BUST
- Patriots: 4pts – BUST
- Panthers: 10pts – SUCCESS
- Week 5: 3 Successes – 3 Busts
- Overall: 13 Successes – 11 Busts
The Browns, Colts, and Patriots were all busts, but the logic was there. The Colts have been preforming well in terms of sacks and interceptions. They just lost quite a few of their better players to injury. The Browns were playing a powerhouse in the Chargers and had a hard time stopping them on 4th down. To top it off, who knew the Patriots could stop Tom Brady, but found it difficult to hold back the G.O.A.T. Davis Mills? I’m hoping this week will be better. Let’s get into the streams!
Number 5: Minnesota Vikings 31.5%
The past three weeks for the Vikings have shown them allowing 17, 14, and 17 points scored on them. Not bad considering they played both the Seahawks and the Browns in that three week span. This week, they get to play the Christian McCaffery-less Panthers led by Sam Darnold; who looked like he saw ghosts last week. I expect at least one sack for both Everson Griffen and Danielle Hunter.
Number 4: Miami Dolphins 21.1%
The Dolphins play the Jaguars in London in my “All Defensive Matchup of the Week.” Neither offense can seem to get it moving as well as we had hoped they would. If it continues that way, we could see a lot of defense and not a lot of scoring. Good enough for a few points in your fantasy football lineups.
Number 3: Jacksonville Jaguars 4.0%
Like I said, I expect more defense and less offense from these two teams. However, I do think this is the game that the Jaguars finally win. Their offense is better than the Dolphins’ defense. I could see them run the score up while also making big defensive plays.
Number 2: Chicago Bears 19.5%
The Bears are looking to make a statement win with rookie QB Justin Fields in his first matchup against their oldest rivals: the Green Bay Packers. This team has been playing better each week. Their defense takes advantage of any slipups and mistakes their opponents make. The Green Bay offense has moments where the cracks show through. I expect to see the Bears make some major plays this week in what should be one of the most interesting games to watch this weekend.
Honorable Mention: Indianapolis Colts (73.5%)
The Colts will be down some of their best players from their secondary, but that Houston offensive line may not be able to stop the efforts of Darius Leonard and DeForest Buckner.
Number 1: Cincinnati Bengals 44.2%
The Bengals have been working their stripes off on defense recently. The Lions have done the opposite on offense. While the Lions have been playing better than expected, they have easily given away plays to their opponent’s defense. We could see players like Jessie Bates and Trey Hendrickson make big plays for their team.
Good luck this week and may the streams flow your way!
Hunter Greene
Hunter started writing for The League Winners in the summer of 2021. Hunter has been playing fantasy football for about a decade, starting in middle school. Now he’s a professional landscaper and avid Colts and Purdue fan.