Best and Worst QB, RB and WR Matchups

Saturday Injury Updates and Impacts to Skill Position Matchups:

• Buffalo Bills: The Bills lost their best corner in Tre’Davious White to an Achilles injury in Week 4. Their other starting corner Christian Benford is questionable. DE Greg Rousseau is OUT, while Von Miller is looking to make his 2023 debut in London.
• Pittsburgh Steelers: The Steelers are banged up heading into their Week 5 matchup with Baltimore. They’ll be without two starting OL’s with both James Daniels and Dan Moore Jr., along with TE Pat Freiermuth. LB Alex Highsmith is questionable. Pickett will be playing behind a banged up OL leading an offense that’s been suspect as it is, facing a Baltimore pass rush that ranks 4th in sacks per game, 6th in QB hits per game and could be getting CB Marlon Humphrey back.  
• Indianapolis Colts: The Colts will be without their Pro Bowl LB Shaquille Leonard and DE Kwity Paye in Week 5. Jonathan Taylor was a full participant on Friday and looks like he’ll make his season debut against a stout Tennessee rushing defense that ranks 4th in rushing YPG allowed, 2nd in YPC and 5th in runs of 10+ yards.
• NY Jets: The Jets will be without CB’s DJ Reed and Brandin Echols on the road in Denver this week against a Broncos’ passing attack that’s been much improved in 2023, ranking 10th in passing YPG and 8th in YPA. That said, they’ll still have Sauce Gardner and Quincy Williams on the field.
• Detroit Lions: The Lions will be without WR Amon-Ra St. Brown and have a laundry list of players listed as questionable including OT Taylor Decker, OG Halapoulivaati Vaitai, WR’s Josh Reynolds and Jameson Williams, DE Emmanuel Moseley and RB Jahmyr Gibbs. The lack of health at the WR position could present an issue against a Carolina secondary that’s been above average, while Gibbs’ injury that popped up on Friday presents an opportunity for Montgomery against a suspect Carolina run defense off a TNF performance in which Montgomery ran the ball for 121 yards and 3 TD’s on 32 carries.
• Philadelphia Eagles: The Eagles will be without S Sydney Brown and DT Fletcher Cox against LA’s high-powered passing attack.
• SF 49ers: Elijah Mitchell is out, which leaves Christian McCaffrey with a significant opportunity against a Dallas defense that ranks 27th in YPC.

Browse our Game and Player Matchup Dashboards to see how injuries will affect each matchup on the Week 5 slate. Our player matchup dashboards offer a wide array of statistical rankings, including explosive runs and passes, red zone carries, targets and receptions, YAC, reception counts, QB rushing yards, RB receiving yards and more.

Best and Worst QB Matchups

Best QB Matchups

• Matthew Stafford (O260.5 passing yards, FD) will be facing an Eagles secondary that’s been suspect against the pass in 2023, ranking 28th in passing YPG allowed and 27th in passes of 10+ yards with Cooper Kupp looking to make his 2023 debut. Stafford is averaging 207 passing yards per game, good for 2nd in the league, ranks 9th in the league in YPA and 2nd in passes of 10+ yards. Philly allowed Mac Jones to throw for 316 yards and 3 TD’s in Week 1, Kirk Cousins to go for 364 yards and 4 TD’s in Week 2 and Sam Howell to throw for 290 yards and 1 TD in Week 4. They lost their slot corner Avonte Maddox for the season and are suspectable to the pass if the DL can’t collapse the pocket. Philly also ranks 2nd in the league in rushing YPG and runs of 10+ yards and 4th in YPC, facing a Rams’ offense that ranks 27th in YPC and 30th in runs of 10+ yards. An inability to run the ball effectively favors a game script in which Stafford is airing it out to Puka Nacua, Cooper Kupp and Tutu Atwell. Stafford threw for 307 through the air against SF in a similar game script where SF’s highly ranked run defense held LA to just 89 yards on the ground.
• Pat Mahomes (O/U 285.5 passing yards, FD) will be facing a Vikings secondary that’s improved from one of the worst in the league in 2022 but still ranks 22nd in passing YPG at 256 and 23rd in YPA allowed. Minnesota also ranks 25th in the league in passing TD’s allowed. Mahomes struggled without Kelce in Week 1 against Detroit without Travis Kelce and Kadarius Toney drops, but threw for 305 and 2 TD’s against Jacksonville in Week 2 and 272 yards and 3 TD’s through early in the 3rd quarter in Week 3 against Chicago. He struggled against the NYJ defense like Allen did in Week 1, but will have an opportunity open things up against a Minnesota secondary that allowed Justin Herbert to throw for 405 yards and 3 TD’s two weeks ago.
• Josh Allen (O/U 259.5 passing yards, FD) is matched up with a Jacksonville secondary that ranks 21st in passing yards allowed and 20th in passes of 10+ yards off a Week 4 victory in which he threw for 320 yards and 4 TD’s on 21-25 passing against the Dolphins. Allen has bounced back strongly from a disappointing start to the season against the NY Jets – he finished with 274 yards and 3 TD’s at home against the Raiders in Week 2 on 31-37 passing, while his production was down slightly in Week 3 against the Commanders due to rainy conditions at FedEx Field. The Jags have allowed Pat Mahomes to throw for 305 yards through the air with 2 TDs and CJ Stroud to go for 280 yards and 2 TD’s in a 37-17 loss in Week 3.

Worst QB Matchups

• Jared Goff (O/U 235.5 passing yards, FD) is facing a Carolina secondary that ranks 6th in passing YPG allowed and 5th in passes of 10+ yards. He’ll be without WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, while Josh Reynolds and Jameson Williams are both listed as questionable but were both full participants in Friday’s practice. Carolina has not faced a murder’s row of QB’s (Bryce Young, Derek Carr, Geno Smith), but did hold Kirk Cousins to just 139 yards on 12-19 passing in in Week 4.
• Brock Purdy (O/U 243.5 passing yards, FD) matches up against a high-powered Dallas defense that’s been excellent against the pass in 2023 with the addition of Stephon Gilmore but lost Travon Diggs for the season. Dallas ranks 2nd in the league in passing YPG allowed and passes of 10+ yards and 6th in YPA and obviously excels in getting after the quarterback, ranking 5th in sacks per game. Purdy finished just 19-29 for 214 yards and no TD’s in the NFC Divisional round against Dallas in last year’s post season, while Dallas held Daniel Jones to just 104 yards through the air in Week 1, Zach Wilson to 170 yards and 3 INT’s in Week 2, Josh Dobbs to 189 yards and 1 TD in Week 3 and Mac Jones to 150 yards and 2 INT’s in Week 4 prior to his benching. Deebo Samuel was a limited participant on Wednesday and Thursday but practiced in full on Friday. Expect SF to try to attack Dallas’ run defense that ranks 27th in YPC allowed.

Best RB Matchups

• Raheem Mostert (O/U 45.5 rushing yards, FD) and De’Von Achane (O/U 49.5 rushing yards, FD) have an excellent matchup against a Giants’ run defense that ranks 25th in rushing YPG allowed and 26th in runs of 10+ yards. Miami ran for 145 yards in total on the ground against the Patriots in Week 2, 350 yards on the ground against the Broncos in Week 3 and 142 yards against Buffalo in Week 4. Achane ran for 203 yards on 18 carries and 2 TD’s against Denver and 101 yards on just 8 carries and 2 TD’s in Week 4 against Buffalo, while Mostert turned 13 carries into 82 yards and 2 TD’s. Given the speed that Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle present in the secondary, Mostert and Achane should both have opportunities to break out for chunk yardage on the ground against a suspect Giants’ defense in Week 5.
• David Montgomery (props TBD) continues to get the significant share of carries for the Lions with a matchup in Week 5 against a Carolina run defense that ranks 27th in rushing YPG, 30th in YPC and 26th in rushes of 10+ yards. Combined with the fact that Jahmyr Gibbs is listed as questionable and the Lions are banged up at the WR position with ARSB out and Josh Reynolds and Jameson Williams both questionable and Montgomery should be in for a high production day in Carolina. Gibbs injured his hamstring on Friday in practice.
• James Conner (O61.5 rushing yards, FD) will be facing a Cincy run defense that ranks 31st in rushing YPG allowed, 29th in YPC and 32nd in runs of 10+ yards in Week 5. Conner is averaging 79.5 yards on the ground through 4 weeks and has cleared 61.5 rushing yards in 3 of 4 games in 2023. He rushed for 106 yards on 23 carries and 1 TD against NYG’s suspect run defense and 98 yards on 14 carries and 1 TD against Dallas’ run defense that ranks 27th in YPC allowed. His only miss was in Week 4 against SF’s high-powered defense in a game where Arizona was playing from behind for a majority of the game and was forced to pass 41 times. Nick Chubb and Jerome Ford combined for 142 yards on the ground in Week 1 against Cincy, while Derrick Henry and Tyjae Spears went for a total of 162 in Week 4. Conner is getting 57% of Arizona’s carries on the ground and should have plenty of opportunity to get over this total.

Worst RB Matchups

• Zach Moss and Jonathan Taylor (assuming Taylor is active) will be facing a Tennessee run defense that is excellent against the run, ranking 4th in rushing YPG, 2nd in YPC and 5th in runs of 10+ yards allowed. Tennessee’s secondary is their weak link on the defensive side of the ball and opposing offenses continue to attack it – the highest total a single RB has posted in the yardage department in 2023 against Tennessee was Joe Mixon, who went for 67 yards on 14 carries in Week 4.
• Tony Pollard (O/U 59.5 rushing yards, FD) has gotten a significant amount of touches in the Dallas backfield in 2023 in Ezekiel Elliot’s absence, but will be running into a buzz saw in Week 5 against a SF run defense that ranks 3rd in rushing YPG, 8th in YPC and 1st in runs of 10+ yards. This is a relatively low number for a back that’s averaging nearly 78 yards per game on the ground and indicative of a matchup in which he could be stifled against SF’s strong front 7. No RB has cleared this number against SF through four weeks. That said, Tony Pollard leads the league with 7 RB carries per game against an SF defense that ranks 23rd in RZ TD %, so Pollard could have a chance to hit paydirt.

Best WR Matchups

• Puka Nacua (O/U 64.5 receiving yards, FD) and Cooper Kupp (O/U 66.5 receiving yards, FD) will be catching passes from the WR king-maker Matthew Stafford in Week 5 against a Philly secondary that ranks 28th in passing YPG allowed and 27th in passes of 10+ yards and is without their slot corner Avonte Maddox. Nacua is averaging a ridiculous 125 yards per game through the air, a number that is surely to regress with Kupp’s return to action. That said, Nacua’s targets could remain steady given the attention Kupp requires. Justin Jefferson caught 11 balls for 159 yards in Week 2 against this secondary, while Jordan Addison added 3 receptions for 72 yards and a TD. Terry McClaurin had a solid day in Week 4, catching 8 balls for 86 yards in a game where Sam Howell threw for 290 yards in total through the air.
• Jamar Chase (O/U 80.5 receiving yards, FD) is facing an Arizona defense that ranks 23rd in passing YPG, 29th in YPA and 31st in passes of 10+ yards, although Cincy’s offense has yet to shift into gear in 2023. We thought it would be last week against Tennessee’s very bad secondary (it was not), but Chase remains Burrow’s favorite target, and against a secondary that allowed Brandon Aiyuk to catch 6 balls for 148 yards in Week 4 with Tee Higgins questionable, Chase is at least positioned with upside in this game.

Head over to our Dashboard section of the site to comb through game matchup dashboards for every game on the board in Week 5, and browse our Player Matchup Analysis dashboards to optimize your DFS / FF lineups and target the player prop markets.

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