Week 5 in Review - 2009 Oct 13, 2009 | More

Big Day for Wide Receivers

I can’t remember the last time two receivers went for over 200 yards receiving in one week. That was just the case in Week 5 as the Cowboys’ Miles Austin and Atlanta’s Roddy White had monster fantasy days. Filling in for the injured Roy Williams, Austin finished his career day with 10 catches for 250 yards and two scores. His second touchdown came on a 60-yard dash in overtime to beat Kansas City. White went off for 210 yards on just eight receptions with two TDs of his own. He found pay dirt on scores of 31 and 90. Both of these performances produced some shock. White is a stud in fantasy, but the 49er defense has been pretty good in 2009 and was coming off a shutout last week, so Atlanta pouring on 45 points was somewhat surprising. And as far as Austin goes, wait who is he? That’s my point exactly.

Benson Dominates Baltimore

Cedric Benson continued his solid season with 27 carries for 120 yards, including a 28-yard touchdown, against the always stingy Ravens defense. He also had one reception for 16 yards. This performance was so significant because Baltimore had not allowed a 100-yard rusher in 39 straight games. That’s a span of nearly 2 1/2 seasons! For the season, Benson has now rushed for 487 yards and three scores and is on pace to go over 1,500 yards with 8-10 TDs. I’m sure those are numbers that any fantasy owner would gladly take.

Maybe the Broncos are For Real

The Denver Broncos remained undefeated, coming from behind once again to beat the Patriots on Sunday, 20-17, in overtime. After a first half that was completely controlled by New England, Denver made the necessary adjustments and shut out the Patriots in the second half as the two teams were knotted at 17. The Broncos won the toss and marched right down the field as Matt Prater hit the game winner from 41 yards out. Kyle Orton finished with 330 yards and two touchdown passes, both of which going to WR Brandon Marshall. Tom Brady threw for 215 yards and two TDs himself, but nearly all of his damage was done in the opening half. Denver is now 5-0, while New England has already dropped two of their first five.

Giants Backup RB Steals the Show

The New York Giants also improved to 5-0 on the season as they embarrassed the Raiders 44-7. All the fantasy owners out who own Brandon Jacobs were probably thrilled when they saw this score, but then quickly felt sick to their stomachs after they saw the stats from the game. That’s because backup Ahmad Bradshaw (and not Jacobs) was the star of this game as he made the most of his 11 carries, rushing for 110 yards with two touchdowns. Bradshaw also caught one pass for 55 yards. Jacobs still received the bulk of the carries (21 for 67 yards) so owners should not panic because he is still the clear-cut starter in New York. It was just a case of Jacobs getting bottled up in the middle and Bradshaw breaking off a few nice runs like he does every week.

Welcome Back Donovan

After missing the last two games with a rib injury, Eagles QB Donovan McNabb returned to the starting lineup and looked sharp, completing 16-21 passes for 264 yards and three scores. Everyone knew it was going to be a big game for Donovan right from the start as his first pass went for a 51-yard touchdown to rookie WR Jeremy Maclin. Maclin finished the day with six catches for 142 yards and two TDs. McNabb also broke off runs of 13 and 17 in the game and had four completions go for at least 20 yards, so the QB out of Syracuse did it all on Sunday. McNabb has always been a great fantasy option at QB; it’s just been a matter of whether or not he can stay healthy for a full season.

Seahawks Shutout the Jags

I don’t know about anyone else, but I really didn’t see this coming. I know Jacksonville doesn’t have the greatest defense around, but neither does Seattle. I still don’t understand how the final score of this game was 41-0 in favor of the Seahawks. Jacksonville QB David Garrard was coming off an awesome performance in Week 4 and of course there’s RB Maurice Jones-Drew to worry about, but Seattle shut both of them down completely. They had five sacks, two fumble recoveries and a defensive TD. Don’t expect this kind of showing too often from the Seattle defense, especially with games coming up against Arizona and Dallas.

Browns and Bills Showcase Their Talent (Or Lack There Of)

Cleveland got past Buffalo 6-3 in a battle of two of the worst teams I have ever seen play an NFL game. It is really quite amazing that a team can win a game in which their quarterback goes an illustrious 2-17 for 23 yards and one interception, but hey, that’s the Buffalo Bills for ya. The game was destined for overtime until Bills WR and return specialist Roscoe Parrish muffed a punt and let Cleveland recover it inside the 30-yard line late in the fourth quarter. Browns fill-in K Billy Cundiff nailed the chip shot with 23 seconds left for the victory.