The Weekly Angle || Week 5

Week 5 delivered another action-packed week of football. There were tons of awesome games that went down to the final seconds, and we got to cap off the week with the potential game of the year between the Bills and Rams on Monday night.

We head into Week 6 with a hefty chunk of the season officially behind us. The championship contenders in leagues are starting to rise to the top, and the bottom dwellers are getting stinkier by the day.

Let’s get into the nitty gritty of our Week 6 recap.

Takeaways from Every Game

Buccaneers vs. Cowboys — 24-16 Buccaneers Victory

• Bucky Irving exploded for the best fantasy performance of his career against an embarrassing Cowboys defense, finishing with 165 rushing yards and a TD, while adding two catches for 10 yards and another score. Emeka Egbuka had a respectable day with 17.2 fantasy points thanks to a rushing TD, but continues to be underutilized in this offense.
• The Cowboys fell flat on their faces in a game they were heavily favored to win. Dak Prescott looked atrocious, and CeeDee Lamb had a quiet outing because of an injury in the second half. George Pickens popped off thanks to a game script that forced them to throw to play catch up.

Jaguars vs. Eagles — 19-17 Jaguars Victory

• The Jags were handed a victory by the Eagles, thanks to a horrible decision at the end of the game to put the ball in the hands of the return man instead of kicking the ball out of the back of the endzone for a touchback. Parker Washington went nuclear for six catches, 124 yards, and two TDs. Trevor Lawrence and Brenton Strange also had great fantasy days for their positions.
• The Eagles continue to be an embarrassment and a dumpster fire for fantasy. Backup RB Will Shipley went down to injury, leaving the backfield to be led by practice squad RB Dameon Pierce. Dallas Goedert returned and led the team in targets, but left a lot to be desired on the statsheet.

Patriots vs. Raiders — 45-17 Patriots Victory

• Hello, Drake Maye! Two straight weeks of pure fantasy gold from the reigning MVP runner-up. All worries and overreactions to his slow start should hopefully be put to bed at this point. He finished with 374 passing yards, four passing TDs, and another score on the ground. TreVeyon Henderson went down with a high ankle sprain and is set to miss a few weeks. Rhamondre Stevenson made the most of the opportunity, finishing with 17.5 fantasy points.  He’s set to receive an increased workload with Henderson out.
• The Raiders fell back to earth after a hot start, with Kirk Cousins throwing for just one TD. The backfield was a confusing mess with Ashton Jeanty limited heading into the game. Despite the chaos around him, Brock Bowers continues to be utterly ridiculous. The man is unstoppable in every sense of the word, finishing with eight receptions, 110 yards, and another TD. He has now scored in every game he has appeared in this season.

Packers vs. Bears — 31-7 Packers Victory

• Yuck. The Bears looked hideous behind some very poor QB play from both Tyson Bagent and Case Keenum. D’Andre Swift had a good day thanks to a rushing TD and some receiving work; everyone else disappointed. This team needs Caleb Williams back fast.
• As I’m typing this, I’m pretty sure Jordan Love is throwing another deep bomb to Christian Watson. That was the real story of this game. The passing game completely exposed and exploited a very bad Bears secondary. Both Watson and Matthew Golden had 100+ receiving yard days, and Watson scored twice through the air. Marshawn Lloyd was horribly inefficient on the ground with just 31 yards on 10 carries, but still found the end zone twice for a solid fantasy day.

Bengals vs. Dolphins — 31-24 Bengals Victory

• Cincinnati got the victory over Miami thanks to great days from Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase. Burrow threw for under 200 yards but managed four passing TDs. Chase came back from a concussion and dominated with six receptions, 77 yards, and a score. Chase Brown was wildly disappointing yet again, causing fantasy managers to start panicking about his season-long outlook. Backup Samaje Perine had more carries, was more efficient, and got the receiving TD that Brown typically would have earned.
• There were actually some decent fantasy performances from the Dolphins in this one, most notably from waiver wire darling Ollie Gordon, who rushed for 88 yards and a TD. But outside of him, who cares? Nobody is starting these guys. Stay away.

Vikings vs. Saints — 23-13 Vikings Victory

• RB start of the week Aaron Jones delivered once again, going for 113 yards and a score while adding three receptions. Justin Jefferson returned from injury and dominated with an insane TD reception through triple coverage. Kyler Murray had his first game where he actually looked decent.
• The Saints were completely shut down across the board by this elite Vikings’ defense. Not a single player on the team put up more than 10 fantasy points.

Jets vs. Browns — 17-12 Jets Victory

• This was a bad fantasy day pretty much across the board for the Browns. Rookie WR Denzel Boston was the only player with a decent performance, continuing to show out and earn his place as a starter. Deshaun Watson’s recent run of solid performances came to an end with a sub-50% completion rate.
• Garrett Wilson followed up a bad Week 4 with a standout performance of seven receptions, 104 yards, and a TD. Braelon Allen shined in Breece Hall’s absence, earning a massive workload of 24 carries for 116 yards and a score. Rookie TE Kenyon Sadiq pulled a disappearing act for the second straight week, and Geno Smith was somehow terrible despite an awesome performance from his top target.

Steelers vs. Colts — 34-22 Steelers Victory

• This was one of those games that felt like a much bigger blowout than the final score suggests. The Colts were within one score for a large portion of the game, but everyone knew they weren’t going to pull it off. Daniel Jones continues to be downright terrible and unusable for fantasy. Jonathan Taylor was held to a below-average week by his standards. Tyler Warren was the only valuable Colts asset, finally having a highly efficient day with seven catches, 83 yards, and a rushing TD.
• Aaron Rodgers has sneakily been playing some stellar football. It doesn’t always look pretty in the moment, but somehow he has finished as a top-12 fantasy QB in each of the past three weeks. Jaylen Warren was the real hero for the Steelers though, putting together the best performance of his career with 101 rushing yards and a score, plus 87 receiving yards and another TD through the air. Rookie WR Germie Bernard had a small breakout thanks to vacated targets from injured WRs Michael Pittman and Roman Wilson, leading the team in targets and finishing with 80 yards. DK Metcalf was just pitiful.

Texans vs. Titans — 26-3 Texans Victory

• The biggest storyline from this game is David Montgomery going down to injury, clearing the backfield for Woody Marks to take over. Marks was heavily involved throughout this game, putting in a respectable performance with 62 rushing yards, four receptions, and 23 receiving yards. Nico Collins had a down week with just five receptions for 56 yards.
• The Titans are awful. If there was anyone left who still believed in Cam Ward, this game should have been the final nail in the coffin. After a breakout game last week, Carnell Tate massively disappointed with just one catch for six yards.

Giants vs. Commanders — 27-27 Tie

• Boy oh boy. The Commanders won the award for the biggest blunder of the year. It is only Week 5, but nobody is going to top that clock mismanagement at the end of this game. Regardless, Jayden Daniels was dominant as a fantasy QB, rushing for 103 yards and two TDs while adding 199 passing yards. Terry McLaurin returned from injury and had a fine game with four catches for 62 yards. Jacory Croskey-Merritt had an efficient day on the ground with 11 rushes for 82 yards and a score.
• Malik Nabers is a dominant WR1 no matter who the QB is. All signs point to him being fully back to top-10 WR status after a staggering 20 targets, 11 receptions, 121 yards, and a TD. Isaiah Likely is also making the Ravens regret letting him walk in free agency. He has been a revelation at the TE position this year, commanding targets week in, week out finishing with 11 catches for 94 yards and two TDs.

Broncos vs. Chargers — 23-17 Broncos Victory

• This was another disgusting display of offense from the Broncos. Even with Sean Payton taking over playcalling duties, the offensive struggles suggest the playcalling may not have been the issue all along. Bo Nix has massively underperformed relative to expectations and is dragging all of his receiving options down with him. JK Dobbins had a great game with 68 rushing yards and a score.
• The Chargers continue to be the laughing stock of the league.

Lions vs. Cardinals — 45-21 Lions Victory

• Jahmyr Gibbs is going to win so many fantasy championships this year. The workload, the efficiency, the talent: he's got all of it. He is the best player in fantasy and it's not particularly close. Jared Goff and Sam LaPorta also had awesome fantasy days.
• The Cardinals’ backfield is purely a mess right now. All signs pointed to great opportunity against a bad Lions rush defense, but nobody could get it done. I’m officially worried about Jeremiyah Love for the rest of the season. Brissett took care of business for fantasy purposes thanks to some late garbage time production, with the main beneficiary being Trey McBride, who had a beastly TD catch at the end of the game and finished with nine catches, 66 yards, and a score. Michael Wilson was surprisingly quiet in a game he was projected to dominate.

49ers vs. Seahawks — 32-29 49ers Victory

• This game was awesome. Two top teams battled it out for first place in their division, and they did not disappoint. Sam Darnold had a really bad fantasy day but was still able to support a great performance from JSN, who went for five catches, 102 yards, and a TD. Emmanuel Wilson also had a good day on the ground, finishing with 61 yards and a score.
• It is really sad to say, but after five weeks, it is safe to conclude that the Christian McCaffrey of old is gone. He is still a solid and reliable top-10 fantasy back week in, week out, but the hope of 25 to 30 points every week seems to be behind us. He still had a good day with 68 rushing yards, a rushing TD, and three catches for 15 yards. Mike Evans went off for seven catches, 113 yards, and a score as well. The Seahawks’defense finally got to Brock Purdy, sacking him three times and handing him his first taste of the turf this season.

Ravens vs. Falcons — 30-23 Ravens Victory

• The Snoop Huntley-led Ravens took home the win against the Falcons, largely thanks to another great game from Derrick Henry, who finished with 24 carries, 102 rushing yards, and even hauled in a rare receiving TD. Zay Flowers was heavily targeted by Huntley, but the otherworldly efficiency we saw in the first four weeks came back to earth with just 53 yards on eight catches.
• Drake London had another 100+ yard receiving game thanks to Michael Penix peppering him with targets. Kyle Pitts finally showed up in 2026 with five catches, 42 yards, and a TD. Bijan had a down game by his standards, but still managed 15.8 fantasy points on 86 rushing yards, four receptions, and 32 receiving yards.

Bills vs. Rams — 37-34 Bills Victory

• Monday Night Football gave us a game of the year contender in Week 5. The Bills took care of business in overtime thanks to dominant ground games from both Josh Allen and James Cook. Allen finished with 210 passing yards and a TD, while adding a jaw-dropping 121 rushing yards and a score. Cook also rushed for over 100 yards and two touchdowns. Cook nearly cost the Bills the game with a fumble late in overtime, but the special teams unit blocked a would-be game-winning field goal, and the offense marched down to make the winning kick of their own.
• Pretty much every fantasy-relevant player for the Rams had an awesome night, most notably the sensational Puka Nacua, who drew 24 targets, the third most in a single game in NFL history. He hauled in 17 of them for 138 yards and a touchdown. Davante Adams added two receiving TDs of his own, and the RB duo of Kyren Williams and Blake Corum each chipped in rushing scores as well. Your Fantasy Gold Game of the Week.

Biggest Storylines to Pay Attention to this Week

• Caleb Williams returning in Week 6?
• AJ Brown return timeline
• Cardinals starting QB situation. Will Carson Beck get a shot?

Final Thoughts

We were blessed with another high-scoring, electric week of football that led to some alarmingly high fantasy scores. In two of my leagues, we had new records set for the highest score in league history! I have been positively overwhelmed by how good the 2026 season has been so far. There have still been a ton of injuries, but for the most part, they haven’t derailed the season the way they have in years past.

We are on to Week 6, where we have our first week with four teams on bye. The Bengals, Lions, Dolphins, and Vikings all get the week off, and I think the entire league is rejoicing that they don’t have to face that Minnesota defense this week. With the byes, there are a lot of star players who will be missed, so prepare yourself to be without the likes of Jahmyr Gibbs, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Ja’Marr Chase, Joe Burrow, and many more.