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This week's Start 'Em and Sit 'Em is critical for your fantasy football team. Week 5 is where we start to realize the pecking order. You're either a contender or a pretender and in order to help you be a contender, this start/sit piece will help push you in the right direction with your QB decisions.
Fantasy Football Week 5 Start 'Em Quarterbacks
Kirk Cousins
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The Vikings need Kirk Cousins to play at an MVP level this week against the defending champ Kansas City Chiefs. Cousins has been performing at another level, throwing for 1,214 yards, 11 TDs (league-leading) and 4 INTs.
The Chiefs have been good against QBs this year but still allowed Zach Wilson to throw for 245 yards and 2 TDs.
This game feels like it should be a "fantasy bonanza" game.
The Chiefs have the second-fewest interceptions (1) and the eighth-fewest points allowed to fantasy QBs (13.3). Cousins should have a bounceback game against the Chiefs after an 11.6-point Week 4. His previous three weeks, Cousins was a top-10 QB, putting out a QB9 week against a top-10 defense (Tampa Bay). Cousins has got to be a start 'em QB this week.
Jordan Love
Love is currently QB3 on the year, averaging 22.1 ppg. This week, Love gets the Raiders, who have allowed 20.4 ppg to opposing QBs. The Packers have taken the training wheels completely off and let Love gel with the team. He's taken full advantage of it, throwing for 901 yards, eight TDs and three INTs, while rushing for 72 yards and two TDs.
The Raiders defense has the second-fewest interceptions (1) and has struggled to sack the QB in 2023. This should work out well for Love who has the most air yards per play 10.9 and the third-most deep ball attempts (21). Love also has the second-most red zone attempts (29). This means Love has been pushing the ball with big gains and isn't afraid to do it himself in the red zone. Look for that to be reason enough to start him on Monday Night after his first setback game last week.
Our Start/Sit Optimizer's projection also suggests a start for Love this weekend.
Zach Wilson
This is the week where it's okay to start Zach Wilson in your lineups. Last week, Wilson threw for 245 yards and two TDs against the Chiefs on Sunday Night Football and in front of Taylor Swift. It was the performance no one saw coming since in the past few weeks Wilson, had never gotten over the QB24 hump.
Prior to Week 4's 71.8% completion rate, Wilson only completed just 52% of his passes. What makes this matchup interesting is the success QBs have had against the Broncos.
The last five QBs have averaged 25.2 fantasy ppg and have, on average, finished QB1 against the Broncos. I know it's hard to trust Wilson at this point in his career, but this is a curious case of an opportunity that you shouldn't pass up. Go ahead and make sure Wilson is a start em' for you this week.
Fantasy Football Week 5 Sit 'Em Quarterbacks
Daniel Jones
Being a Daniel Jones fantasy manager has been frustrating. Not only did you spend up for him, but he's returned the favor by throwing for 765 yards, two TDs and six INTs. The only thing he's done right is rush for 173 yards (second-most in the NFL) and a TD. This week against the Dolphins feels like a get-right game as the Fins have allowed the fourth most fantasy points to QBs (21.3).
While quarterbacks against the Dolphins have averaged 20.74 points a game, Jones' case seems like it'll have a different result.
First off, he's behind one of the worst offensive lines this year. Last week, Jones was sacked 10 times by the Seattle Seahawks defense, bringing the Giants' in-season total to 22. If the Dolphins boat race the Giants, then there's a chance garbage-time stats make Jones an okay play, but for me, he's a sit.
Bryce Young
Bryce Young has yet to settle into the NFL way of playing. You can still see that it's a little fast for the number one overall pick. So far, Young has thrown for 501 yards, two TDs and two Ints. He's also yet to finish in the top 20 QBs on a week-to-week basis. Young has only thrown for 200 yards in one game and the offense seemed to run better when Andy Dalton was in.
The Lions have been looking like an emerging defense in 2023. Detriot has sacked the QB 13 times this year and has three interceptions. I fully expect the Lions to torment Young this week and make him a sit in Week 5.
Jared Goff
Goff has been good this year but not great. This week, he may be without Jahmyr Gibbs and Amon Ra St. Brown.
Goff has thrown an interception in each of his last three games. During that stretch, he's finished twice outside the top 12 and had less than 300 yards in those games.
Goff is a product of his surroundings and his lineup this week will either be severely banged up or really bare. Either way, instead of being on the Start 'Em list, he's on the Sit 'Em side this time around.
