Week 5 of the NFL season saw a lot of owners lose their starting TE when Jermichael Finley was lost for at least three weeks due to arthroscopic surgery on his right knee. Then, on Monday evening, news broke that Mark Clayton would miss the rest of the season due to a torn patellar tendon in his right knee. Clayton went undrafted in most leagues, but became a hot waiver wire addition when he was traded to the Rams to play alongside rookie QB Sam Bradford.
Winners
Tony Romo: Even though the Cowboys lost, Romo was a fantasy winner with his 406 yards and three-touchdown performance this weekend. I could have done without the three INTs and six sacks, but the good outweighed the bad this week and a Cowboys fan can hang his/her hat on that.
Alex Smith: This will likely be the only time I mention Smith's name in any sort of positive manner, but he did step up this weekend and put up 309 passing yards with three TDs. He also threw two picks and took two sacks, but for the 39 percent of people own him, he was a rare positive for them here.
Matt Forte: Forte has been pretty much a bust as a RB so far this season, but in Week 5 he had to step up with Jay Cutler out and Todd Collins starting. Forte finished the game with 166 rushing yards on 22 attempts (7.5 YPC), two TDs and added two receptions for 22 yards. Forte has the skills to put up big numbers, but OC Mike Martz isn't known for keeping players healthy or using RBs in this manner.
Ray Rice: Rice put up numbers worthy of his top 5-10 fantasy draft ranking this weekend as he finished the game with 133 rushing yards, 26 receiving yards and two touchdowns. You won't get to play the Broncos' poor rush defense every week, but Rice is a fine RB to have in your starting lineup every week.
Malcom Floyd: Floyd gave fantasy owners reason to forget the name Vincent Jackson this weekend as he turned in a staggering 213 receiving yards and a TD on eight receptions. He is not someone I am particularly high on, but I won't look a gift horse in the mouth either.
Hakeem Nicks: I predicted big numbers from Nicks this weekend and he did not disappoint as he hauled in 12 catches for 130 yards and two touchdowns. I don't trust Eli Manning to help you out most weeks, but this week I was right to put my faith in him.
Marcedes Lewis: Lewis is owned in 53 percent of leagues, but he posted TE1 fantasy points this weekend as he finished with 54 yards receiving and two touchdowns. He seems to be a favorite target for David Garrard in the red zone, so his value is climbing.
Detroit Lions defense: The Lions are not a defense that you are going to own (seven percent own them), but this weekend they played the Rams and held them to just six points. Not just that, but they got two INTs, ran one of them back for a touchdown, recovered one fumble, returned a kick for another touchdown and sacked Bradford once. This is their 15-minutes of fame, so enjoy it while you can.
Losers
Peyton Manning: Oh no, say it ain't so! This week Peyton was the Manning brother that hurt fantasy owners as he finished with a modest 244 yards passing, no touchdowns and an INT. As we all know, this won't happen many times in a season for him and you can chalk it up as a bad week against a much-improved Chiefs team.
Matt Schaub:Schaub is supposed to be about as automatic as Manning with the weapons he has around him, but he misfired this weekend. Schaub finished the game with an empty 196 yards passing and an INT. The Giants have a better team than most people thought and their pass defense is actually ranked #1 in the NFL right now.
Arian Foster: Not to be outdone by Schaub, Foster managed to compile a whopping 25 rushing yards and two receiving yards on Sunday. Foster just couldn't find any running room against the Giants this weekend and this is not a reflection of his fantasy worth in the second half of the season.
Adrian Peterson: I warned you, but did you listen? Probably not… but not many did since owners found it hard to sit their #1 overall pick. Sure, he got you four points from his 88 rushing yards and another point from his 20 yards receiving, but he failed to score and five points is not good enough from the #2 overall pick.
Greg Jennings: Jennings was blanketed by the Redskins defense all day long on Sunday and finished the game with just 22 yards on two catches. Jennings is averaging just 2.8 catches and 36.6 yards receiving in the Packers' first five games this season, hardly worthy of being in the WR1 talk this season.
Chad Ochocinco: I am one of the biggest fans Ochocinco has, but this is becoming a little frustrating for me to watch this season. After a strong Week 1 performance (12 catches for 159 yards and a TD), Ochocinco has managed just 3.5 catches, 39.25 receiving yards and has failed to score in the four games since. This weekend, Ochocinco added just three catches for 20 yards… I have faith in him, but this is tough.
Dallas Clark:As soon as you saw his QB on this list, you should have known this one was coming. Clark ended up with just three catches for 20 yards and no endzone visits. Don't fret; this won't happen many times over the course of a season.
San Diego Chargers defense: The Chargers went out and made Jason Campbell look like a starter again after Bruce Gradkowski went down with a thumb injury. When the game was finished, the Chargers allowed 35 points to be scored while amassing just three sacks and no INTs. What a wasted opportunity this was for them.
