Many fantasy football managers love to stream the QB position every week by simply playing the matchups weekly. Here are some of the fantasy quarterbacks you should try to avoid starting due to bad matchups heading into Week 5 of NFL action.
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Fantasy Matchups Week 5: Avoid These QBs
Trevor Lawrence vs. Buffalo Bills
No defense in the league has been stingier against opposing QBs through the first month of the season than the Buffalo Bills.
This isn’t exactly music to the ears of those who invested high draft capital on Jacksonville Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence in hopes of a breakout year in 2023.
The fact that Lawrence has just one top-15 fantasy finish at the QB position should tell you all you need to know about his slow start this season.
Sure, it’s not all his fault. Zay Jones is injured, Calvin Ridley has a case of the dropsies, and there have been questions about the play-calling. But Lawrence just isn’t quite where we hoped he would be heading into this season.
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Unfortunately, the Bills don’t exactly look like the best opportunity for a get-right game. They are allowing an average of just 9.6 fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks this season, which is the best in the league.
The Bills losing CB Tre’Davious White may hurt them a bit, but they have been collectively good enough across the board this season that I expect them to maintain that level of play against the struggling Jags offense this week.
Derek Carr vs. New England Patriots
To say Derek Carr didn’t look quite right against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 4 feels like a bit of an understatement.
Derek Carr’s shoulder injury showed up on these consecutive targets to Chris Olave pic.twitter.com/vtkPGnm8p4
— Matt Waldman (@MattWaldman)
Carr struggled to push the ball down the field against the Bucs, which completely tanked the fantasy value of WR Chris Olave in Week 4.
If you aren’t 100% right heading into your matchup against Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots defense, then you guarantee the six-time Super Bowl champion head coach is going to find a way to exploit your weakness.
The Patriots’ defense has already been one of the toughest units against opposing QBs this season, allowing an average of just 11.8 fantasy points and 196 passing yards per game in 2023.
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Unfortunately, the Pats just lost standout rookie cornerback Christian Gonzalez for the rest of the season due to an injury, which prompted the team to trade for CB J.C. Jackson to help replace him in the secondary.
I like the talent for the New Orleans Saints passing game this season, but I just don’t like their fantasy outlook against the Patriots in Week 5.
Jared Goff vs. Carolina Panthers
There are two very interesting narratives heading into this Detroit Lions vs. Carolina Panthers showdown on Sunday in the Motor City. Either Jared Goff is a must-start on your fantasy team when he plays at Ford Field, or this Panthers’ pass defense is for real.
The home/away splits for Goff from last season were staggering. He threw 23 of his 29 TD passes last season when playing at Ford Field. This year, he has twice as many TD passes at home as he does on the road.
Now, the Panthers’ defense has only allowed an average of 176 passing yards and 11 fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks.
One of these narratives is going to have to give some ground this week. Goff still feels like a fringe QB1 option this week. However, if you were to tell me after the game that this Panthers defense made life difficult through the air for Detroit, it wouldn’t surprise me one bit.
