For the second straight week, Michael Vick (405 total yards, 2 TDs, 4 INTs) had over 400 yards of total offense, but in what’s becoming a theme of the season, it was mistakes that killed them as Vick was responsible for four turnovers.  Ryan Fitzpatrick (200 total yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) had another fairly quiet game, as the Bills played with the lead for most of the game.  Fitz may not be as useful going forward if the Bills aren’t playing catch-up.

Good overall day for the Eagles receiving, as Jason Avant (9-139) led the way, but both Desean Jackson (5-86, 1 TD) and Jeremy Maclin (6-54, 1 TD) had good games as Vick had to throw often to erase what was a 28-7 deficit in the third quarter.

This was a tough day for the Bills receivers, as Stevie Johnson (4-29) was mostly bottled up by Nnamdi Asomugha.  The rest of the Bills receiving options didn’t fair much better, but it was interesting to note that when Donald Jones (2-25) went down with an injury, Naaman Roosevelt (5-41) was the one who was plugged in.

Lesean McCoy (11 car., 80 yards, 1 TD; 4 rec., 27 yards) found it tough to get going early in the game, but as Vick was able to loosen the defense McCoy found a lot more running room and ended up with over 100 total yards and a touchdown.

Fred Jackson (26 car., 111 yards, 1 TD; 6 rec, 85 yards) continues his dominating play, as Jackson looks like he’ll keep putting up RB1 numbers all season long.  Jackson is a starter regardless of matchup at this point, because of how much damage he does as a runner and receiver.
 

Drew Brees (359 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) continues his dominating passing performances, though neither of his touchdown passes went to any of his primary targets.  Cam Newton (251 total yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT) did a good job of going blow for blow with Brees, but just didn’t have enough time at the end of the game to get his team into field goal range to try to force overtime.

Another week and another 100 yard game for tight end phenom Jimmy Graham (8-129).  Graham is proving to be THE premier TE in fantasy football this year, as he has just about 500 yards after only five games.  Marques Colston (5-69) returned to fantasy relevancy, as he took a lot of the targets away from Robert Meachem (4-38), Lance Moore (3-30), and Devery Henderson (1-11).

Steve Smith (3-79, 1 TD) continues to put up impressive numbers with Newton at the helm, and finallyLegedu Naanee (4-63) actually did something with status as the other starting WR in the Panther’s offense.  Greg Olsen (3-21, 1 TD) also scored another TD, and is the second leading receiver on the team so far.

Once again Darren Sproles (11 car., 51 yards; 5 rec., 40 yards) led the Saints rushing attack, and it is interesting to note that Sproles actually led in carries.  While Sproles doesn’t start, he is the Saints’ #1 RB, as he gets more snaps than both Mark Ingram (9 car., 32 yards, 1 TD; 2 rec., 17 yards) and Pierre Thomas (7 car., 18 yards; 3 rec., 24 yards, 1 TD).

Deangelo Williams (9 car., 115 yards, 1 TD) finally made his first noteworthy fantasy appearance of the year after scoring on a long run on his way to rolling up his first 100 yard rushing effort of the year.  Jonathan Stewart (6 car., 20 yards; 1 rec., 13 yards) had a quiet game, like what most owners of the Panthers’ backfield have come to expect.
 

In an emotionally-charged game, Jason Campbell (190 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) and the Raiders “Just Win Baby” for the late Al Davis, stunning the previously hot Houston Texans, who were led by Matt Schaub (416 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs).  Campbell made some timely throws down the stretch, while Schaub came very close to rallying his team but couldn’t quite seal the deal on a last second drive down inside the Raiders’ 10 yard line.

Darius Heyward-Bey (7-99, 1 TD) had his second straight noteworthy fantasy game, as fantasy owners will have to consider adding the much maligned Heyward-Bey, as he seems to have the confidence of Campbell.  The rest of the Raiders receivers had a quiet afternoon.

Without Andre Johnson, Schaub turned to his tight ends as Joel Dreessen (5-112, 1 TD) and Owen Daniels (7-89) paced the passing attack.  Kevin Walter (5-81, 1 TD) also did an outstanding job of filling in for Johnson, but in the end, it just wasn’t enough to win the game.

In what was a battle of two of the best running attacks in the NFL, Darren McFadden (16 car., 51 yards; 2 rec., 17 yards) found himself mostly contained all game by the aggressive Texans defense.  This game was an exception, as McFadden will certainly have better rushing days ahead.

Arian Foster (22 car., 68 yards; 5 rec., 116 yards) continues to make up for lost time, piling up over 180 total yards as he showed his skills as a dual running and receiving threat.  Going forward, Foster will continue to be an elite option, and could still make a run at the top RB position in fantasy when it’s all said and done.
 

Matt Cassel (269 total yards, 4 TDs) had one of his best games of his career in rallying the Chiefs to a thrilling come-from-behind victory over the Colts.  Cassel has been fairly sharp now for the last two games, which is in stark contrast to the first three game of the season.  Curtis Painter (277 yards, 2 TDs) also looked very good, putting to rest any doubt that he should be the quarterback for the Colts going forward, relegating Kerry Collins to the bench.

Dwayne Bowe (7-128, 2 TDs) continues to look like an all-pro, going over 100 yards for the third time this year, and scoring his third and fourth TDs on the year.  Free agent signee Steve Breaston (4-50, 2 TDs) also paid dividends, catching his first two TDs in a Chiefs uniform.

Apparently Curtis Painter has eyes mostly for Pierre Garcon (5-125, 2 TDs), as Garcon snagged two touchdowns for the second straight week, while Reggie Wayne (4-77) also turned in a decent receiving day.
Welcome to fantasy relevancy, Jackie Battle (19 car., 119 yards; 2 rec., 21 yards)!  Todd Haley said he would give Battle more carries this week, and Battle made him look smart in doing so.  Battle will probably be the starting RB going forward, and is a priority waiver pick up this week.  Thomas Jones (10 car., 55 yards; 2 rec., 7 yards) didn’t look too bad either, and Dexter McCluster (4 car., 8 yards; 1 rec., 10 yards) had a very quiet day.
Joseph Addai (6 car., 19 yards; 1 rec., 6 yards) suffered an injury early in the game and was replaced by a combination of Delone Carter (12 car., 22 yards, 1 TD; 2 rec., 12 yards) and Donald Brown (8 car., 38 yards).  Neither Brown nor Carter looked very good, but Carter did get a goal line TD.  This will probably be a fairly even timeshare if Addai is out for any time, but because of the goal line looks, Carter would probably be the one to get.
 

In a battle between two of the highly touted members of the 2011 quarterback draft class, Andy Dalton (179 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) was the one who looked very sharp and played like a veteran in winning a tough game on the road.  Blaine Gabbert (232 total yards, 1 TD) also did a much better job than he did last week, but still wasn’t able to muster enough scoring to get the win.

AJ Green (5-90, 1 TD) continues to show why he was the first receiver taken in the 2011 draft, making spectacular grabs and stretching the field for Dalton.  Jermaine Gresham’s (5-21, 1 TD) yardage total was low, but he still had five catches and a touchdown, as he continues to operate as Dalton’s first read when he needs to move the chains and score inside the 10 yard line.

Jason Hill (5-118, 1 TD) had a great 74 yard score against a broken coverage, which was most of the excitement for the Jaguars passing game.  Mike Thomas (3-53) had a quiet day, but still caught over 50 yards worth of passes.

Cedric Benson (24 car., 53 yards) had a really tough go of it against what has been a pretty stout Jaguars run defense so far.  While the Jags haven’t been great as a team, their run defense is one to be wary of when determining which running backs to start in a given week.  Bernard Scott (6 car., 20 yards, 1 TD; 2 rec., -1 yard) got the call late in the game to score a touchdown.

Maurice Jones-Drew (19 car., 85 yards, 1 TD) had another solid day rushing, as he is the only thing on the Jaguars offense that has been working week in and week out.  He’s a solid starter going forward, and will only get better as Gabbert improves.
 

The Minnesota Vikings took the early lead and surprisingly didn’t give it up like they had in their previous games this year.  Kevin Kolb (242 total yards, 0 TDs, 2 INTs) never looked very comfortable, and seems to be taking quite a bit of time getting his feet under him as a full time starter.  Donovan McNabb (173 yards, 1 TD) wasn’t expected to do a whole lot on offense, which was probably a good thing as he didn’t get much of a chance to give the ball away.
Early Doucet (8-92) actually led the way for the Cardinals, as he got the most catches and looks from Kolb.  Larry Fitzgerald (4-66) was bracketed and bottled up for most of the game, as Kolb wasn’t able to get the ball to him with any consistency.  Jeff King (5-35) returned to being the tight end for the Cardinals who caught the most passes, as he disappeared from the game plan for the last couple of games.

Devin Aromashodu (2-81) hauled in a 60 yard catch, which accounted for around 35% of McNabb’s production all day.  Percy Harvin (1-11, 1 car., 12 yards), who had been producing solid yardage very nearly got shut out of the stat column.

The Vikings did a good job of containing Beanie Wells (20 car., 60 yards, 1 TD), but he did score a touchdown to save his fantasy day.  No other running back had any carries of note.

Luckily for the Vikings, they remembered that they do indeed have the best running back in football and decided to actually make use of him.  Adrian Peterson (29 car., 122 yards, 3 TDs) scored the touchdown hat trick and simply dominated the Cardinals front seven all game long.
 

Well, here was a game that ruined a lot of survivor leagues.  Tavaris Jackson (183 total yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) looked fairly decent in doggedly keeping the Giants defense off balance, but had to leave the game in the second half with an injury.  Charlie Whitehurst (155 total yards, 1 TD) came in and managed to keep Seattle in it, and rallied his team to a late lead and the win.  Eli Manning (425 total yards, 3 TDs, 3 INTs) threw for a bunch of yardage, but his three turnovers ended up killing the Giants’ chances of winning the game.

Doug Baldwin (8-136, 1 TD) continues to look like one of the most impressive rookie wide receivers this year, even though he wasn’t even drafted.  Ben Obomanu (6-51, 1 TD) got the start for the injured Mike Williams and made the most of it.  Sidney Rice (4-38) was contained most of the day, but with Baldwin and Obomanu stepping up, wasn’t needed.

How about that Victor Cruz (8-161, 1 TD)?  Cruz scored on a long play that was a bit of a fluke, as the ball was tipped a few times before he came down with it and raced off for the TD, but the kid looks like he’s for real.  Mario Manningham (5-56) had a decent game, but is looking like he’s taking a back seat to Cruz.  Hakeem Nicks (4-65, 1 TD) scored another touchdown and continues to look like one of Manning’s favorite targets.  TE Jake Ballard (3-72, 1 TD) isn’t doing it pretty, but has been pretty effective as Manning’s safety valve in recent week.

Welcome back to fantasy relevancy, Marshawn Lynch (12 car., 98 yards, 1 TD; 4 rec., 33 yards).  Lynch actually looked very good (save for a critical red zone fumble), and the line did a good job of getting some push against a very good Giants defensive front. 

Ahmad Bradshaw (17 car., 58 yards; 2 rec., 27 yards) didn’t have to share with Brandon Jacobs this week but it didn’t seem to matter, as he ended up with similar yardage that he normally has in a given game.  No other running back had carries of note.

Matt Hasselbeck couldn’t lead his team to victory as the Steelers continue to be his kryptonite.  Foot sprained… offensive line in shambles… lead running back gone… playing against the #1 defense through five games.  So of course, none of that was a problem for Ben Roethlisberger (228 yards, 5 TDs, 1 INT), who threw a career best 5 touchdowns, including one 40 yarder near the end of the game.

Nate Washington (5-69) continues on as Hasselbeck’s top target with Kenny Britt gone, but it was Damian Williams (6-66, 1 TD) who caught a touchdown for the second straight week.  Jared Cook (4-59) also looked like a bigger part of the offense, as he had more than two catches for the first time this year.
Mike Wallace (6-82, 1 TD) was having a quiet day until he caught a 40 yard bomb late in the fourth quarter from Roethlisberger.  Hines Ward (7-54, 2 TDs) also had a renaissance of a sort, showing up for the first time this year with a good fantasy stat line.  Heath Miller (3-46, 1 TD) also had a better than average day, catching a touchdown pass for the first time this year.

Chris Johnson (14 car., 51 yards, 1 TD; 3 rec., 14 yards) finally found the endzone for the first time this season, although his yardage total was once again not impressive.  It’s been five games and Johnson still doesn’t look like the CJ2K of old, and unfortunately these types of days might happen more often than not this season.

Jonathan Dwyer (11 car., 107 yards; 1 rec., 6 yards) broke a long run to get his first 100 yard rushing game of his career, even though it was Isaac Redman (15 car., 49 yards; 3 rec., 12 yards) who got the start.  Rashard Mendenhall was active, but wasn’t going to play except in an emergency.
 

Wow.  Josh Freeman (189 total yards, 0 TDs, 2 INTs) led the Bucs into the 49ers chipper shredder, and there was nothing but a red mist left coming out the other side.  Alex Smith (170 yards, 3 TDs) didn’t have to throw a whole lot, but he did throw enough to toss three touchdown passes on his way to a big statement win for the 4-1 49ers.

Kellen Winslow (5-54) had one of his better games this season, which doesn’t say much considering the box score.  Arrelius Benn (3-46) and Mike Williams (4-28) continue to be fairly mediocre and are both more like bye week filler at this point than anything else.

Josh Morgan (5-75) looked very good for most of this game, until he suffered a fractured ankle on a meaningless drive when the 49ers were already up 41-3.  Vernon Davis (3-36, 2 TDs) only had three catches, but two of them went for touchdowns.

Legarrette Blount (10 car., 34 yards; 2 rec., 31 yards) came crashing back to earth as he found no room to run against the stout 49ers front seven.  (5 car., 30 yards) once again got a lot of playing time on passing downs, but didn’t Earnest Graham catch any passes.

Looks like Frank Gore (20 car., 125 yards, 1 TD; 2 rec., 18 yards) is finally back, as he posted his second straight big fantasy game.  Even Kendall Hunter (9 car., 65 yards) got in on the act with some nice runs in garbage time.
 

This game didn’t quite turn into the aerial show most were expecting, but Philip Rivers (260 total yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) was still able to score enough to get out of a tough divisional matchup with a win.  Kyle Orton (34 yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT) looked particularly bad and was finally pulled in favor of Tim Tebow (117 total yards, 2 TDs).  Tebow wasn’t great, but he did manage to rally his team enough to make the game interesting at the end, and will most likely get a shot to start when the Broncos return from their bye.

Malcom Floyd (3-100, 1 TD) ended with his first 100 yard game of the season, including a nice 42 yard TD grab.  Vincent Jackson (3-34) was shadowed most of the day by Champ Bailey and can probably use the coming bye week to help heal his nagging injuries.

The hotshot duo of Brandon Lloyd (1-20) and Eric Decker (2 - -4) were completely silenced by the Chargers defense and the poor play of the Broncos quarterbacks.  It will be interesting to see how these two operate with Tebow at the helm, if he does indeed get the next start.

Once again Ryan Mathews (24 car., 125 yards; 1 rec., 7 yards) is paying dividends to the Chargers and the fantasy owners who took a chance on him.  Mike Tolbert (5 car., 24 yards; 3 rec., 25 yards) continues to get carries in the red zone and on short yardage, but is starting to fall farther and farther behind the pace set by Mathews.

Willis McGahee (16 car., 125 yards) had his second straight 100 yard rushing game, while Knowshon Moreno (3 rec., 40 yards, 1 TD) served competently in his role as the third down/change of pace back.  This situation will probably remain this way for the rest of the season, as long as McGahee remains healthy.
 

The Jets decided to finally return to their “Ground and Pound” philosophy, which actually served Mark Sanchez (166 yards, 2 TDs) well in this game, as he was efficient in throwing two touchdowns and no interceptions.  It wasn’t enough though, as Tom Brady (324 total yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) was able to throw enough on the Jets’ secondary to get the important division win.

Even though the Jets didn’t throw nearly as much as they have the past few games, Santonio Holmes (4-60, 1 TD) still had an effective fantasy outing.  Plaxico Burress (3-42) also turned in what has been a pretty average stat line for him, but it was Dustin Keller (1-7) who looked like he was hurt the most by the shift toward the ground game.

The human slot machine Wes Welker (5-124) continues to pile up the yardage, as he had yet another 100 yard receiving game, but failed to reach the endzone.  Deion Branch (7-74, 1 TD) finally got back to the types of games he had during the first couple of games of the season, after being a disappearing act for the last two games.  Aaron Hernandez (5-56) made his return, which seemed to put the brakes on Rob Gronkowski’s (4-31) production.
With the emphasis returning to the running game, Shonn Greene (21 car., 83 yards, 1 TD; 2 rec., 9 yards) turned in one of the few respectable fantasy days he’s had this year, and his prospects might be looking up if the Jets remain committed to the ground game.  Ladainian Tomlinson (2 car., 13 yards; 1 rec., 2 yards) was a non-factor in the game for the second straight week.

The once vaunted Jets rush defense is seemingly no more, as BenJarvis Green-Ellis (27 car., 136 yards, 2 TDs; 1 rec., 13 yards) shredded them for nearly 150 total yards and two touchdowns.  Stevan Ridley (7 car., 13 yards) returned to being a non-factor, as anyone who trusted in him this week got Belichicked.
 

Another week, another hard fought win, and another big statistical day for Aaron Rodgers (396 yards, 2 TDs).  While Rodgers didn’t have six touchdowns again like he did last week, he did throw two scoring strikes and kept his team moving in the fourth quarter to run out most of the clock.  Matt Ryan (176 total yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs) looked good in the first quarter, but it all went downhill from there as the Packers defense finally put the screws to Matty Ice.

James Jones (5-140, 1 TD) had his second straight game with useable fantasy stats and might be starting to turn the corner in terms of offensive usefulness.  Greg Jennings (4-82, 1 TD) also scored a touchdown, while Jermichael Finley (4-67) had several drops but managed to catch enough balls to post a decent fantasy day. 

Tony Gonzalez (6-60) led the way for the Falcons, but it was Roddy White (6-50, 1 TD) who got the touchdown.  White did have a couple of key drops in the game, as he has had a case of the dropsies this year, which is very unusual for him.  Julio Jones (1-16, 1 car., 17 yards) got hurt and left the game in the second half, and if he misses any time, Harry Douglas (2-16) would stand to benefit.

Ryan Grant (7 car., 18 yards; 1 rec., 6 yards) made his return to this game, but was decidedly ineffective.  James Starks (12 car., 40 yards; 2 rec., 19 yards) wasn’t a lot better, but made a couple of hard fought runs to help the Packers eat clock at the end of the game.

Michael Turner (16 car., 56 yards, 1 TD) started the game well, but his stat line didn’t change much after the first quarter as the Packers defense bottled him up and forced Ryan to the air.

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