Another week of fantasy football is in the books. With it being the first week of the season with byes, fewer games populated the NFL schedule. The week offered a mixed bag of great games, blowouts and snooze fests, Like the games, the players had a week ranging from exceptional to awful and everything in between. Focusing on the bad, here are the biggest fantasy buts from Week 5 of the NFL season.
Quarterback – Ben Roethlisberger
312 Passing Yards, 1 Rushing Yard, 5 Interceptions, 0 TDs
With five interceptions in a loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, the biggest quarterback bust of the week goes to Big Ben. It has been a bit of a slow start for Roethlisberger this season, but none of his prior four games were close to as bad as what transpired on Sunday. In a standard league, five interceptions translate to -10 points. If Roethlisberger had not topped 250 yards passing, the veteran quarterback would have finished the day in the negatives. Roethlisberger is becoming a riskier fantasy option, but with bye weeks and fewer players on the waiver wire, you may have to ride it out with him a little while longer.
Running Back – Todd Gurley
43 Rushing Yards, 2 Receptions, 7 Receiving Yards, 1 Fumble Lost 0 TDs
After a fantastic start to the season, Todd Gurley laid an egg on Sunday. This was his first game this season where the running back failed to score a touchdown. With only 50 yards from scrimmage, Gurley fell well short of his previous low of the season, which was 96 yards in Week 1. The lost fumble made things worse, pushing his point total down into the low single digits. Gurley has two easier games ahead before his bye in Week 8 and remains a top fantasy back.
Wide Receiver – Amari Cooper
1 Reception, 8 Receiving Yards, 0 TDs
Amari Cooper has not been living up to his lofty preseason expectations and had another terrible game in Week 5 against the Baltimore Ravens. Cooper has failed to top ten yards receiving in his last three weeks and is one of the frontrunners for biggest disappointment in fantasy this season. Cooper is too talented to continue to be this bad all season, however with Derek Carr sidelined, for the time being, it is difficult to predict when he will snap out of his cold streak.
Tight End – Eric Ebron
1 Reception, 6 Receiving Yards, 0 TDs
So far this season, Eric Ebron has not been a reliable option in fantasy. In Week 5, Ebron did nothing against the Carolina Panthers, catching a single pass for just six yards. This is the third time this season Ebron has failed to top ten yards. After Week 6, when Ebron plays the New Orleans Saints, it is probably in your best interest to drop and move on to another option at tight end.
Defense – Arizona Cardinals
34 Points Allowed, 419 Yards Allowed, 1 Sack, 1 Interception
Arizona went into this week expecting a tough matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles but did not expect to get pushed around for 60 minutes straight. The Cardinals did manage to force a turnover and grab a sack, but otherwise, this was the unit’s worse game of the season. The Cardinals have a good defense, but with the offense struggling. The Cards are having a really tough time running the ball, which means there are a lot of short drives and that means they’re getting the short end of the stick in terms of time of possession. They held the ball for just 24:13 last week, which really hung this defense out to dry. The Cardinals have a few tough games before their bye in Week 8. Unless they find a way to run, this defense will continue to be challenged.
Kicker – Nick Folk
2 PATs Made, 3 Missed FGs
What a disaster the kicking game has been for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this season. After nearing blowing the game for the Bucs in Week 4, Nick Folk fall apart in Week 5. The kicker missed all of his field goal attempts in a 19-14 loss to the New England Patriots. Folk is now on the IR and may never kick in the NFL again.
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