Ravens beat writer Jeff Zrebiec believes RB J.K. Dobbins “took another step closer to his pre-injury form” in Week 5. Still on a snap count, Dobbins didn’t light up the box score, rushing 8 times for 44 yards. But he gained approval from HC John Harbaugh. “Nothing we didn’t like,” Harbaugh said regarding Dobbins’ limited late-game usage. “I thought he had his best game. He’s getting better every week. I thought he took a jump last week in practice and this week in the game. The (run) for the first down to the left side was spectacular. He was hit in the backfield and ended up getting the first down, broke about five tackles.” Dobbins will face the Giants in Week 6.
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero tweeted Tuesday that Pats RB Damien Harris (hamstring) is “likely to miss multiple games.” Rhamondre Stevenson stepped up with 27 touches last Sunday against Detroit and will remain busy in Week 6 at Cleveland. The Browns field one of the league’s worst run defenses.
Raiders WR Davante Adams caught just 3 of his 7 targets in Monday night's loss to the Chiefs, but he turned those into 124 yards and 2 TDs. Adams scored on plays of 58 and 48 yards. One other incompletion came on a late-game pass where a slight bobble kept him from getting 2 feet down in bounds. He also drew a pair of PI calls that consumed another 48 yards. Adams continued to draw attention after the game though, when he shoved a sound guy to the ground on his way to the locker room. NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports that the league is reviewing the situation for disciplinary purposes -- "potentially even a suspension." We'll monitor the developments.
Raiders RB Josh Jacobs ran for 154 yards and a TD on 21 carries in Monday night's narrow loss to the Chiefs. He added a team-high 5 catches for 39 yards. That landed Jacobs 3rd among RBs in PPR scoring for the week. He now sits 4th at the position for the year. His 26 total opportunities (carries + targets) at K.C. constituted 83.9% of the Raiders' total RB opportunities for the game. Jacobs ranks 6th among RBs in team opportunity share for the season.
Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes delivered 292 passing yards and 4 TD passes in Monday night's comeback win over the Raiders. He added 28 yards on 4 rushing attempts to finished 2nd in fantasy points among QBs for the week. Mahomes now sits 4th among QBs for the season (possibly depending on your league's scoring). Week 6 brings a challenging matchup with the Bills, but also potential shootout conditions.
A week after climbing to a season-high 28% of offensive snaps in the win over Tampa, Chiefs WR Skyy Moore got to 35% in Monday night's win over the Raiders. He still trailed well behind Marquez Valdes-Scantling and JuJu Smith-Schuster but pulled closer to Mecole Hardman, who did come off the field in the 2nd half with a foot or heel injury. That might have factored into some of the snap split between the 2 receivers. Either way, Moore is not yet playing enough to become a fantasy factor. But a continued increase in opportunities could put him in the mix over the 2nd half of the season. He's an interesting stash in deeper fantasy football leagues.
A week after dominating backfield time in the win over the Bucs, Chiefs RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire once again fell behind Jerick McKinnon in snaps (38-31) in Monday night's win over the Raiders. He still led K.C. in rushing attempts but took his 9 carries for just 15 yards (1.5 per attempt). CEH also edged McKinnon in targets, 4-3, catching 3 balls for 20 yards. He narrowly missed reaching the end zone on 2 occasions. McKinnon rushed 8 times for 53 yards (6.6) and caught 2 passes for 19 yards. Isiah Pacheco logged just 1 carry for no gain. The Tampa Bay game remains the only time this year that K.C.'s backfield work has swung so strongly in Edwards-Helaire's favor.
Chiefs TE Travis Kelce caught 7 balls for just 25 yards in Monday night's win over the Raiders but caught all 4 of QB Patrick Mahomes' TD passes. Kelce nabbed scores of 1, 4, 8 and 1 yards, while tying for the team target lead with 8. Marquez Valdes-Scantling joined him, catching 6 of 8 targets for 90 yards. JuJu Smith-Schuster matched the duo in looks but caught only 3 for 33 yards.
The Raiders have ruled TE Darren Waller out for the rest of Monday night's game against the Chiefs with a hamstring injury. He left early in the 1st quarter with the issue. Las Vegas was already without #2 TE Foster Moreau. Jesper Horsted sits next on the depth chart. Waller gets a well-timed Week 6 bye.
49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk snagged 3 of 4 targets for 58 yards in Sunday's win over Carolina. The 3rd-year WR is now at a ho hum 18.6% target share in 3 full games alongside Jimmy Garoppolo. Despite some big-play juice, Aiyuk figures to remain a hot-and-cold WR3 for the foreseeable future. Week 6 turns up a road matchup with Atlanta.
Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel was optimistic about WR Tyreek Hill's foot injury on Monday but stopped short of saying that he'll definitely be ready for this weekend's game vs. the Vikings. “He looked pretty good today,” McDaniel said. “He felt all right. He’s a fast healer, but you don’t know for certain that he’ll play Sunday.” We'll continue to keep you updated on Hill's health.
Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel said Monday that QB Tua Tagovailoa (concussion) is not ready for football activities yet. “I’m not really thinking about his timeline, as I’ve said before,” McDaniel said. “We’re just trying to get him as healthy as possible. We’re pretty much in a 12 to 24-hour reoccurring evaluation process. He’s doing well.” Tagovailoa seems like a long shot for Week 6 and might be out beyond that.
Chiefs WR JuJu Smith-Schuster (quad, hamstring) is active for tonight's game vs. the Raiders. He'd been listed as questionable after his hamstring tightened up during Saturday's practice. It adds a bit of risk to his fantasy profile in this one. But JuJu is available if you were waiting on him.
Bengals QB Joe Burrow managed just 217 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT in Sunday night's meeting with a Ravens defense he slaughtered last year. Granted, this Baltimore D is healthier and Tee Higgins left early after aggravating his sprained ankle. But Burrow can't blame the protection this time. According to Pro Football Focus, no QB faced a lower rate of pressure in Week 5. Burrow took only 2 sacks among 38 dropbacks. He targeted WR Ja'Marr Chase a team-high 12 times but connected on just 7 for 50 yards. TE Hayden Hurst ranked 2nd in targets (7) and receptions (6), led the team with 53 receiving yards and caught Cincinnati's only TD pass. Burrow added a 1-yard TD on the ground. Week 6 brings a decent matchup with New Orleans, and Burrow sits a nice 7th among QBs in fantasy points per game for the year so far.
Rams RB Cam Akers handled all 13 RB carries in Sunday's loss to the Cowboys, gaining just 33 yards (2.5 per rush). He added 1 target that fell incomplete. RB Darrell Henderson worked well ahead of Akers a receiver, running 25 routes to Akers' 5. He caught 4 of 5 targets for 30 yards. Rams RBs have collectively scored 9.9 fewer PPR points than any other set of RBs in the league, and that includes the 2 teams that have yet to play in Week 5 as of this writing.
Rams QB Matthew Stafford technically threw for 308 yards in Sunday's loss to the Cowboys. But 75 yards of that (and his only TD) came via a short throw and long run by WR Cooper Kupp. Outside of that play, Stafford averaged just 5.7 yards per pass attempt. He remains a weak fantasy option. Kupp's long TD beefed up a receiving line that finished at 7-125-1 on 10 targets. TE Tyler Higbee got another 10 targets and caught 7 balls for 46 yards. WR Ben Skowronek checked in 3rd with 8 targets, 6 receptions and 41 yards. And Allen Robinson did just enough to remind us that he's alive.
Cowboys RB Tony Pollard delivered a 57-yard TD run in Sunday's win over the Rams ... but not a whole lot else. He rushed just 7 other times in the game (for 29 yards) distantly trailing Ezekiel Elliott's 22 attempts (for 78 yards). Elliott also continued to run ahead of Pollard as a receiver: 9 routes to 4, according to Pro Football Focus numbers. We'd love to see Pollard's displayed explosiveness force Dallas coaches to give him more touches. But his continued limited playing time makes Pollard bench fodder in most fantasy football leagues.
Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb posted a mediocre 5-53 receiving line on 8 targets in Sunday's win over the Rams. Those 8 targets marked a 50% share of Cooper Rush's 16 attempts, though. WR Michael Gallup checked in 2nd with 5 targets (31.3%). WR Noah Brown (2) and TE Dalton Schultz (1, left early) were the only other Dallas players to get any looks. Lamb has been targeted on 34% of Dallas pass attempts for the season. Once Dak Prescott is back to full health, Lamb could be a fantasy football difference-maker the rest of the way.
Niners HC Kyle Shanahan says EDGE Nick Bosa has a groin strain, according to ESPN's Nick Wagoner. He'll be re-evaluated Wednesday, we assume to determine whether Bosa will be ready to practice and/or play this week. We'll watch for further updates, but it continues to sound like a minor injury.
49ers TE George Kittle showed progress with 5 catches for 47 yards in Week 5 at Carolina. He made a few impressive contested catches, although he did lose one fumble. His 6 targets ranked 2nd on the team and represented a decent 20% team share. The veteran entered Sunday with only 50 yards on 6 catches across his first 2 appearances. A low-volume passing game will keep the volatility high going forward, but we’re still likely to see some spike weeks soon. Week 6 turns up a positive scoring matchup at Atlanta.
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