Week Five Fantasy Football Quarterback Rankings: Romo Eyes Top Spot

These rankings are reflective of how I believe NFL players will perform, from a fantasy (ESPN) standard scoring perspective, in their current situations and Week Five Matchups.

1. Tony Romo, DAL (vs CIN). Romo managed 300 yards and three scores in a loss to the Redskins last week, the team’s first of the season. Expect him to dissect the Bengals’ defense as the Cowboys look to get back on track.
2. Philip Rivers, SD (at MIA). The Dolphins have had two weeks since their surprising win over the Patriots. If the Chargers don’t have an answer to their “Wildcat” formation (or Ronnie Brown, in general), expect Rivers to be cleared to throw all game.
3. Jay Cutler, DEN (vs TB). The Buccaneers roughed up Aaron Rodgers last week, but Jay Cutler has been staying on his feet. Expect him to continue his hot streak, and he should remain a fixture in starting lineups until his Week 8 bye.
4. Peyton Manning, IND (at HOU). The Texans surrendered over 300 passing yards to David Garrard and the Jaguars last week. Manning and the Colts are an aerial upgrade.
5. Aaron Rodgers, GB (vs ATL). It is still very early in the week (Monday as of the time of this writing), but Rodgers intends to play at Atlanta. Assuming he does start and isn’t limited, he should light up the Falcons’ secondary. Monitor his injury status.
6. Drew Brees, NO (vs MIN). The Vikings are allowing over 200 passing yards a game. Brees should get that easy.
7. Jon Kitna, DET (vs CHI). The Bears are in the bottom five of the passing defense ranks. If there’s one thing the Lions like to do, it’s pass.
8. Jake Delhomme, CAR (vs KC). The Chiefs’ have allowed 553 yards through the air in the last two weeks, and Delhomme’s top two targets (Muhsin Muhammad and Steve Smith) are performing well.
9. Jason Campbell, WAS (at PHI). Campbell is looking good. Really good.
10. Trent Edwards, BUF (at ARI). Anybody else see what Brett Favre did to the Cardinals? Edwards is obviously not Favre, but he should rack up 200 and a couple scores at least.
11. Donovan McNabb, PHI (vs WAS). McNabb is banged up, but with Brian Westbrook uncertain to play, the Eagles may very well have to attack this one through the air.
12. Ben Roethlisberger, PIT (at JAX). The no-huddle offense in Pittsburgh put the Ravens on their heels and earned the Steelers a victory in the second half and OT Monday night. If they keep things moving like that, Big Ben will reverse his slow descent down the quarterback rankings.
13. J.T. O’Sullivan, SF (vs NE). The Patriots’ defense got blown up in Week 3, and they come off their bye to face Mike Martz, JT O’Sullivan, and the 49ers.
14. Kurt Warner, ARI (vs BUF). Don’t be surprised if Anquan Boldin misses this game. He got rocked on Sunday. But he is tough, so don’t be surprised if he plays, either.
15. Eli Manning, NYG (vs SEA). Eli will be missing Plaxico Burress this week due to suspension, but the Seahawks aren’t exactly patrolling the air (25^th in passing defense).

Rank	Name	Team	Opponent
16	Brian Griese	TB	at DEN
17	Chad Pennington	MIA	SD
18	Matt Hasselbeck	SEA	at NYG
19	Matt Cassel	NE	at SF
20	Carson Palmer	CIN	at DAL
21	Damon Huard	KC	at CAR
22	Kyle Orton	CHI	at DET
23	Matt Schaub	HOU	IND
24	Matt Ryan	ATL	at GB
25	David Garrard	JAX	PIT
26	Kerry Collins	TEN	at BAL
27	Gus Frerotte	MIN	at NO
28	Joe Flacco	BAL	TEN