Week 5 fantasy winners and losers: Gurley shines, Lacy stumbles

ByScott T. Miller ESPN logo
Monday, October 12, 2015

Here's who turned in strong fantasy performances in Week 5 and who left fantasy owners wanting more.

Winners

Thomas Rawls, RB, Seattle Seahawks:With Marshawn Lynch missing his second consecutive game (hamstring), Rawls got the start again and did not disappoint. He scored 22 fantasy points, a large chunk of which came from a 69-yard touchdown run that had to make Beast Mode proud.

Devonta Freeman, RB, Atlanta Falcons:Freeman's incredible run continued Sunday, when he put up nearly 200 total yards on 34 touches against the Redskins. His 25 fantasy points bring his three-game total to 94. It's hard to imagine rookie Tevin Coleman getting a chance to win back the starting job any time soon.

Green Bay Packers D/ST: Rookie CB Quinten Rollins got the party started early for the Packers with a first-quarter pick-six of Rams QB Nick Foles. Green Bay held St. Louis to just 10 points while forcing four turnovers and scoring 22 fantasy points.

Tyrod Taylor, QB, Buffalo Bills:Taylor didn't complete a pass until halfway through thesecond quarterSunday, but thanks to a surge that included 76 rushing yards and two total TDs, Taylor posted his third game of 20-plus fantasy points this season.

Doug Martin, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers:The Muscle Hampster is baaaack! For the second consecutive game -- and the first time since his stellar rookie season -- Martin scored 19-plus fantasy points in back-to-back games.He did it behind a steady dose of carries (24) and three total touchdowns.

Tyler Eifert, TE, Cincinnati Bengals: The best way to bust out of a mini slump? Find the end zone-- twice. Eifert scored 21 points after putting up just six total in his previous two games. He now has five touchdowns on the year.

Todd Gurley, RB, St. Louis Rams:The Rams have not been shy about using their rookie RB. The past two weeks, he has 51 total touches. On Sunday against the Packers, he managed a good fantasy day (15 points), even though he didn't find the end zone.

Josh McCown, QB, Cleveland Browns:McCown passed for 457 yards on the day, the highest single-game total of his 13-year career. Thanks to three touchdowns -- including one on the ground -- the QB put up 35 fantasy against the Ravens.

Joe Flacco, QB, Baltimore Ravens:Flacco entered the week ranking 28th in Total QBR and 26th among his position mates in fantasy, so we won't blame you if you kept the Ravens' QB on your bench. Behind two rushing TDs, Flacco scored 24 fantasy points, his highest total since Week 6 last season.

Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots:Brady's revenge tour continued Sunday, as he put up his fourth consecutive outing of at least 20 points to start the season. He and Matt Hasselbeck are the only quarterbacks who have yet to throw an interception this season.

Denver Broncos D/ST:For the fourth time in five games, the Broncos' D posted a fantasy total of 17 or more points. They stuck to their usual formula against the Raiders on Sunday by forcing three turnovers, allowing 10 points and scoring a defensive touchdown via a Chris Harris Jr. pick-six.

Losers

Jeremy Hill, RB, Cincinnati Bengals:The roller coaster ride continues. A week after busting out of his early season slump with three touchdowns and 24 fantasy points, Hill only scored two points (eight carries, 13 rushing yards) against Seattle's stout defense. It was his third game this season with two points or fewer.

Eddie Lacy, RB, Green Bay Packers:Lacy has now been held without a touchdown in four consecutive games -- the longest streak of his career. To make matters worse, the RB didn't seem to be a big part of the Packers' game plan, as he got just 13 carries.

Mike Evans, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers:Evans' slow start to the season continues, as he has scored just 17 fantasy points all season. He appeared to have a good matchup Sunday (Jacksonville), but Evans compiled only three catches and 41 yards.

Mark Ingram, RB, New Orleans Saints:Game flow did not go in Ingram's favor this week, as the Eagles pulled away from the Saints in the third quarter. New Orleans ran the ball just 21 times, and Ingram received 12 of those carries. But Philly's stout run defense held him to just six fantasy points.

Randall Cobb, WR, Green Bay Packers:After his 28-point performance on Monday Night Football against the Chiefs, Cobb has been held in check the past two games and has scored just six points (eight catches, 67 yards). Part of the problem is Green Bay's offense has quietly been in a slump, with just four touchdowns the past two weeks.

Ameer Abdullah, RB, Detroit Lions:No one was expecting a huge game from Abdullah against Arizona's suffocating defense. But even with those low expectations, Sunday was a disaster for the rookie RB, who managed negative-1 fantasy points, thanks to two costly fumbles.

Peyton Manning, QB, Denver Broncos:For the third time in five games this season, Manning failed to post double-digit fantasy points, as he scored just six against the Raiders on Sunday. For some perspective, he had the same number of single-digit outputs in his previous 55 games.