Fantasy Football Week Five Winners, Losers, And Waiver Wire Wonders

Week Five of the season is in the books. Here are my winners, losers, and waiver wire wonders from the week. Let’s go!

Winners

QB —Donovan McNabb —Philadelphia Eagles —16 Completions, 21 Attempts, 264 Yards, 3 TD, 30 Yards Rushing

McNabb returned from injury against the lowly Tampa Bay Buccaneers and torched them for 264 yards and three touchdowns. He appears to be fully healthy and has another great matchup this week against Oakland.

RB —Cedric Benson —Cincinnati Bengals —27 Carries, 120 Yards, 1 TD, 2 Receptions, 16 Yards

Benson was the first player in 40 games to rush for over 100 yards against the Baltimore Ravens. He now has 487 yards and three touchdowns in five games and has a great matchup this week against Houston.

RB —Ahmad Bradshaw —New York Giants —11 Carries, 110 Yards, 2 TD, 1 Reception, 55 Yards

Bradshaw torched the Oakland Raiders for 165 total yards and two touchdowns and would have gotten more if not for a back injury that forced him out of the game in the first half. He has rushed for over 100 yards twice in the past three weeks and faces New Orleans this week.

RB —Michael Turner —Atlanta Falcons —22 Carries, 97 Yards, 3 TD

The Burner finally lived up to his first round status last week, rushing for 97 yards and three touchdowns against San Francisco. He now has 323 yards and five touchdowns on the year and faces a tough matchup against Chicago this week.

WR —Miles Austin —Dallas Cowboys —10 Receptions, 250 Yards, 2 TD

Austin was expected to play a bigger role in the offense this year and that was made even more so when Roy Williams was deemed out with an injury for last week’s game against Kansas City. He was definitely a big part of the offense, catching 10 balls for 250 yards and two touchdowns, including the game winner in overtime. Dallas has a bye week this week and the schedule doesn’t favor Austin in Week Seven against Atlanta.

WR —Roddy White —Atlanta Falcons —8 Receptions, 210 Yards, 2 TD

White finally had his breakout game of 2009. He had eight receptions for 210 yards and two touchdowns, raising his season totals to 23 receptions, 329 yards, and three touchdowns in four games. This week, he gets a tough matchup against Chicago, but you are probably starting him if you own him.

WR —Jeremy Maclin —Philadelphia Eagles —6 Receptions, 142 Yards, 2 TD

Maclin showed the world why he was drafted in the first round by the Eagles this past week. Starting for the injured Kevin Curtis, he caught six passes for 142 yards and two long touchdowns (51 yards and 40 yards). He looks to be a safe play with a great matchup against Oakland this week.

WR —Andre Johnson —Houston Texans —8 Receptions, 101 Yards, 2 TD

Johnson had yet another spectacular performance this past week against Arizona. He now has 28 receptions for 437 yards and four touchdowns on the season. He is an every week must start and faces a much improved Cincinnati defense this week.

TE —Kellen Winslow —Tampa Bay Buccaneers —9 Receptions, 102 Yards, 2 TD

Winslow had a monster game last week, catching nine passes for 102 yards and two touchdowns against Philadelphia. He appears to be quarterback Josh Johnson’s favorite target and has 26 receptions for 257 yards and four touchdowns on the season. He has a tough matchup against Carolina this week.

Losers

QB —Derek Anderson —Cleveland Browns —2 Completions, 17 Attempts, 23 Yards, 0 TD, 1 INT

So much for Anderson being able to spark that anemic offense. He completed just two passes against Buffalo last week and Cleveland scored just six points. He should not be on your fantasy roster in any format.

QB —JaMarcus Russell —Oakland Raiders —8 Completions, 13 Attempts, 100 Yards, 0 TD, 0 INT, 3 Fumbles

Here is another guy who is falling faster and faster. Russell had yet another awful game against the Giants last week, throwing for just 100 yards and fumbling the ball three times. He is another guy that you should not own under any circumstances.

RB —DeAngelo Williams —Carolina Panthers —18 Carries, 40 Yards, 2 Receptions, 19 Yards, 1 Fumble

Williams had a very disappointing week against Washington last week. He rushed for only 40 yards and lost the ball once. He is still a top-tier fantasy running back and should bounce back against Tampa Bay this week.

RB —Maurice Jones-Drew —Jacksonville Jaguars —12 Carries, 34 Yards, 5 Receptions, 23 Yards

Jones-Drew has now had two straight weeks of sub-par performances. He has rushed for just 48 yards and one touchdown in the past two weeks and also has eight receptions for 49 yards. He is still a top-tier fantasy running back and if Jacksonville is going to find its offense, it’s going to be on his back. He should bounce back nicely this week against St. Louis.

RB —Chris Johnson —Tennessee Titans —9 Carries, 34 Yards, 2 Receptions, 9 Yards

Another disappointing week from another top tier fantasy running back. Johnson had just 43 total yards against Indianapolis last week and no touchdowns. He is still a must-start fantasy running back, but faces a tough matchup against New England this week.

WR —DeSean Jackson —Philadelphia Eagles —1 Reception, 1 Yard

This was horrible. All that offense against a terrible Tampa Bay defense and Jackson didn’t get anything? He had just one catch for one yard, even with the return of Donovan McNabb. He should bounce back this week against Oakland.

WR —Calvin Johnson —Detroit Lions —1 Reception, 2 Yards

This had more to do with his injury than with the way Detroit played against Pittsburgh. If he had played more, he probably would have had more production. However, most people started him and got just one catch for two yards. If he is healthy enough to play this week, he should bounce back against Green Bay.

WR —Pierre Garcon —Indianapolis Colts —1 Reception, 9 Yards

After two weeks of fantasy production, Garcon fell back to earth last week against Tennessee. He had just one catch for nine yards, even with Peyton Manning throwing for over 300 yards. He is still going to get plenty of playing time with Anthony Gonzalez out and you should keep him stashed on the bench until after the Week Six bye.

TE —John Carlson —Seattle Seahawks —2 Receptions, 31 Yards

Carlson started out the season on fire with 12 receptions for 141 yards and two touchdowns in the first two games, but has since cooled off with just 10 receptions for 98 yards in the last three. With Matt Hasselbeck back from injury, he should see more production and should bounce back this week against Arizona.

Waiver Wire Wonders

WR —Austin Collie —Indianapolis Colts —8 Receptions, 97 Yards, 2 TD

Collie has come out of nowhere to have back-to-back productive weeks. He has 14 receptions for 162 yards and three touchdowns in the past two weeks and appears to be in line for more. Even though he is on a bye week this week, you should still grab him while you can as he is now owned in 55 percent of CBS Sports/NFL.com leagues, 15 percent of ESPN leagues, and 40 percent of Yahoo leagues.

WR —Jeremy Maclin —Philadelphia Eagles —6 Receptions, 142 Yards, 2 TD

Maclin showed the world why he was drafted in the first round by the Eagles this past week. Starting for the injured Kevin Curtis, he caught six passes for 142 yards and two long touchdowns (51 yards and 40 yards). He looks to be a safe play with a great matchup against Oakland this week. He is going fast, being owned in 74 percent of CBS Sports/NFL.com leagues, 29.4 percent of ESPN leagues, and 50 percent of Yahoo leagues.

That’s all for now sports fans. Any questions or concerns, email me at [e-mail] .