Bourne looks like a viable FLEX starter for those in need. His 70 receiving yards were a team high, and his eight targets trailed only Trey McBride (10). The journeyman receiver delivered two 20-plus-yard gains via post routes, the first coming on the Cardinals’ first drive and the second on the seventh. Jacoby Brissett tried to force another downfield shot to Bourne on the latter drive, but it didn’t work out. Bourne is running high-value routes in the center of the field, playing for a garbage-time team with a cannon-armed quarterback. The results could be volatile at times, but he is worth starting in the FLEX against the Rams next week.
McBride looked like his normal, dominant self, carving up defenders on out routes and in-breakers. Unfortunately, hearts were also broken when Jacoby Brissett fired a touchdown pass right past McBride, running wide open inside the Lions’ five-yard line, to backup TE Teagan Quitoriano, also running wide open in the back of the end zone. Fortunately, McBride was able to haul in a juggling, falling and contested touchdown catch late in the fourth quarter to boost his final stat line. McBride is an elite TE1 against the Rams next week.
Love played extensively early in the game. He was the only Cardinals running back to record a carry in the first quarter. The Lions began running up the score in the second quarter, and Love was seemingly simply phased out as Jacoby Brissett repeatedly fired passes downfield. Later, in the fourth quarter, the camera suddenly showed Love standing on the sideline without his helmet. A reporter chimed in to say that Love had not received attention from the training staff, but noted that Love told her he is still managing the ankle injury he suffered in training camp. Reports also indicated that he tweaked his other ankle last week. Love’s weekly floor is sinking as his production becomes increasingly touchdown-dependent. That said, he should be in fantasy lineups as an RB2/3 against the Rams next week.
Allgeier was a non-factor, even with the Cardinals pulling Jeremiyah Love in the fourth quarter. Allgeier did not log a carry in the first quarter. He is nothing more than a bench stash moving forward. The Cardinals face the Rams in Week 6.
Campbell will undergo an MRI tomorrow to fully assess the injury, but it seems likely that Drake Maye will be playing without his left tackle for a few weeks. They face the Jets, Bears and Dolphins over the next three weeks. Keeping Jets rookie EDGE David Bailey at bay could prove challenging.
The Lions’ speedster only caught two passes today, but he made them count. Williams’ first catch was a nine-yard, fourth-down touchdown on the Lions’ fifth drive. He nearly hauled in a 25-yarder via a play-action target on the sixth drive, but Cardinals CB Max Melton batted it away. He was open for an explosive gain on the next drive, but Jared Goff checked down to Sam LaPorta about 10 yards beneath Williams. A few plays later, Williams dusted his coverage defender for a 39-yard score from bunch formation, hauling in the touchdown pass in stride in the end zone. Goff later gave him another touchdown chance on a downfield throw targeted inside the Cardinals’ five-yard line, but Williams couldn’t secure it. He’ll now take a week off with the Lions’ Week 6 bye, but return as a WR2 against the Packers in Week 7.
Holani put the ball on the turf twice in this one, but it was his fumble with 13 seconds left in the first half that proved to be one of the more costly mistakes of the game. With the Seahawks simply looking to get to halftime, Holani took a handoff from Sam Darnold for what should have been the final play of regulation. Instead, the third-year back had the ball knocked out and into his own end zone, which resulted in a Niners touchdown after it was recovered by DT Gracen Halton for the score. Holani hasn’t emerged as the late-round value fantasy managers hoped for this offseason and is fully off the fantasy radar for Week 6 against the Broncos.
Jared Goff gave TeSlaa two chances to contribute today. The first was a 3rd-and-13 pass on the Lions’ second drive, just beyond the sticks, in which TeSlaa went aerial and fully horizontal, trying to make the diving catch. The pass, unfortunately, fell incomplete. Goff went back to him on the fifth drive, firing a pass — just a touch too high — to the second-year wide receiver who was wide open on a crossing route, racing across the back of the end zone. TeSlaa leapt for it and got a hand on it, but he couldn’t come down with it. TeSlaa takes his goose egg into the Lions’ Week 6 bye. With any luck, it hatches into a FLEX-relevant stat line against the Packers in Week 7, though he remains a boom-bust pass catcher.
Barner continues to be a non-factor in the Seahawks’ passing game. Outside of a Week 3 game against the Commanders in which he went for 5-69-0 on nine targets, Barner has totaled 53 yards in his other four games combined and has yet to find the end zone this season. Barner won’t be on the streaming radar in Week 6, even with four teams on bye.
LaPorta got involved on the Lions’ third drive, making a clutch 12-yard grab on 4th-and-3 while suffering what the officials deemed an unnecessarily rough hit by LB Mack Wilson at the end of the play. He chipped in two catch-and-run plays on the following drive. The first being an 11-yard play that was controversially ruled down in front of the sticks. Coach Dan Campbell called his number on the next play, resulting in an effortless 38-yard touchdown down the right side of the field. LaPorta tacked on an eight-yard catch and a 19-yard catch in the second half as the Lions cruised to a blowout win. He goes on bye next week but returns to the TE1 ranks in Week 7 against the Packers.
After three straight big weeks, Kittle finally came back down to earth in Sunday’s win over the Seahawks. His longest reception came on a 13-yard gain in the third quarter, but proved inconsequential after Deebo Samuel lost a fumble on the following play to end the drive. Kittle has been targeted 19 times over the last three weeks and has gone for 70-plus yards in three of his last four games. He should be primed for a bounce-back next week when the Niners play host to the Commanders on Monday night.
Okonkwo caught two passes on the Commander’s opening and immediately topped his previous best game of the season. He hauled in passes of 11 and 23 yards on back-to-back catches before Jacory Croskey-Merritt ended the drive with a 33-yard touchdown run. Okonkwo would come up with a 25-yard reception later in the second quarter on a drive that ended with a Drew Stevens field goal, but was targeted just one time in the second half. It was an overall nice outing for Okonkwo, but fantasy managers shouldn’t rush to add him to their lineups. He’ll be a boom-or-bust streaming option in Week 6 against the Niners.
White continued to serve as the RB2 behind Jacory Croskey-Merritt and led the backfield with 11 snaps on third down. While his role remained largely the same, even with Austin Ekeler active, White offered nothing of fantasy value in this one. He saw only one target on the afternoon, and could continue to have his fantasy upside limited as long as Jayden Daniels is scrambling away from pressure rather than dumping it off to his checkdown options. Fantasy managers should avoid White in Week 6 against the 49ers.
Gibbs scored twice today, bringing his career touchdown total up to 57, breaking the NFL record set by former Lions RB Barry Sanders for the most touchdowns scored by a player under 25 years old. The exceptionally talented player gets a boost from his sharp coaching staff, who continue to maximize Gibbs’ strengths. OC Drew Petzing dialed up a trick-play screen pass for Gibbs after the two-minute warning, in which Gibbs took the handoff, pitched it to Amon-Ra St. Brown, who pitched it back to Jared Goff, who then chucked it back to Gibbs with three offensive linemen in front of him on the left side of the field. An 18-yard gain ensued. Gibbs later produced a season-long 22-yard run. Although he scored two touchdowns today, he could have had a third. On the Lions’ ninth drive, Gibbs got two chances from the one-yard line on the ninth drive before the coaching staff greenlit a successful QB sneak for Goff. The Lions are on bye in Week 6, but he returns to the top of the running back ranks against the Packers in Week 7.
According to Raanan, Eluemunor “felt his calf pop” and left today’s game against the Commanders. That sounds unpleasant. Fortunately, he was able to walk around on his own, which is a good sign. Regardless, this is worth following. Giants LT Andrew Thomas has been playing through a groin injury. Stay tuned.
Webster’s defines plodding as whatever this was. Hampton picked up a literal third of his yards on one 11-yard carry, and while much of the blame goes to the sheer lack of bodies on the offensive line, it was still mightily unimpressive. Hampton is at best a dart-throw FLEX for Week 6 against the Chiefs.
Give some credit to the Chargers’ defense, but this was an ugly game for both passing attacks. Waddle has his second dud in three weeks, and doesn’t appear to have great chemistry with Bo Nix thus far. No one really does, to be fair, as no receiver caught more than four passes for Denver. Waddle is a volatile WR2, and that volatility becomes more, well, volatile for Week 6 against the Seahawks.
Sacks and a few errant throws under pressure derailed the Lions’ first three drives. Goff got things back on track after that, guiding the offense to seven straight scoring drives, including six touchdowns. He even punched in a one-yard rushing touchdown via a quarterback sneak, marking his first rushing score since 2023. Goff could have boosted his passing yards total with a likely explosive gain by targeting an open Jameson Williams on the first drive after halftime, but he instead checked down to Sam LaPorta in the flats for an eight-yard pickup. The Lions are on bye in Week 6, but Goff will be a locked-in QB1 against the Packers in Week 7.
JSN appeared to be playing through a bit of an ankle injury in this one, but he looked perfectly fine when he turned what would have been a short two-yard reception upfield for a 16-yard touchdown in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, as the Seahawks were attempting a comeback, JSN hauled in a 35-yard reception, evading multiple defenders to get the Seahawks to the 50-yard line. A few plays later, he would drop a wide-open pass that may have set the Seahawks up for a game-winning field goal opportunity, but JSN did his part to keep the Seahawks in what proved to be a sloppy game for the offense as a whole. He’s gone for 100-plus yards in four of his first five games of the season and will look for his fifth 100-yard game on Thursday night when the Seahawks visit the Broncos.
Lions coach Dan Campbell tasked St. Brown with punt return duties (2/36) after Tom Kennedy got hurt. While St. Brown looked great weaving through traffic, his first return nearly ended in a lost fumble, but a teammate dove on the loose ball, bailing him out after it was punched out of St. Brown possession. St. Brown nearly had a 43-yard touchdown on a sideline play-action shot on the Lions’ seventh drive, but he couldn’t quite get his hands on it. He almost bagged short scores via out routes on the Lions’ eighth and ninth drives, but his coverage defender effectively challenged the pass on the first and the pass was just out of his reach on the second. He had a nice 36-yard catch-and-run on the eighth drive and nearly nabbed another explosive gain on the sixth drive, but Sam LaPorta accidentally knocked him down 11 yards downfield after St. Brown leapt over a downed Cardinals defender. He had another fumble recovered by a teammate after snagging a pass on a crosser. The Lions’ stud wide receiver will be an elite WR1 against the Packers following the Lions’ Week 6 bye.
Evans’ only touchdown of the game came on a two-yard pass from Brock Purdy in the first quarter to give the Niners an early 7-0 lead. Evans came up big on multiple occasions in this one, hauling in three catches of 20-plus yards, including back-to-back receptions of 23 and 28 yards that helped set up a seven-yard touchdown to Brandin Cooks. Evans then caught a pass in the end zone on the next play to convert a two-point try and put the Niners up 29-26. This was Evans’ best day as a Niner. He set season-highs in receptions, targets, and receiving yards, and has now found the end zone three times on the year. With Deebo Samuel (hamstring) potentially set to miss some time, Evans could very easily see more days like today. He will be a fringe WR1/WR2 next week against a porous Commanders secondary.
It was odd usage for Washington, who had at least five carries in three of four games headed into Week 5. Even Ashton Jeanty being limited with his ankle and foot injuries did nothing to bolster Washington’s involvement in the Vegas offense. In fact, Dylan Laube was the team’s clear No. 2 back behind Jeanty on Sunday. Laube had four carries and three receptions and punched in a short touchdown in the second half of the blowout loss. It raises serious questions about what Washington’s workload might look like if Jeanty misses time this season.
The Seahawks face the Broncos in Week 6’s Thursday Night Football game. Late last week, Macdonald acknowledged that the short turnaround time would make it difficult to ramp up Charbonnet as planned. The Seahawks are set to scale back the intensity at practice this week, which runs counter to the rehab plan. The Seahawks face the Chiefs in Week 7’s Sunday Night Football game. That seems like a plausible return date at this point.
Wilson again led the Seahawks in rushing sans Jadarian Price. He handled all but four of the team’s running back carries in this one and found the end zone on a two-yard plunge in the first quarter to tie the game at 7-7. Wilson coughed up a key fumble in the second quarter that gave the Niners the ball on Seattle’s 11-yard line. On the following play, the Seahawks would allow an 11-yard touchdown run to Christian McCaffrey to put the Niners back out in front. Assuming Zach Charbonnet (Achilles) is at least one more game away from returning, Wilson will be on the RB2 radar in Week 6 when the Seahawks take on the Broncos on Thursday night.