As we saw in Week 4 with Eli Manning facing the Chiefs, Andy Dalton facing the Browns, and Sam Bradford facing the 49ers, a bad matchup can downright ruin your fantasy week. A good one, however, like Philip Rivers against the Cowboys or Alex Smith against the Giants can give you a massive boost.
This week, it’s Andrew Luck‘s turn to face the tough Seahawks D and while Matt Schaub held his own against them last week, I wouldn’t rush to start him if I had other options. Andy Dalton has a tough test in the Pats but that D isn’t as good as the points would indicate. Outside of Matt Ryan, the Pats have only faced Josh Freeman, EJ Manuel, and Geno Smith.
Jay Cutler will have his hands full with the suddenly very tough Saints secondary so I’d consider alternative options if you have him. Aaron Rodgers will face off against an equally tough Detroit D but you still have to start him.
Carson Palmer against the Panthers, Ryan Fitzpatrick against the Chiefs, and Alex Smith against the Titans are basically unstartable this week unless you have no alternatives. Russell Wilson is also a tough start but I’d still go with Matt Ryan, Tom Brady, and Colin Kaepernick in their slightly unfavorable matchups.
On the flip side, whoever starts at QB for Oakland should see plenty of open field against a Chargers D that has allowed more QB fantasy points than any team in the league. Two of the easier matchups in the Redskins and Vikings are off the table this week with both teams on byes but Cam Newton, Peyton Manning, Matthew Stafford, Michael Vick, Sam Bradford, Eli Manning, and Philip Rivers are all must-starts in their matchups. I wouldn’t rush to start Geno Smith, regardless of how many QB points the Falcons have allowed.
Let’s take a look at all of the QB matchups coming up in Week 5.
Browse Defensive Matchups by Position: QB – RB – WR – TE
Highly Unfavorable, Unfavorable, Neutral, Slightly Favorable, Favorable
|
Rank |
AVG |
Defense |
Week 5 Opponents |
|
1 |
9.83 | Seahawks | Andrew Luck |
|
2 |
10.8 | Patriots | Andy Dalton |
|
3 |
10.99 | Steelers | BYE |
|
4 |
11.15 | Saints | Jay Cutler |
|
5 |
12.03 | Lions | Aaron Rodgers |
|
6 |
12.15 | Panthers | Carson Palmer |
|
7 |
12.68 | Chiefs | Ryan Fitzpatrick |
|
8 |
13.67 | Titans | Alex Smith |
|
9 |
13.91 | Colts | Russell Wilson |
|
10 |
14.11 | Jets | Matt Ryan |
|
11 |
15.36 | Bengals | Tom Brady |
|
12 |
15.45 | Texans | Colin Kaepernick |
|
13 |
15.77 | Buccaneers | BYE |
|
14 |
16.15 | Dolphins | Joe Flacco |
|
15 |
16.65 | Browns | EJ Manuel |
|
16 |
16.77 | Bears | Drew Brees |
|
17 |
17.45 | 49ers | Matt Schaub |
|
18 |
18.19 | Broncos | Tony Romo |
|
19 |
20.14 | Bills | Brian Hoyer |
|
20 |
20.48 | Rams | Blaine Gabbert |
|
21 |
21.02 | Ravens | Ryan Tannehill |
|
22 |
21.07 | Vikings | BYE |
|
23 |
21.4 | Falcons | Geno Smith |
|
24 |
21.41 | Raiders | Philip Rivers |
|
25 |
21.73 | Jaguars | Sam Bradford |
|
26 |
21.85 | Eagles | Eli Manning |
|
27 |
22.57 | Giants | Michael Vick |
|
28 |
22.67 | Cowboys | Peyton Manning |
|
29 |
23.09 | Packers | Matthew Stafford |
|
30 |
23.69 | Cardinals | Cam Newton |
|
31 |
27.67 | Redskins | BYE |
|
32 |
29.31 | Chargers | Terrelle Pryor, Matt Flynn |
*Values based on Yahoo standard scoring.
Browse Defensive Matchups by Position: QB – RB – WR – TE
