NFL Week 5 fantasy football betting cheat sheet: player rankings, best bets and more

NFL Thursday Night Blog: Live news and updates from Buccaneers vs. Falcons

Welcome to your NFL Week 5 fantasy and betting cheat sheet. Add the latest and hottest fantasy/betting analysis ahead of kick-off on Sunday at 1pm. That means this is a one-stop shop for The athletics matchup previews, injury and weather updates and other NFL information. Bookmark this page and refresh it over the weekend for further reference.

The latest NFL news and headlines

Last updated: 4:00 PM ET, October 3 | Next update: 11am ET, October 4

Injury news | Weather forecast
Featured games | Best bets of week 5
Survival pool strategy | Fantasy Football Player Rankings

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Injury news

Updated through Thursday 1:00 PM ET

Here are some of the most fantasy-relevant injury situations we monitored during Week 5 games. Players assigned to IR are not included.

Do you see one or more of your players on the list? This is how Greg Scholz of Inside Injuries approaches Anthony Richardson, Jonathan Taylor and some of the other big names in Week 5.

Scholz NFL injury report: Availability of Colts Anthony Richardson in Week 5, Jonathan Taylor questionable

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Weather forecast

Outdoor games only

Sunday should be a great football day, with all but one of the outdoor games scheduled for mild temperatures. (Santa Clara could be warm for the Cardinals-Niners game with an expected 88 degrees). Precipitation must be minimal, according to Rotowire, with only the Colts and Jags more likely than not to see rain. Even the UK game with the New York Jets and host Minnesota Vikings is expecting temperatures in the 60s with less than a 30 percent chance of rain.

Colts at Jaguars, Sunday, 1:00 PM ET (rain possible)

As if Colts QB Anthony Richardson needed extra challenges to connect with his receivers, there's a greater chance of rain in the Jacksonville forecast (54 percent) than Richardson completing a pass (50.6 completion percentage so far in 2024) . That leaves the Colts with a dilemma: With both Richardson (hip) and RB Jonathan Taylor sick, does Indy want to lean on the ground game given the uncertainty and risk making things worse? In the meantime, if the Jags stick to the ground game, which RB will they prefer: Travis Etienne or Tank Bigsby? Bigsby is outperforming Etienne in some areas, while recording just 42 fewer rushing yards on 26 fewer carries.

Wondering how weather impacts fantasy production? Jake Ciely protects you like a poncho in the rainy season.

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Featured games

Check out our week 5 previews here. Game-specific previews available on the day of the game.

Thursday night football

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-1) vs. Atlanta Falcons (2-2)

• Location: Mercedes-Benz Stadium Atlanta
• Time: 8:15 PM ET
• Streaming: Prime Video
• TV (local markets only): FOX with streaming on Fubo (try it for free)

The Falcons host the Bucs, hoping to take a share of the lead in the NFC South division. From a fantasy perspective, pay close attention to how Tampa uses its running backs, as Bucky Irving has eaten up the work of starter Rachaad White and has looked the best through the first four weeks. Interestingly enough, Tyler Allgeier has done the same in Atlanta with top-10 fantasy (and real-life) draft pick Bijan Robinson.

In terms of betting, the Buccaneers are 3-1 against the spread this season, while Atlanta is just 1-3 ATS, including an 0-2 mark against the spread as home favorites.

Find our full preview here.

Sunday afternoon

New York Giants (1-3) vs. Seattle Seahawks (3-1)

• Location: Lumen Field Seattle
• Time: 4:25 PM ET
• TV: CBS
• Streaming: Fubo (try it for free)

Giants quarterback Daniel Jones has looked (relatively) better lately, but he may be missing his favorite target. Malik Nabers is recovering from a concussion he suffered last Thursday. That means a lot more work for receiver WanDale Robinson, who could be available in your fantasy league (listed in just 41 percent of leagues) and might be worth a flex flier with the Giants likely playing from behind.

The Seahawks may have lost their first game of the season to the Detroit Lions last week, but they are still heavily favored at home. You may want to see if the line exceeds Naber's availability.

Full preview next Sunday.

Sunday night football

Dallas Cowboys (2-2) vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (3-1)

• Location: Acrisure Stadium Pittsburgh
• Time: 8:20 PM ET
• TV: NBC
• Streaming: Fubo (try it for free)

Dallas' running game has been a debacle through the first four weeks (just over 75 yards per game in 2024), which could leave TJ Watt and the Steelers rushing to prick up their ears and go after Cowboys QB Dak Prescott. In the absence of WR Brandin Cooks, could CeeDee Lamb be ready for a big day? And can Steelers signal-caller Justin Fields build on his big showing in Week 4 and solidify his spot as Pittsburgh's QB1?

The Steelers could also benefit from a beefed-up defense. DeMarcus Lawrence was placed on IR and Micah Parsons (ankle) is also expected to be unavailable. The athletics The panel of game picks still leans slightly toward the Cowboys, but not everyone is on board. Here's what our Zac Jackson had to say this week in his column with Jon Greenberg:

The losing Steelers have to beat the overrated and broken Cowboys. Pittsburg is -2.5 probably my favorite NFL game of the week, although I fully intend to start Thursday night 1-0.

Full preview next Sunday.

Monday night football

New Orleans Saints (2-2) vs. Kansas City Chiefs (4-0)

• Location: GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium Kansas City
• Time: 8:15 PM ET
• TV: ESPN
• Streaming: Fubo (try it for free)

The fantasy effects of the Rashee Rice injury will be closely watched. Will rookie Xavier Worthy capture a larger share of the target share? Will Travis Kelce look like the Travis Kelce of old? Will Patrick Mahomes ever play like a top-five fantasy QB this season?

For the Saints: Will the real Derek Carr please stand up? The veteran QB was red hot to start the season before a dismal Week 3 performance against the Eagles, followed by a touchdownless Week 4 against Atlanta. The larger sample size suggests more performance like the past two weeks, so Week 5 could be the test of which draft fantasy managers should expect going forward.

On the gambling side of things, with the Chiefs offense in flux and Saints Alvin Kamara and Taysom Hill battling injuries, there's a solid story for the undercover. While the Saints still own the NFL's top-scoring offense (31.8 points per game), they have averaged less than 20 points in their last two games. On the road at Arrowhead, with the Chiefs averaging just 23 ppg, the injuries on both ends could make the difference. Do you believe others are taking action to fill the offensive voids or not?

Full preview next Monday.

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Best bets of week 5

Austin Mock sifts through his weekly projections to find the top values ​​on the board.

Bet chosen Thursday: Cincinnati Bengals moneyline (+120) vs. Baltimore Ravens

I don't like rooting for the Bengals defense (it's very poor) against the freight train that is currently the Ravens offense. The matchup I like, though, is the Bengals offense. The Ravens are 25th in Dropback Success Rate on defense and that should get Joe Burrow and the Bengals very excited. If this total were to drop a little more, I would probably add some to that as well. Regardless, I think both offenses have a lot of potential here, but I have yet to see why the Ravens deserve to be such a heavy road favorite in Cincinnati. Mock

• Worst price to bet: Bengals moneyline (+110)

See all Mock's best bets for week 5.

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Survival pool strategy

A weekly guide to staying alive.

The bad news: Week 5 features a lot of close matchups, an international competition and several teams have byes. In other words, we were back to the chaos and uncertainty that marked the start of the season.

The good news: Our survivor columnists Renee Miller and Adam Gretz are back to talk you through NFL survival strategies, contingencies and picks for Week 5. May you be the only survivor.

Get this week's best survival pool tip.

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Jake Ciely's Week 5 fantasy football player rankings

Your top QB, RB, WR and TE for the week?

Lamar Jackson, Jordan Mason, Nico Collins and Trey McBride.

Get Ciely's full Week 5 rankings. Plus sleepers and projections

(Top photo of Patrick Mahomes: Luke Hales/Getty Images)