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Week 5 is here as the fantasy football season keeps rolling on. Last week, saw some major fantasy players on byes with teams like Seattle and Denver taking the week off. This week, only Miami and Oakland are off, meaning that unless you are waiting for a Darren McFadden revival, there's limited fantasy impact.
Still, it's good to analyze the Week 5 matchups, and once again, we here at RotoBaller will sort through the games and tell you who to sit and start every week. Don't forget to also check our Start/Sit & Matchups Analysis for Games 1-7, our Matchups Analysis for Games 8-12 and our Week 5 rankings for standard and PPR leagues. Of course the weekly chats and live chat rooms are always here all day every day for any other lineups advice you may need.
Now let's check out the matchups analysis for the final four games of Week 5.
Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:- 2025 fantasy football rankings
- Running back (RB) rankings
- Wide receiver (WR) rankings
- Quarterback (QB) rankings
- Tight end (TE) rankings
- Defense (D/ST) rankings
- Kicker (K) rankings
- FLEX rankings
- Dynasty rankings
Chiefs @ 49ers - Sunday 10/5 @ 4:25 EST
Matchups We Love
Frank Gore - Frank Gore continues to prove that he's not ready to ride off into the fantasy sunset. The Chiefs defense ranks 21st against the run this year, and even in a blowout win against New England on Monday night, they allowed almost 5.0 YPC. The Pats only ran the ball 16 times, however, and the Niners are sure to run way more than that with Gore leading the way.
Matchups We Hate
Dwayne Bowe - I need to see more than one solid performance before jumping back on the Bowe bandwagon. He faces a Niners defense that completely shut down the top offense in football last week. I'd stay away, as Alex Smith may struggle to get him the ball, and Travis Kelce looks to be emerging as the primary passing option and weekly TE1 start.
High Risk, Reward
Knile Davis - Clearly Jamaal Charles is still the number one guy here, but Davis looks like he will hold some value even with Charles around. He saw a lot of time in a blowout, and that may have skewed his numbers.
Notable Matchups
Colin Kaepernick - He has been inconsistent so far this season, and we may see more of the same in Week 5. Vernon Davis looks like he may be out with an injury, which can make Stevie Johnson a sneaky play in PPR leagues. Michael Crabtree is a weekly start and WR2, especially in PPR leagues, while Anquan Boldin is nothing more than a desperation flex play in PPR leagues.
Jets @ Chargers - Sunday 10/5 @ 4:25 EST
Matchups We Love
Phillip Rivers - Rivers has been the third-highest-scoring QB in fantasy so far this year, and he goes up against a Jets defense with a weak secondary. Start him and his stud wide receiver Keenan Allen. Eddie Royal is a decent, put more boom-or-bust WR3/flex option for PPR leagues.
Matchups We Hate
Geno Smith - The Michael Vick whispers have begun, as Smith just can't seem to stop turning the ball over. He's not even rosterable right now, and I wouldn't even use him in a two-QB format. Eric Decker has been his only viable wide receiver, but he's been nursing an injury all season and may be a risky start this week.
High Risk, High Reward
Chargers DST - I'm not really in love with the Chargers defense, but so far they've been really good in terms of fantasy production. They force a lot of turnovers, and the Jets offense turns the ball over a lot. The only thing keeping this from being a slam-dunk start is that it wouldn't shock me to see Michael Vick enter this game if Geno continues to struggle.
Notable Matchups
Chris Ivory - He has clearly shown he is the better running back for the Jets, making Chris Johnson look like a second stringer. He's been one of the lone bright spots for the Jets this season, and is a solid weekly RB2/flex start.
Bengals @ Patriots - Sunday 10/5 @ 8:30 EST
Matchups We Love
Rob Gronkowski - The Pats offense is not good right now, and I have a feeling Tom Brady is going to have to start leaning heavily on Gronk and force him the ball. The Bengals defense has been very good again this year, but they did allow good fantasy games to TEs Dennis Pitta and Delanie Walker, and neither one of those guys are on the same level as Gronk.
Matchups We Hate
Bengals DST - Cincy's defense has been really good. New England's offense has been pretty bad. This is a great matchup on paper, and if you choose to play it, I wouldn't call you crazy. Still, I have a hard time believing that Brady and Belichick will have consecutive stinkers, especially with the Pats at home. Just a gut feeling here, but I'd look to see what other matchups were on waivers before using the Bengals D this week.
High Risk, High Reward
Jeremy Hill - The Pat's were gashed by the running game on Monday night by both Kansas City running backs. Giovani Bernard is going to be the top guy without a doubt, but Hill has been pretty good after doing nothing in Week 1. As the number two guy, however, Hill needs to continue to find the end zone to have serious value, and players like that are always a gamble. Still, after watching what the Chiefs did to the Patriots, I think Hill is more reward than risk this week.
Notable Matchups
Tom Brady - He looks terrible, and we may be seeing a true decline for his great career. He will still get the ball to Julian Edelman, which makes him a solid weekly WR2 start in PPR leagues, but starting Shane Vereen and Stevan Ridley is a risky weekly play since the Patriots are not moving the ball well these days or getting into the red zone often.
Seahawks @ Redskins - Monday 10/6 @ 8:30 EST
Matchups We Love
Seattle DST - This is a no-brainer. Kirk Cousins is a turnover waiting to happen, and after watching what the Giants did to Washington last week, this has a chance to be the most lopsided matchup of the week.
Matchups We Hate
Anyone in a Redskins Uniform - I'd avoid Pierre Garcon, DeSean Jackson and any Redskins tight end like the plague this week. If you have to start a guy like Alfred Morris, I get it, but other than that, there's nothing to see here.
High Risk, High Reward
Christine Michael and Robert Turbin - Last week the Giants were able to rest Rashad Jennings after they went up big, giving Andre Williams the bulk of the carries. The same could happen here with Marshawn Lynch. If Michael finally plays, I like him better than Turbin. Both of these guys are long shots this week, but if you're thin at running back, they may be worth a roll of the dice.
Notable Matchups
Russell Wilson - He truly looks like one of the elite NFL quarterbacks, and is performing very consistently every week for fantasy football owners. He should be able to generate plenty of fantasy value for Percy Harvin on a weekly basis, making him a solid WR3 with WR2 upside in PPR leagues.
Good luck this week RotoBallers. Don't forget to check out our weekly experts chat and chat rooms for any Week 5 questions and advice.
