![Fantasy football under-the-radar plays — Week 5](https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODc2ODY4MC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTc2NTE0OTY4MX0.QBQhblRGlEJUaXST7R7HxCHoqy9UehG1OiwXrmcep7U/img.jpg?width=980&quality=65)
Calvin Ridley has a tasty matchup against the Steelers this week. Photo via Atlanta Falcons/Facebook
Week 5 is almost upon us and I have more sleeper plays for you. Let’s take a peek at how I did last week, and then look ahead to this week’s slate of games. My standard for a good fantasy game is around 100 total yards and/or a TD, and this is for PPR scoring. Of course, the bar is a little lower for TEs.
Week 4 Results
RB
Chris Carson (SEA): No play, he was a late scratch. I write this article on Wednesday or Thursday, so make sure your players are active on Sundays before starting them.
Gio Bernard (CIN): Right, huge game with 2 TDs.
Jordan Howard (CHI): Wrong, how the hell did Trubisky score 6 TDs and Howard was so terrible?
WR
Sterling Sheppard (NYG): Really Right, I pushed him hard, so I hope you took my advice.
Allen Robinson (CHI): Right, I said he would score his 1st TD of the year and he came through.
Emmanuel Sanders (DEN): Wrong, the Broncos are looking like an offense to avoid.
Will Fuller (HOU): Right, he produced even though he got hurt and had to leave the game.
Mike Williams (LAC): Wrong, he’s hard to trust at this point but he's talented and in a good offense. The targets are the issue for him.
TE
Eric Ebron (IND): Right, 5 catches and a TD, you’ll take that.
Trey Burton (CHI): Right, I was on this one and he ended up with over 80 yards and a TD.
Austin Hooper (ATL): Wrong, he’s nothing more than a desperation play now.
QB
Andy Dalton (CIN): Right, he was great.
Matt Ryan (ATL): Right Wow, he was amazing again.
Another great week! 8-4 picking sleepers, oh hell yeah. I'll try and do it again this week. Here we go. These players are in no particular order.
Week 5
RB
T.J. Yeldon (JAX): The Chiefs give up the most points to the RB position this year and Leonard Fournette is out again. Yeldon looks like a great start this week; just make sure he is active on Sunday. He’s been playing through an ankle injury.
Matt Breida (SF): I was a little worried about Breida last week because he played one week after hyperextending his knee. He ended up playing more snaps than any previous game this season. The matchup is fantastic this week, and the game should be close, so fire him up against the Cardinals.
James Conner (PIT): I haven’t been listing Conner as often in this article because he’s become what I would consider a must-start player, but he didn’t do much last week and people may shy away from him. I would start him with confidence against the Falcons because there should be a lot of points scored in this game, and the Falcons struggle against the run. Also, many people drafted Conner as a late-round flyer and probably have other quality RB options, so I’m including him again this week. He should come through with fantasy goodness.
Dion Lewis and Derrick Henry (TEN): Do you have the courage to start a Titans RB? This is a tough one because Henry has been complete garbage this year, but the matchup is in his favor. I think the Titans run the ball a ton this week, so both RBs could produce. Henry is more of a desperation play, but this article is about sleepers, so he might bail you out as a flex with 2 teams on bye this week.
Sony Michel (NE): He should get a lot of carries tonight, and he looks great. Don’t be afraid to use him again.
WR
Calvin Ridley (ATL): Ridley has clearly been incredible the last few weeks, but I like him this week mostly because of his matchup. Everything is not perfect for him because he is still getting fewer targets than Mohamed Sanu, but he’s making the most out of them. Sanu was a little banged up last week, and Julio will receive a ton of attention, so I like Ridley again this week. I’m not expecting multiple TDs, but he should be a solid flex option against the Steelers shaky secondary.
Jordy Nelson (OAK): The Chargers are giving up 44FPTS/G to WRs this year and Jordy has been pretty good as of late. Nelson has scored and caught at least 5 passes in 2 straight games, so he’s very much involved here. Plus, Carr looks to be playing well and that certainly helps. I also like Amari Cooper this week, but you’re probably starting him every week regardless.
Julian Edelman (NE): There is certainly risk starting him this week, but the Colts were torched by the Texans last week, and are dealing with a ton of injuries in the secondary. Edelman should at least post similar numbers to what Keke Coutee did for Houston last week.
Sterling Shepard (NYG): Can he do it again? With Engram still out, I think he can. He should be heavily targeted against the Panthers.
TE
Austin Hooper (ATL): If he doesn’t come through this week, he’s dead to me. The matchup couldn’t be any better with the Steelers giving up over 20FPTS/G to TEs. Cross your fingers and hope for the best. He should only be used if you're really hurting at TE.
George Kittle (SF): I’m not going to lie to you, the matchup is not good. This is a really bad week for TE matchups, but Kittle should get ton of targets, so let’s hope he scores.
QB
Ben Roethlisberger (PIT): I love Big Ben this week and he should put up points in this game against the Falcons. He and Matt Ryan should go off here. I’m only leaving Ryan out of my article this week because he’s an obvious start.
Blake Bortles (JAX): He’s been very good with Fournette out of the lineup.
DEF
If you need a defense this week, I like the Titans. They have a good matchup against the Bills.
That’s all I have for this week. For more fantasy info, make sure you check out my show Moneyline on ESPN 97.5 every Sunday from 10-noon. Jerry Bo and I will get you ready for kickoff and answer any questions you may have. Also, follow us on Twitter.
Good luck in Week 5!
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The Houston Texans have a big challenge in store as they look to start the season with a win against the Colts this Sunday. When these two teams met in Week 2 last year, the Colts dominated the Texans, despite losing their QB Anthony Richardson to a concussion after the first quarter.
Keeping Richardson contained on Sunday will go a long way in increasing the Texans' chances of coming home with a win. The Texans defense will have their hands full containing the Colts backs and tight ends in the passing game.
Scoring touchdowns with their wide receivers could prove difficult, as the Texans allowed the second-fewest TDs (10) to the receiver position in 2023.
Limiting running back Jonathan Taylor will also be a top priority. While the Texans had an elite defense against the run last season, they struggled with Taylor in Week 18 as he almost rushed for 200 yards.
Houston's D allowed only four carries to running backs in 2023 that went for 20 or more yards. Two of which were to Taylor in the final game of the regular season.
Finally, DeMeco Ryans and company have to find a way to get pressure on the QB. They only had one QB hit and zero sacks on Richardson and Garner Minshew the first time they faced off last year.
On offense, the Texans have two big x-factors to watch for on Sunday. The offensive line that suited up to play the Colts in Week 2 last season is completely different from this year.
The o-line was ravaged with injuries to start the 2023 campaign, so we expect a big jump in productivity in the trenches this year.
Another big addition in 2024 is the presence of running back Joe Mixon. The running game only produced 2 yards per rush in Week 2 against Indy last year, so there's clearly room for improvement.
Be sure to watch the video above for our in-depth preview of Texans-Colts!
And catch Texans on Tap (a Texans podcast) live on our SportsMapTexans YouTube channel following every game this season!