As we watched C.J. Spiller struggle once again against the Ravens and Chris Johnson run into a wall against the Jets, we were reminded that a bad matchup can spell the collapse of a fantasy team in any given week. On the flip side, an easy matchup like Le’Veon Bell against the Vikings or Jamaal Charles against the Giants can win you the week.
This week, it’s Jacquizz Rodgers and Jason Snelling facing a vicious Jets D and I wouldn’t start either unless I was completely desperate and ruined by bye weeks. Darren Sproles isn’t a typical RB and figures to get plenty of receptions but I wouldn’t go near Pierre Thomas against the Bears (or against most teams). Knowshon Moreno is a tough start against the Cowboys but you have to figure Peyton Manning will solve that D pretty quickly.
Even if Ahmad Bradshaw sits out another week with his neck injury, it’s tough to start Trent Richardson against the tough Seahawks D and Lamar Miller and Ryan Mathews are practically unstartable against the Ravens and Raiders. Danny Woodhead, like Darren Sproles, should still be okay since he’s primarily a receiving back.
Chris Johnson, DeAngelo Williams, C.J. Spiller, Rashad Jennings, Stevan Ridley, and Bilal Powell are all benchable this week with tough matchups in Week 5.
On the other hand, the 49ers D is banged up and has been lax against the running attack so Arian Foster and Ben Tate should have plenty of points after a surprisingly strong game against the Hawks. Unfortunately, we’re missing three of the worst rush Ds because of byes this week but we still have favorable matchups in Eddie Lacy, DeMarco Murray, LeSean McCoy, Reggie Bush, and Davis Wilson. Daryl Richardson has a favorable matchup but seems unstartable regardless but Maurice Jones-Drew could have a solid game against the Rams if the Jags don’t go into catch-up passing mode early.
Let’s take a look at all the RB 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 |
9.4 | Jets | Jacquizz Rodgers, Jason Snelling |
|
2 |
9.8 | Bears | Darren Sproles, Pierre Thomas, Mark Ingram |
|
3 |
10.03 | Cowboys | Knowshon Moreno, Ronnie Hillman, Montee Ball |
|
4 |
10.87 | Seahawks | Trent Richardson, Ahmad Bradshaw |
|
5 |
11.1 | Ravens | Lamar Miller, Daniel Thomas |
|
6 |
12.07 | Raiders | Ryan Matthews, Danny Woodhead |
|
7 |
13.4 | Chiefs | Chris Johnson, Jackie Battle |
|
8 |
13.57 | Cardinals | DeAngelo Williams, Mike Tolbert |
|
9 |
13.67 | Browns | C.J. Spiller, Fred Jackson |
|
10 |
14.53 | Chargers | Rashad Jennings, Darren McFadden (Q) |
|
11 |
14.57 | Bengals | Stevan Ridley, LeGarrette Blount, Brandon Bolden |
|
12 |
14.6 | Buccaneers | BYE |
|
13 |
14.67 | Falcons | Bilal Powell, Mike Goodson, Chris Ivory (Q) |
|
14 |
15.07 | Texans | Frank Gore, Kendall Hunter, LaMichael James |
|
15 |
15.5 | Patriots | BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Gio Bernard |
|
16 |
15.73 | Panthers | Rashard Mendenhall, Andre Ellington, Alfonso Smith |
|
17 |
16.4 | Saints | Matt Forte |
|
18 |
16.73 | Titans | Jamaal Charles |
|
19 |
16.73 | Colts | Marshawn Lynch |
|
20 |
17.13 | Bills | Willis McGahee, Chris Ogbonnaya, Bobby Rainey |
|
21 |
17.17 | Eagles | David Wilson, Brandon Jacobs |
|
22 |
17.43 | Packers | Reggie Bush, Joique Bell |
|
23 |
17.9 | Dolphins | Ray Rice, Bernard Pierce |
|
24 |
19.4 | Giants | LeSean McCoy |
|
25 |
19.73 | Jaguars | Daryl Richardson, Isaiah Pead, Zac Stacy |
|
26 |
21.03 | Rams | Maurice Jones-Drew |
|
27 |
21.11 | Broncos | DeMarco Murray |
|
28 |
22.47 | Steelers | BYE |
|
29 |
22.9 | Vikings | BYE |
|
30 |
23.67 | Redskins | BYE |
|
31 |
25.03 | Lions | Eddie Lacy, Johnathan Franklin, James Starks (Q) |
|
32 |
25.67 | 49ers | Arian Foster, Ben Tate |
*Values based on Yahoo standard scoring.
Browse Defensive Matchups by Position: QB – RB – WR – TE
