Week 5 Fantasy Football Game-by-Game Recap: Jonathan Taylor, Emeka Egbuka and More

It’s finally here. The takeover of the Commanders backfield by Jacory Croskey-Merritt took another step in the right direction. Bill got his first start of the season and rushed for 111 yards on 14 carries with two TDs and caught two passes for 39 yards. In previous games, Croskey-Merritt didn’t appear in the game until the third drive. Chris Rodriguez had five carries for seven yards and Jeremy McNichols had two touches for 18 yards. Croskey-Merritt is the best back on the team, and his 16 touches were a season-high. The usage was the best it has been all season and with Jayden Daniels back, the top option in the Washington backfield is a good spot to be in. Bill is on the rise. Here are my top takeaways from each Sunday game.

Week 5 Game-by-Game Recap

Vikings at Browns

If we drafted today, Quinshon Judkins would go in the first few rounds and that says a lot since he’s playing in a bad offense. Judkins has been impressive, considering he missed all of training camp and showed up before Week 2. The rookie has been dominant against some good defenses. He rushed for 110 yards on 23 carries and caught an 18-yard pass. Judkins also had a 60-plus-yard TD called back due to a penalty.

Cowboys at Jets

Have you ever had a friend who makes the dumbest decision, yet it always turns out well for them? That’s Justin Fields when it comes to fantasy. Fields was awful most of the game and it looked like he was going to disappoint against the team that had allowed the most fantasy points per game to the quarterbacks. At the end of the game, Fields came through with 283 passing yards, two TDs and rushed for 26 yards. Save yourself an ulcer and try not to watch his games.

Buccaneers at Seahawks

Kenneth Walker is clearly a better back than Zach Charbonnet. Unfortunately, the coaches love Charbonnet. After a nice 31-yard run by Walker, Charbonnet was brought into the game and scored on a five-yard run. Why? Walker had 10 carries for 86 yards and caught one pass. Charbonnet rushed for 36 yards on nine carries and caught a 12-yard pass. This is brutal for those with Walker.

Raiders at Colts

How did Jonathan Taylor slip to the end of the second round in some drafts? While the Colts offense has been much better than anyone anticipated with Daniel Jones, Taylor finished last season strong and is back getting almost all of the touches. He rushed for 66 yards on 17 carries with three TDs and caught three passes for 20 yards in a blowout win.

Giants at Saints

Alvin Kamara's production is hurting with Kendre Miller more involved in the offense. Kamara’s target share is way down and he needs volume since the TDs won’t be many. Kamara rushed for 27 yards on eight carries and caught four passes for 28 yards. The receiving yards were a season high. He has 17 catches for 77 yards in seven games. Miller had 10 carries for 41 yards and an eight-yard catch. Taysom Hill returned and it will only take away a few more touches from Kamara.

Broncos at Eagles

So, you want to see the Eagles pass more? They listened with 38 pass attempts and only 11 rushing attempts in a game they once led 17-3. Don’t be surprised that A.J. Brown had a quiet game, since he saw a lot of Patrick Surtain. Brown had five catches for 43 yards on eight targets and was open on what could have been a long TD, but it appeared Brown slowed down on the route. DeVonta Smith had the easier matchup and took advantage with eight catches for 114 yards on 10 targets.

Dolphins at Panthers

Rico Dowdle had a good year with Dallas last season and could only find a role as a backup. With Chuba Hubbard out with a calf injury, Dowdle made an emphatic statement with 206 yards on 23 carries with a TD and caught three passes for 28 yards and took advantage of a great matchup. Dowdle gets the revenge game narrative next week against the Cowboys.

Texans at Ravens

This was supposed to be the Woody Marks backfield. He played 58% of the snaps in Week 4 and looked good. Nick Chubb had 11 carries for 61 yards with a TD, while Marks had 24 yards on seven carries and didn’t catch a pass. The Texans led 24-3 at the half and didn’t need to pass often. Stay patient with Marks. Chubb hasn’t looked good and the Ravens defense is severely depleted.

Titans at Cardinals

All eyes were on the Cardinals backfield after Trey Benson was placed on IR. We were told it was a hot hand situation between Michael Carter, Emari Demercado and Bam Knight. Carter got most of the work, rushing for 51 yards on 18 carries with a TD and catching five passes for 22 yards. Demercado rushed for 81 yards on three carries, but on a 71-yard run, dropped the ball before the goal line, resulting in a turnover and costing the Cardinals a win. Knight rushed four times for 11 yards with a TD and caught a 13-yard pass.

Lions at Bengals

If you didn’t see the Bengals game, the box score is misleading. The Bengals’ offense was dreadful most of the game. Jake Browning had three interceptions and couldn’t sustain drives. He came alive in the fourth quarter with 21 points, saving the day for Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Chase had six catches for 110 yards with two TDs on 10 targets and Higgins had three catches for 22 yards with a score.

Patriots at Bills

I really have no idea what TreVeyon Henderson has to do to get more touches. Rhamondre Stevenson lost another fumble early in the game and Antonio Gibson was the back on the ensuing drive. Then Stevenson came in before Henderson. Stevenson has lost three fumbles this season. Gibson injured his knee on a kickoff and was ruled out quickly. Stevenson scored two rushing TDs and rushed for only 14 yards on seven carries and caught two passes for 13 yards. Henderson rushed for 24 yards on six carries and caught two passes for three yards.

Ronis Bonus - More Week 5 Takeaways

What a story Darren Waller is. Maybe Travis Kelce should retire, make music and come back a year later to resurrect his career. Waller played 25% of the snaps in Week 4 and caught three passes for 27 yards with two TDs. Waller played more against the Panthers and caught five passes for 78 yards with a TD. He’s the red zone threat the Dolphins need.

Whenever Tyreek Hill is out, Jaylen Waddle produces at a high level. Waddle caught six of nine targets for 110 yards with a TD and is a must-start the rest of the way.

Mason Taylor has emerged as a reliable tight end. The Jets don’t have another good receiver besides Garrett Wilson. Taylor started the season slowly due to an ankle injury and is emerging. He has at least six targets in three straight games and led the team with 12 targets, catching nine passes for 67 yards. Taylor has 19 targets in the last two weeks. The Jets will play from behind often, and the targets will be there for Taylor.

I was wrong on Javonte Williams. I didn’t see this coming after the way he looked last season in Denver and the Cowboys only gave him $3 million for one year with incentives. Williams scored his fifth rushing TD, which is already a career high. He rushed for 135 yards on 16 carries and caught a four-yard pass for a score. He did it with Dallas missing four starting offensive linemen. Congratulations if you drafted him.

At least we feel better about David Njoku with Dillon Gabriel at quarterback. Gabriel didn’t take many deep shots against an aggressive Vikings defense and Njoku led the way with nine targets, catching six passes for 67 yards with a TD.

Just when it appeared RJ Harvey was primed for a bigger role, it didn’t happen. Tyler Badie barely played in Week 4 and played 19 snaps against the Eagles, while Harvey was at 15. Those snaps took away from Harvey, who rushed for 12 yards on four carries and caught three passes for 18 yards. J.K. Dobbins looks good and is getting most of the touches with 20 carries for 79 yards with a TD and caught a five-yard pass. We can’t automatically start Harvey yet.

Calvin Ridley has been terrible and was on the injury report with knee and elbow injuries. We were told he would play if pregame workouts went well, but the game was 4:05 p.m. ET. I benched him in several leagues, and of course, he had his best game of the season with five catches for 131 yards on 10 targets. At least he showed something.

Emeka Egbuka was one of my most drafted players and I couldn’t be happier. He had another big game with 163 yards on seven catches with a TD. The rookie has five touchdowns and isn’t going away. Chris Godwin has played a lot in his first two games back, but is shaking off some rust. Godwin caught three passes for 26 yards on four targets. It wasn’t a surprise to see Rachaad White control the backfield with Bucky Irving out. White had 18 touches to six for Sean Tucker.

The easiest bet in the world was Stefon Diggs props going back to Buffalo. I took it at over 45.5 receiving yards and not one bit of sweat dropped. Diggs was ramped up slowly coming off the torn ACL and looked better in Week 4 before the revenge game Sunday night. Against the Bills, Diggs went off for 10 catches for 146 yards on 12 targets. Diggs is back.