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Matt's quarterback (QB) fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks for Week 5 of 2026. His QB lineups advice for Week 5 fantasy football start/sit decisions.
Week 5 is where fantasy football gets uncomfortable. We’ve got quarterbacks who have been putting up monster numbers but suddenly face nightmare matchups, and others who haven’t exactly lit up the scoreboard but are walking into fantasy-friendly situations. And this week, I’m leaning into the matchups.
The biggest trap? Assuming early-season production automatically makes someone a must-start. Brock Purdy and Tyler Shough have been fantastic, but both face defenses that can completely change the fantasy equation. Meanwhile, Jacoby Brissett and Matthew Stafford are stepping into games where volume and game script could create big opportunities.
So, let’s find the quarterbacks worth trusting, the stars worth tempering expectations on, and the matchups that could make or break your fantasy week. This is RotoBaller's Week 5 Starts and Sits.
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Week 5 - Potential Fantasy Football Booms
Jacoby Brissett - QB, Arizona Cardinals vs. Detroit Lions
Heading into Sunday night against the Carolina Panthers, the Detroit Lions allowed 38.8 fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks this season. On Sunday night, nothing changed as Bryce Young got into the action, throwing for 329 passing yards and two touchdowns.
This season, Detroit has surrendered 326.3 passing yards per game, the third-most, along with 2.75 passing touchdowns per game. Through Week 4, Detroit ranks first in defensive passing EPA allowed at 52.2, ahead of Dallas at 47.24.
A Elijah Higgins TD for your timeline
📺: CBS https://t.co/2sHjgUtSqW
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) October 4, 2026
The case for Brissett is his recent production — he threw three touchdowns in Week 3 and has posted QB1 finishes in 11 of his last 15 games. The math is simple: a quarterback who throws for three touchdowns and faces a team that allows close to three passing touchdowns per game should, in theory, throw a lot of touchdown passes.
Brissett is a reasonable superflex or 2-QB start, and a viable streaming option in deeper 1-QB leagues. The matchup gives him a high ceiling, though Brissett is a mid-QB2 rather than an automatic QB1 because his efficiency has been modest. Bottom line: Detroit is going to score, and that means Brissett and the Cardinals will need to throw 50-plus times to keep this one close.
Matthew Stafford - QB, Los Angeles Rams vs. Buffalo Bills
Puka Nacua's return signaled the return of Matthew Stafford and this Rams passing attack. It's not without red flags, but 32-of-51 for 317 yards is a solid start. Last season, Stafford had a 7.7% touchdown rate. This season, that touchdown rate has dropped to 3.7%, and he has failed to throw at least one touchdown pass in two of four games this season after throwing at least one in every contest last year.
However, let’s focus on the positives, including this week’s matchup. First, we know the Bills will score. They're averaging 31.7 points per game. Buffalo is also allowing 26.7 points per game, giving this contest one of the highest implied totals on the slate. From a fantasy perspective, this is as good a game script as you can ask for.
Also working in Stafford's favor is that the Bills are surrendering 20.7 fantasy points per game thus far, the seventh-most, and 0.50 fantasy points per dropback. Looking back at the week that was, Drake Maye dropped 27.2 fantasy points on this Bills defensive unit. That in itself would seem to be overly impressive, considering Maye’s previous body of work.
However, considering Maye entered that contest with 27.6 total fantasy points through the previous three contests, it’s something worth mentioning.
Trevor Lawrence, QB, Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Philadelphia Eagles (London)
Trevor Lawrence's fantasy production this season has been rather pedestrian so far. The Jaguars signal-caller is averaging 16.8 fantasy points per game; that number is just above the viable starting quarterback mark, but nothing worth getting overly excited about. Over the first four games, Lawrence has scored 20 or more fantasy points in two and 15 or fewer in the other two.
A wide open Brian Thomas Jr. makes it a two-score game!
JAXvsCIN on CBS/Paramount+
Stream on @NFLPlus https://t.co/uXT47Yp4vh— NFL (@NFL) October 4, 2026
Luckily, this week's matchup in London screams opportunity. Philadelphia is allowing 20.7 fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks, allowing 0.64 fantasy points per dropback and 0.61 per opportunity, the sixth-most in all three metrics.
Over the final nine contests of the Jaguars' 2025 season and through four games this season, Lawrence has one of the best fantasy resumes among his quarterback peers. With Parker Washington, Brenton Strange, Bhayshul Tuten, Jakobi Meyers, and yes, even Brian Thomas Jr., Lawrence has plenty of options to take advantage of in a great matchup and reward fantasy managers this week.
Week 5 - Potential Fantasy Football Busts
Brock Purdy - QB, San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks
Brock Purdy isn't getting the respect he deserves. Purdy has been producing in a revolving-door receiver situation all season and is currently the QB2 in fantasy, trailing only Josh Allen, averaging a robust 25.2 fantasy points per game. In fact, Purdy has produced 19.5 or more fantasy points in each of his four games this season.
Again, the people demand bold takes, and as easy as it would be to suggest sitting Jalon Daniels, Daniel Jones, and Malik Willis, I refuse to take that low-hanging fruit. Consider Purdy more of a temper-expectations play rather than a true sit this week, but the matchup is rather damning.
Last season, Purdy faced the Seahawks three times, averaging 181 passing yards per contest, throwing two touchdowns while being picked off four times. In the Divisional Round, Purdy completed 15 of 27 passes for 140 yards and an interception, which left his quarterback rating for the week at 38.4. Not great.
Fast forward to 2026, and the Seahawks are still a tough matchup for fantasy quarterbacks. Through four games, Seattle is allowing 13.6 fantasy points per game, the fifth-fewest. Digging deeper, the Seahawks allow 0.38 fantasy points per dropback and 0.37 fantasy points per opportunity, both among the league's top marks.
Tyler Shough - QB, New Orleans Saints vs. Minnesota Vikings
Another top-10 fantasy quarterback on the “sit-list” this week because of a difficult matchup is Tyler Shough.
Shough has been excellent this season, averaging 24.2 fantasy points per game ahead of that Monday night contest against the Atlanta Falcons. In each game leading up to that Primetime showdown, Shough has produced 22 or more fantasy points.
Here’s the problem. Shough doesn’t face the Lions, the Raiders, or even the Falcons in Week 5. No, this week he gets a date with Brian Flores and the Minnesota Vikings. This could go really well or really badly; there is no grey area.
Against the Ravens, Shough went 10-for-13 against the blitz for 113 yards, while also going 17-for-21 for 139 yards and a TD when facing four or fewer pass rushers. That said, Minnesota is a completely different animal; they are the Berserkers of the NFL, having sacked the quarterback 16 times through four games.
Per Next Gen Stats, Minnesota ranks first in fantasy points per dropback allowed defensively, and this unit is first in pass success rate allowed. The Vikings have also generated the most pressures per dropback on the season. For fantasy, they concede the seventh-fewest fantasy points per game to the quarterback position (14.8).
Jalen Hurts- QB, Philadelphia Eagles vs. Jacksonville Jaguars (London)
DeVonta Smith hurt. Dallas Goedert, hurt. Saquon Barkley, you guessed it, hurt. Sure, one or two options in this Eagles offense could return this week, but they would be at a high risk of reaggravation, considering the current timelines. With the game in London, this is one of those “it’s better to have loved and lost than never have loved at all” moments for fantasy managers.
Saquon with an apparent injury after the Eagles' last play.
📺: FOX/FOX One https://t.co/uFXZxBM1pE
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) October 4, 2026
Against a Jaguars defense that has allowed 722 passing yards in four games and has been one of the top run-stopping units for some time, Jalen Hurts may have nowhere to go with the ball. Jacksonville is allowing the third-fewest fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks, with 12.8 per contest, plus 0.39 per dropback and 0.37 per opportunity.
If Hurts is forced to resort to Dontayvion Wicks, Makai Lemon, Darius Cooper, and Will Shipley as his best options, this could be an uphill battle all game long. This is one that fantasy managers are better off avoiding. While Hurts is averaging 17.5 fantasy points per game (QB11), his production will likely resemble what we saw last week against the Rams, when he produced a lowly 13.5 fantasy points.
Who Should I Start Tool
You can also see the Who Should I Start tool here.
Week 5 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Justin Herbert, Bo Nix, Jordan Love. These are some of the most common searches for fantasy football lineups in Week 4.
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player name. In the second box, search for the second player name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Start? button to see who the recommended starts are based on weekly fantasy football matchups.
Improvements For Who Should I Start? You may have noticed that our 'Who Should I Start?' tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your fantasy football matchups each week. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, stats, projections, strength of schedule, players news, and enhanced search results with data to compare with a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Each week our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked. If someone is out for the week, they will not appear in the search results.
Scoring Formats. Fantasy football managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's PPR scoring, Half-PPR scoring, or Standard (Non-PPR) scoring. The second thing you want to do, is to select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circle), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Week 5 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 5 (2026)? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Start? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at this week. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Week 5 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Start tool for Week 5 for Justin Herbert, Bo Nix, Jordan Love.
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