It gets late pretty early in Fantasy Football. There's no time to waste if you've gotten off to a stumbling or flat-unlucky start. Now it gets a bit trickier with bye weeks kicking in with the Browns, Chargers, Seahawks and Buccaneers off in Week 5. If you've gotten off to a hot start, don't get cocky. The Fantasy gods can be capricious.
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Jamey Eisenberg has his Week 5 Start and Sit calls for QB below His Waiver Wire also can direct you to the best options that may be available in your leagues. And don't forget to check out Heath Cummings' quarterback preview for more help with matchup notes, Week 5 numbers to know and more. Plus check out Heath's Week 5 premium projections over at SportsLine.
START 'EM & SIT 'EM
Quarterbacks
QBs to Start
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Richardson has been nothing short of spectacular to start his rookie campaign, and he just scored 33.6 Fantasy points against the Rams in Week 4. He also had 22.9 Fantasy points in Week 1 against Jacksonville and 17.7 points at Houston in Week 2 in just the first half before he suffered a concussion. His rushing production has been impressive with at least 10 Fantasy points using his legs in each outing, and the Titans have already allowed two quarterbacks (Justin Herbert and Deshaun Watson) to score at least 25.2 Fantasy points this year.
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Cousins had his first game this season with fewer than 20 Fantasy points in Week 4 at Carolina, but prior to that he scored at least 31.7 points in each of his previous two outings against the Eagles and Chargers. He should rebound against the Chiefs with the Vikings likely chasing points, and I like Cousins as a potential top-five quarterback in Week 5. Zach Wilson in Week 4 is the lone quarterback to top 20-plus Fantasy points against Kansas City this year, but Cousins should pile up stats this week in garbage time.
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Love had his first game under 26.3 Fantasy points in Week 4 against Detroit, but he still managed 19.6 points. He struggled against the Lions, but that production is still a solid floor if that's going to be what a poor game looks like. I'm hopeful we see better production from Christian Watson and Aaron Jones in Week 5 at Las Vegas to support Romeo Doubs. And the matchup with the Raiders is a favorable one since Las Vegas has allowed three quarterbacks in a row (Josh Allen, Kenny Pickett and Justin Herbert) to score at least 22.5 Fantasy points. Love should rebound in Week 5 and once again has top-10 upside.
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Stroud has been exceptional to start his NFL career, and he's scored at least 24.6 Fantasy points in three games in a row. He hasn't thrown an interception yet, and he hasn't been sacked in the past two games against Jacksonville and Pittsburgh. His receiving corps is playing great with Nico Collins and Nathaniel Dell making plays, and I expect Stroud to stay hot in this matchup against the Falcons. Two of the past three quarterbacks against Atlanta (Jordan Love and Jared Goff) have scored at least 20 Fantasy points, and Stroud should do the same in Week 5.
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Sleepers (Start/Sit)
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Purdy doesn't have an easy matchup in Week 5 against Dallas, but I'm still going to trust him as a low-end starter. He's scored at least 20.8 Fantasy points in three of four starts, including at least 23.3 points in two games in a row, and we'll see if the Cowboys can slow down this 49ers offense. So far, Dallas has faced Daniel Jones, Zach Wilson, Joshua Dobbs and Mac Jones, but Purdy will be their toughest opponent to date. He's also been great at home, scoring at least 20.0 Fantasy points in all five games that he's started in San Francisco in the regular season going back to last year, with an average of 23.8 points over that span.
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It was impressive to see Howell bounce back in Week 4 at Philadelphia after his miserable performance against Buffalo in Week 3. Howell scored 0.6 Fantasy points against the Bills when he had four interceptions and was sacked nine times, but he rebounded against the Eagles with 21.6 points. He should stay hot this week against the Bears on Thursday night since Chicago has allowed every opposing quarterback this season to score at least 20.4 Fantasy points, with three of them (Jordan Love, Patrick Mahomes and Russell Wilson) scoring at least 28.2 points.
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Dobbs has been great over the past three weeks with an average of 24.6 points against the Giants, Cowboys and 49ers, and he should do well against Cincinnati in Week 5. The Bengals allow an average of 19.4 Fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks, and Deshaun Watson and Lamar Jackson both scored at least 22.7 points against this defense. Dobbs is making plays with his legs with at least 41 rushing yards in each of the past three games, and he's yet to throw an interception. He's been a pleasant surprise so far this year, and he's a good bye-week replacement if needed in Week 5.
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QBs to Sit
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At some point, hopefully, Burrow is going to look like a standout Fantasy quarterback again, but right now he's struggling with his calf injury. He's scored 8.2 Fantasy points or less in three of four games this season, including two in a row, and he might not have a healthy Tee Higgins (ribs) in Week 5 at Arizona. I hope I'm wrong by putting Burrow in this section of the column, and the Cardinals have allowed two of the past three opposing quarterbacks to score at least 23.2 Fantasy points. But until we see Burrow look like Burrow, I'm going to lean toward sitting him in most one-quarterback leagues.
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Prescott has scored 16.4 Fantasy points or less in three of four games this season, and it's hard to trust him in one-quarterback leagues at San Francisco. While the 49ers did allow Joshua Dobbs to score 27.4 Fantasy points in Week 4, the previous three quarterbacks against San Francisco (Kenny Pickett, Matthew Stafford and Daniel Jones) combined for just 31.8 points. Granted, that's not exactly the most stellar list of opponents, but Prescott has been underwhelming this season with his production. He also has offensive line concerns with left tackle Tyron Smith (knee) and right guard Zack Martin (quad) at less than 100 percent. I would only start Prescott in Superflex and two-quarterback leagues in Week 5.
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The good news for Jones is that he's No. 2 in rushing yards among quarterbacks this season with 173. The bad news is everything else. He's scored 8.7 Fantasy points or less in three of four games this season, he hasn't scored a touchdown in each of the past two outings against San Francisco and Seattle and his offensive line is a mess after allowing 10 sacks against the Seahawks. We'll see if Jones can rebound against the Dolphins, who were just lit up by Josh Allen in Week 4 for 44.2 Fantasy points. But this is more about Jones, who has been too much of a disaster to trust, and he's barely a starting option in Superflex and two-quarterback leagues on the road in Week 5.
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Stafford had a solid game in Week 4 at Indianapolis with 18.2 Fantasy points, and he could stay in that range in Week 5 against the Eagles. He might even get Cooper Kupp (hamstring) back for this matchup with Philadelphia, and hopefully Stafford is 100 percent despite dealing with a bruised hip. But even though Stafford has three games this season with at least 300 passing yards, he hasn't posted standout Fantasy production. Going back to 2021, Stafford has just two games with more than 20 Fantasy points in his past 17 outings, including none this year. And he has three touchdowns and five interceptions in his past three games. I would only start Stafford in Superflex and two-quarterback leagues in Week 5.
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Bust Alert (Start/Sit)
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Lawrence has been a bust so far as a Fantasy quarterback with a season-high 21.7 points in Week 1 at Indianapolis. Since then he's scored 18.5 Fantasy points or less in his past three outings, and he should struggle against the Bills in London. Buffalo just held Tua Tagovailoa to 15.9 Fantasy points in Week 4, and that's the best performance for an opposing quarterback against the Bills this year. I'm hopeful Lawrence will start producing like the breakout candidate I expected to see in 2023, and he still has that potential. But it's hard to count on a big outing in Week 5 given how well the Buffalo defense has played this season. I would only start Lawrence in Superflex and two-quarterback leagues in Week 5.
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