Well, that was a week.
To be clear, wild things happen in the NFL every week — on both sides of the ball. But the number of wild big plays that propelled team defenses to big stat lines in Week 5 was — it felt excessive.
In Denver, the Broncos’ throttling of the Las Vegas Raiders included a 100-yard pick-six from Denver cornerback Patrick Surtain II. In Seattle’s loss to the New York Giants, Seahawks safety Rayshawn Jenkins returned a fumble 102 yards for a score. In that same game, the Giants blocked a field goal and returned it for a score.
Oh, we’re just getting started.
In London, Minnesota Vikings edge-rusher Andrew Van Ginkel logged his second pick-six of the season against the New York Jets. The San Francisco 49ers blocked a kick for a touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals. Even the lowly Los Angeles Rams, one of the worst defenses in the NFL, got in on the act with a pick-six.
Two 100-yard touchdown returns in the same week was a first in NFL history. Over a dozen defenses scored double-digit fantasy points. It was a week where defenses legitimately won fantasy managers games. It doesn’t happen all that often in fantasy football, sadly. But in Week 5 - defense mattered.
And it made for quite the afternoon (And morning - Van Ginkel did his thing in London) of football viewing.
Too bad we likely won’t see another like it for some time.
Or maybe we will. Who knows? It’s been a weird year.
THE NO-DOUBTERS
Pittsburgh Steelers (at Las Vegas Raiders)
Despite the presence of the NFL’s best defensive player in T.J. Watt, the Steelers have just been OK as a fantasy defense after five weeks - ninth in fantasy points per game at the position. But Watt and Company should feast in Week 6. The Raiders were on the wrong side of that beatdown in Denver—a game that wasn’t as close as the score. Vegas is reportedly considering a quarterback change (Gotta rearrange those deck chairs). And the Raiders have surrendered 17 sacks and the third-most fantasy points per game to defenses.
Chicago Bears (vs. Jacksonville Jaguars)
The Bears are surprisingly 3-2 after blasting the hapless Carolina Panthers last week - and it isn’t because rookie quarterback Caleb Williams is playing lights-out football. The Bears are seventh in the league in total defense. Fifth in scoring defense. Chicago’s 11 takeaways are more than all but two teams this season. The Bears have a respectable 14 sacks. And among NFL defenses playing this week, no team has more fantasy points at the position. The Jaguars got win No. 1 last week, but make no mistake - Jacksonville is not a good team.
Philadelphia Eagles (vs. Cleveland Browns)
The Eagles aren’t a team without issues on defense as they come out of the bye week - Philly is 27th in total defense, 22nd in scoring defense and both the defensive backfield and the pass rush haven’t been what the Eagles had hoped over the season’s first month. But no team will fix what ails an NFL defense quite like the latest iteration of the Cleveland Clowns. The Browns are actually on pace to allow more sacks than the 85 the Giants gave up a year ago. Cleveland hasn’t scored 20 points in a game this season. They’re terrible - and absolutely an opponent for fantasy managers to target defensively.
Denver Broncos (at Los Angeles Chargers)
The Broncos are another 3-2 team winning as much in spite of their rookie quarterback as because of him. Five games in, the Broncos are third in total defense. Second on scoring defense. Denver has logged eight takeaways and 19 sacks - tops in the AFC. The Chargers admittedly had the bye week to rest Justin Herbert’s balky ankle, and Los Angeles ranks outside the top-25 in fantasy points per game given up to defenses this season. But the highest-scoring fantasy defense in the AFC has earned every-week status - at least until they show us reason not to start them.
Houston Texans (at New England Patriots)
The Texans invested considerable resources in their defense in the offseason, and so far, the results have been - mixed. On the positive side, Houston ranks inside the top-five in total defense, allowing just under 275 yards per game. On the other hand, the Texans are middle-of-the-pack in terms of points allowed, and there haven’t been many big plays. Still, this matchup is more opponent than the Texans themselves - five weeks into the season, only the Cleveland Browns are averaging fewer yards per game than New England, and only the Miami Dolphins are scoring fewer points.
Buffalo Bills (at New York Jets)
The Bills came out of the gate hot defensively - over the first three weeks of the season, Buffalo was a top-five fantasy defense. But facing potent offenses the past two weeks, the Bills have backslid. However, there’s real rebound potential at MetLife Stadium this week against the rival Jets. New York has struggled offensively the past two games, and Aaron Rodgers has been sacked 13 times this season, including eight over the past two weeks. For the season, the Jets have surrendered the ninth-most fantasy points to opposing defenses.
San Francisco 49ers (at Seattle Seahawks)
The 49ers admittedly aren’t the defensive stalwarts fantasy managers expected this season - San Francisco is 10th in yards per game allowed, but they are middling in scoring defense. With that said, the Niners are quietly sixth in fantasy points at the position after last week’s blocked kick, and while the Seattle Seahawks might not appear a plus matchup at first glance, the Seahawks have surrendered the seventh-most fantasy points to defenses this season. Add a dose of desperation at 2-3, and you have the makings of a solid stat line Thursday night.
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STREAMERS OF THE WORLD, UNITE!
Los Angeles Chargers (vs. Denver Broncos)
An argument can be made for “No-Doubter” status for the Chargers this week - but with the team coming off the bye, the Bolts are likely available on more than a few waiver wires. The Chargers are quietly fifth in the league in total defense, sixth against the run, and no team in the NFL is giving up fewer points per game than the 12.5 points the Bolts are surrendering. The Broncos may be 3-2, but they are winning despite a bottom-five offense in terms of yards per game. A high-scoring affair, this ain’t gonna be.
Atlanta Falcons (at Carolina Panthers)
The Falcons have clawed their way into first place in the NFC South, but the team’s defense remains flawed - no team in the league has fewer sacks than the five the Falcons have registered, and the team ranks a moribund 21st in fantasy points for the season. However, after showing some semblance of life for about a game and a half, the Panthers imploded offensively last week - so much so that Dave Canales decided that Bryce Young playing quarterback again wasn’t a terrible idea. Fantasy managers can resume targeting the Panthers in defensive matchups.
Indianapolis Colts (at Tennessee Titans)
Are the Colts a good defensive team? Um, no - in fact, calling the Colts bad defensively doesn’t exactly do them justice. Indy is the only team in the National Football League allowing over 400 yards per game, and the Colts rank 25th in scoring defense. But as bad as the Colts are defensively, the Titans may be even worse on offense - the Titans are 30th in total offense, tied for the most turnovers in the NFL despite having played just four games and have given up more fantasy points per game to defenses than any team in the NFL.
Las Vegas Raiders (vs. Pittsburgh Steelers)
After watching the Raiders get blown out by Denver last week, it might seem difficult to trust Vegas and their bottom-five fantasy defense. And to be fair, this is a play in deeper leagues where the waiver wire is rather thin. But while the Steelers have a winning record, they haven’t been tearing it up offensively - the team is 23rd in total offense and 26th in scoring, and Pittsburgh is a top-15 team in terms of fantasy points per game allowed to defenses. If nothing else, there’s a good chance edge-rusher Maxx Crosby gets home at least once in a relatively low-scoring affair.
CAVEAT EMPTOR, FOLKS
Baltimore Ravens (vs. Washington Commanders)
This is less a “buyer beware” situation and more a “reality check” situation for fantasy managers who see the black and purple and somehow conflate that with a decent defense. To be fair, the Ravens are tough to run on - in fact, there isn’t a team in the NFL surrendering fewer yards on the ground than the Ravens. The problem is that there is also just one team in the league giving up more passing yards per game, and the Ravens are 26th in scoring defense. Add in a matchup with a Washington team giving up the fewest fantasy points to defenses, and the Ravens are a hard pass in Week 6 - and beyond.
Gary Davenport is a two-time Fantasy Sports Writers Association Football Writer of the Year. Follow him on X at @IDPSharks.
