Chargers RB Austin Ekeler racked up 173 yards on 16 carries in Sunday's narrow victory at Cleveland. He added 4 catches fore 26 yards, scoring TDs on a run and a reception. That makes 5 TDs over the past 2 games for Ekeler, who even ceded a 5-yard rushing score to RB Joshua Kelley against the Browns. Kelley totaled 49 yards on 10 rushes, plus 33 more on 2 receptions. RB Sony Michel barely played, getting on the field for just 2 snaps.
Bengals TE Tee Higgins aggravated the ankle injury that had him questionable coming into Sunday night's game vs. the Ravens. He's officially questionable to return but barely played in the 2nd quarter. Higgins owners might be left with a goose egg in this one. WR Mike Thomas is filling in for Higgins.
Steelers RB Najee Harris managed just 20 yards on his 11 carries (1.8 per rush) in Sunday's lopsided loss to the Bills. He added 3 receptions for 16 yards (5.3 per catch) among 4 targets. Harris got pulled for the 4th quarter in a game Pittsburgh lost 38-3. Week 6 presents another tough overall matchup with Tampa Bay, though none looks as tough as Buffalo right now.
WR Diontae Johnson drew a team-high 13 targets in QB Kenny Pickett's starting debut Sunday at Buffalo. Pittsburgh attempted a season-high 52 passes in the lopsided loss, but Johnson's looks marked a 25% share. He caught 5 for 60 yards. Chase Claypool followed with 9 targets, catching 5 for 50 yards. Rookie George Pickens led the team in receptions (6) and receiving yards (83) while ranking 3rd in targets (8). Pickens' rate of targets per route (16.7%) was actually down from the previous 2 games: 30.8% and 24.1%.
Steelers rookie QB Kenny Pickett threw for 327 yards, with 0 TDs and an INT in Sunday's loss to the Bills. He completed 34 of 52 attempts while taking 3 sacks in the 38-3 defeat. Pickett threw 8+ targets apiece to George Pickens, Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool. He draws another challenging matchup in Week 6 with Tampa Bay, which hit Week 5 ranked 3rd in Football Outsiders' pass-defense DVOA.
After dominating backfield time and work the previous 2 games, Bills RB Devin Singletary saw the gap shrink in Sunday's lopsided win over the Steelers. His 30 snaps were just 4 more than the combined total for Zack Moss (16) and James Cook (10). Singletary carried 6 times for 42 yards, compared with 4 carries for Cook and 1 for Moss. He added just 1 catch for 4 yards on 2 targets, running 20 routes vs. 15 combined for Moss and Cook. According to Pro Football Focus, Singletary has played 76.4% of offensive snaps when the Bills are tied for trailing. That has dipped to 51.4% when Buffalo leads. So it appears we should consider Singletary to be at greater risk of losing time when then Bills enter a game as heavy favorites.
With Dawson Knox out, Quintin Morris worked as the starter and clear leader among Bills TEs in Sunday's win over the Steelers. He played 15 more snaps than #2 Tommy Sweeney and ran 17 more routes. Morris also claimed all 4 TE targets in the game. That's not a fantasy-relevant level of inclusion for most formats. We'll see whether Knox is ready to return for Week 6.
Bills WR Gabriel Davis had a big Sunday, thanks to TD catches of 98 and 62 yards in the win over the Steelers. He added 1 other reception, for a total of 171 yards and 2 TDs among 6 targets. That marked a 19.4% share of Josh Allen pass attempts. (QB Case Keenum then entered to close out the game.) Davis trailed only WR Stefon Diggs in that category, and matched Diggs' playing time. This looks like the level of usage we should expect from a healthy Davis. We'll see how the target share holds up once WR Isaiah McKenzie and TE Dawson Knox return from injuries.
Bills QB Josh Allen racked up 424 passing yards and 4 TDs in Sunday's lopsided home win over the Steelers. He hit WR Gabriel Davis for TDs of 98 and 62 yards. Allen also connected with WR Stefon Diggs and rookie WR Khalil Shakir for scores. Diggs drew 35.5% of Allen's pass attempts for the game as the only Bills player to exceed 6 targets. A potential shootout at Kansas City awaits in Week 6, with Buffalo's bye on the other side.
Panthers QB Baker Mayfield picked up a left ankle injury in Sunday's loss to the 49ers. We saw him lipping at the end of the 1st half, but he was able to return for the 2nd. Mayfield was in a walking boot after the game and said he was headed for a Monday MRI. We should learn more tomorrow. With QB Sam Darnold still out with his ankle injury, QB P.J. Walker is Carolina's backup.
Vikings WR Justin Jefferson enjoyed another big game in Sunday's win over the Bears. He racked up a 12-154 receiving line on 13 targets. No other Viking drew more than 7 looks or caught more than 5 passes. WR Adam Thielen checked in 2nd with 7 targets but caught just 4 for 27 yards. K.J. Osborn caught all 5 of his targets (for 41 yards) to finish 2nd on the team in receptions.
Bengals TE Hayden Hurst (groin) is active for tonight's game vs. the Ravens. He went from limited practices on Wednesday and Thursday to no practice on Friday, so he figures to be operating at less than 100% tonight.
Bengals WR Tee Higgins (ankle) is active for tonight’s game vs. the Ravens. He was limited in practice all week and listed as questionable, but we never heard any concern about his status.
Cardinals RB Darrel Williams is questionable to return to Sunday's game vs. the Eagles with a knee injury. RB James Conner left earlier with a rib injury, leaving the backfield to RB Eno Benjamin.
Cardinals RB James Conner suffered a rib injury in the 2nd quarter of Sunday's game vs. the Eagles. He's officially questionable to return but hasn't yet hit the field in quarter 3. We'll update his status when we know more.
Vikings RB Dalvin Cook assumed his usual rushing lead in Sunday's win over the Bears, racking up 18-94-2 on the ground to make fantasy football managers happy. But Alexander Mattison siphoned receiving opportunities for the 2nd straight week. Mattison drew 4 targets to Cook's 2, compared with the 18-9 carry split in Cook's favor. And Mattison actually ran 2 more routes than Cook this time after merely drawing close to Cook in that category in Week 4. This won't be a big issue as long as Minnesota wins but could cut into Cook's fantasy production when the Vikings trail. We'll watch to see if Minnesota alters the plan here as Cook moves further beyond his shoulder injury -- or if there's just a preference to get Mattison more involved with the passing game.
Bears QB Justin Fields completed 15 of 21 pass attempts for 208 yards and a TD in Sunday's loss to the Vikings. He took a mere 2 sacks and avoided turning the ball over. (Fields did fumble twice, but Chicago recovered both.) The QB added 47 rushing yards on 8 attempts. It's not enough to make him attractive for Week 6 fantasy use. But it's a positive compared with what else we've gotten from the Bears' offense so far.
After missing Week 4 with ankle and knee injuries, Bears RB David Montgomery returned to reclaim the backfield in Sunday's loss to the Vikings. He played 36 snaps to 14 for Khalil Herbert and just 1 for rookie Trestan Ebner. Montgomery led Herbert 18-7 in routes, according to Pro Football Focus, and claimed 75% of RB rushing attempts. He gained only 20 yards on those 12 carries but scored from 9 yards out. Montgomery added a team-high 62 receiving yards on 4 catches. Only WR Darnell Mooney edged him in targets (5). TE Cole Kmet was the only other Bear to exceed 2 receptions. Herbert gained just 11 yards on 4 carries and saw 0 targets.
Cowboys TE Dalton Schultz is questionable to return to Sunday's game vs. the Rams with a right knee injury. That's the same knee in which he injured his PCL in Week 2. We'll update his status when we know more.
A source tells Pro Football Talk that Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill's foot injury "is not believed to be serious." That's obviously good news and seemingly rules out a long-term absence, but it doesn't necessarily mean that Hill won't miss time. We should learn more on Monday.
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