Week 5 Start 'Em, Sit 'Em: Final Review of Most Difficult Fantasy Matchups

Few things are more frustrating for a fantasy football owner than making a wrong lineup decision. Last week, there were a handful of byes, and it appeared Kirk Cousins was the perfect plug-and-play option at quarterback. He proceeded to score just five points.

The moral of the story is that it's impossible to make the right call every time. A wrong choice doesn't mean fantasy owners should start radically changing their approach. It still comes down to analyzing the matchups to maximize the chances of winning, but luck always plays a key role in the end.

With that in mind, let's check out some players probably being debated in the minds of many heading into Week 5. In the end, these are the stars who will likely end up deciding a lot of fantasy games when the dust settles Tuesday morning.

Start 'Em

Position	Player	Team
QB	Eli Manning	NYG
RB	Bishop Sankey	TEN
WR	Reggie Wayne	IND
TE	Larry Donnell	NYG
D/ST	Bears	CHI
K	Greg Zuerlein	STL

Eli Manning is back firmly on the fantasy radar. He ranks sixth among quarterbacks in scoring after a 32-point outburst last week. He should have little trouble putting together another big score against the Atlanta Falcons and their 30th-ranked pass defense.

It's time for Bishop Sankey to take control of the Tennessee Titans backfield. He certainly presents far more upside than plodder Shonn Greene. As long as the coaching staff gives him consistent work, he should shine against a struggling Cleveland Browns rush defense, as illustrated by StatMilk.

Reggie Wayne is no longer the must-start fantasy asset he was during his peak season. That said, he's coming off his best performance of the season (17 points) and should once again see plenty of targets as he squares off with a Baltimore Ravens secondary that hasn't had much success.

Larry Donnell was a productive member of the New York Giants offense through the first three weeks, but he lacked the touchdowns to become a fantasy start. That changed in a major way in Week 4, as he found the end zone three times en route to 23 points.

Don't do what he did and leave him on the bench, as Art Stapleton of The Record explains:

The Chicago Bears defense and special teams are coming off a brutal showing against the Green Bay Packers that saw them finish in the negatives. Expect an immediate turnaround thanks to a Carolina Panthers offense with far less weapons on offense.

Greg Zuerlein is averaging a shade under 10 points per game, which is solid production from a kicker available in a vast majority of leagues. He's a strong streaming option ahead of a likely fast-paced, high-scoring encounter with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Sit 'Em

Position	Player	Team
QB	Tom Brady	NE
RB	Donald Brown	SD
WR	Torrey Smith	BAL
TE	Zach Ertz	PHI
D/ST	Cardinals	ARZ
K	Nick Folk	NYJ

Tom Brady ranks 27th among quarterbacks at the quarter mark. While that would be grounds for dropping most players at the position, he's worth stashing based on his track record. Just keep him on the bench until he shows signs of life. It's unlikely to happen against the Cincinnati Bengals this week.

Donald Brown received a whopping 50 touches over the past two weeks. He turned those opportunities into just 12 fantasy points, though. It makes him too much of a risk, even with a heavy workload, as he faces the top-ranked New York Jets rush defense.

Torrey Smith scored his first touchdown en route to a solid 11-point showing last week. The underlying concerns remain fully in tact, though. He hasn't caught more than three passes in any game and is averaging just over five targets per game, making him heavily dependent on TDs for fantasy value.

He's still somebody opposing defenses must worry about, as Ross Tucker of NBCSN points out, but that doesn't always translate to great fantasy output:

Zach Ertz flashed his potential with 13 points in the opener. He's scored just 11 total points in the three games that have followed, though. He belongs on the bench as the Eagles battle the St. Louis Rams and their third-ranked pass defense.

The Arizona Cardinals are a top-10 play most weeks. Not this time around, however. It will be a major challenge to slow down a Denver Broncos offense that had a bye week to work out some of the issues it had during the first three games.

Even though Nick Folk ranks ninth among kickers through the first four games, there are better streaming options available for Week 5. The Jets probably won't spend much time in scoring range on the road against the San Diego Chargers.