Play Benson, Avoid CJ2K - Week 5 Matchups
NFL Week 5 Matchup Ratings
Analyzing Matchups
You do not want to bench Cedric Benson this week. He’s getting 20 carries a game so far this season and going against a Tampa Bay rush defense that is allowing 21.4 fantasy points per game; he is poised for a monster day. On the other hand, and this might sound crazy to some, you should avoid Chris Johnson this week. He will be overpriced based on his matchup this week, and given his recent ‘struggles’, he might be worth passing on Fantasy Factor and in Live Sit and Drafts. Last week I told you it was LT’s week to relive his glory days, and he did just that. Knowing how to adjust a players value based on their matchup can be difficult, especially early in the season when you have less data on that player and their opponents. RotoGrinders Matchup Ratings make that process easier for you by quantifying the data for you. This matchup rater tool should provide an excellent resource for properly adjusting the value of your offensive players for this week’s matchups. This is not a tool for ranking Fantasy Defenses. This tool focuses on the defensive categories that related to offensive players. The scoring for Fantasy Defenses often include Special Teams and scoring is based on Points Allowed; these are not included in the Matchup Ratings below. The Fantasy Points Allowed Per Game column is the number you should use to gauge how to increase or decrease the value of your Offensive players.
Rushing
Best Matchups
| Projected Rank | Rush Defense | Projected Fantasy Points Allowed | Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oakland | 21.8 | San Diego |
| 2 | Tampa Bay | 21.4 | Cincinnati |
| 3 | St. Louis | 20.0 | Detroit |
| 4 | Buffalo | 19.9 | Jacksonville |
| 5 | Washington | 19.0 | Green Bay |
Worst Matchups
| Projected Rank | Rush Defense | Projected Fantasy Points Allowed | Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | New York Jets | 12.6 | Minnesota |
| 31 | Dallas | 11.3 | Tennessee |
| 32 | Minnesota | 10.8 | New York Jets |
| Week 5 Byes | Dolphins – Patriots – Steelers – Seahawks |
|---|
Receiving
(These do not factor in how many total receptions a team allows, which could effect the rankings for PPR leagues)
Best Matchups
| Projected Rank | Pass Defense | Projected Fantasy Points Allowed | Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Houston | 39.6 | New York Giants |
| 2 | Jacksonville | 38.3 | Buffalo |
| 3 | Detroit | 37.9 | St. Louis |
| 6 | Washington | 34.1 | Green Bay |
| 7 | Arizona | 32.6 | New Orleans |
Worst Matchups
| Projected Rank | Pass Defense | Projected Fantasy Points Allowed | Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | San Diego | 25.7 | Oakland |
| 30 | Green Bay | 25.6 | Washington |
| 32 | Baltimore | 19.8 | Denver |
| Week 5 Byes | Dolphins – Patriots(5) – Steelers (31) – Seahawks (4) |
|---|
How we Rank the Matchups
We rank the weekly NFL matchups for opposing teams by looking at yards allowed and touchdowns allowed by defenses, then weight them based on recent performance. The number we wind up with is a reliable estimate of how many fantasy points a defense is giving up at the current point in time, per week, to all players on an opposing team. This estimate makes for a great indicator to project matchups in the future. Below are the defenses estimated to allow the most fantasy points headed into Week 3, and the ones you should steer clear of. The number in the third column is the estimated amount of fantasy points this defense is allowing currently per matchup. We project the fantasy points based on 1 pt. per 10 rushing/receiving yards and 6 points per TD. The ‘receiving fantasy points allowed estimate’ can also be used to gauge your QB matchups, and while the scoring settings may adjust the points allowed to QBs, the overall order of the rankings for receivers should be similar for QBs. These rankings utilize all data from the 2010 season, but we also include data from the 2010 preseason (first half only), and the 2009 NFL regular season. As each week passes this season, we scale down the older data increase the value of current season performance. By Week 12 of this Season, the data from the 2010 Preseason and the 2009 Season will be completely phased out.