Welcome to the Week 5 Blitz Pickup, where we review the most interesting facts, figures and notes from every NFL game each week. Just like a running back hitting a crucial chip on a blitzing linebacker, we’re going to make sure nothing gets by, all so you can make the plays you need to reach fantasy football paydirt. It’s down, it’s dirty. It’s the Week 5 Blitz Pickup!

Note: All point totals and rankings are PPR unless otherwise noted.

Check out the Blitz Pickup from previous weeks

Week 1 Blitz Pickup Week 2 Blitz Pickup

Week 3 Blitz Pickup Week 4 Blitz Pickup

Week 5 Blitz Pickup: Thursday Night

Colts 12 at Broncos 9 (OT)

Matt Ryan has thrown seven interceptions through five games, as many as Carson Wentz had in all of 2021… After Nyheim Hines was knocked out of the game just three plays in, Deon Jackson and Phillip Lindsay split snaps 46-30… Jackson had career highs in carries (13) and yards (62) and also caught the first four targets of his career for 29 additional yards. He also had the only Colts’ redzone target of the game… It was Lindsay’s first game action of the season… Although Alec Pierce played just 59.5 percent of snaps, he led the Colts with 8 eight catches on nine targets for 81 yards… Tight end continues to be a three-headed monster in Indianapolis, though Kylen Granson held a slight lead in snaps and targets…

Russell Wilson threw multiple interceptions without a touchdown for the sixth time in his career… In the first game without Javonte Williams, Melvin Gordon out-snapped Mike Boone 41-30 and out-touched him 18-10, including six to one in the redzone… Courtland Sutton saw double-digit targets for the third time in five games. He is currently the only Denver receiver with even one such game this season… Eric Saubert led Bronco tight ends in snaps and targets… Albert Okwuegbunam played fewer snaps than any of the Broncos’ other three tight ends…

Week 5 Blitz Pickup: International Series- London

Giants 27 at Packers 22

Daniel Jones passed for over 200 yards for the first time this season… Jones had 10 rushing attempts for the second time this season… Saquon Barkley is averaging 5.5 yards per carry, which would be the highest in his career… Darius Slayton saw seven targets in the game. Only Sterling Shepard has seen more in a game this season among Giant wideouts… Marcus Johnson led the Giant wide receivers in snaps and subsequently caught his first three targets of the season… Kadarius Toney and Wan’Dale Robinson each missed the game… Daniel Bellinger took his first career rushing attempt for a touchdown…

Aaron Rodgers has thrown for both two touchdowns and over 200 yards in each of the past four games… Aaron Jones led AJ Dillon in snaps 46-20… Dillon had just six attempts in the game, but averaged 5.7 yards per carry… Randall Cobb saw 13 targets, his most since Week 15 of 2017… Allen Lazard led Green Bay wideouts in snaps and caught a touchdown for the third time in four games this year… Christian Watson injured a hamstring during the game and will miss Week 6… Despite seeing only one target (his first of the season,) Marcedes Lewis caught his first touchdown since Week 12 of 2020…

Week 5 Blitz Pickup: Sunday Early Games

Dolphins 17 at Jets 40

When Teddy Bridgewater was knocked from the game on his first pass attempt, rookie Skylar Thompson made his professional debut and played the rest of the game… Bridgewater is in concussion protocol. As a result, Thompson is possible to start Week 6 with Tua Tagovailoa out and Bridgewater possibly unavailable… Raheem Mostert led the Miami running backs with 46 snaps. Chase Edmonds saw just 10… It was the fourth straight week Mostert led the Dolphins’ backfield in snaps and carries… Myles Gaskin led the backfield with five targets in his first game action of the season. Gaskin was previously the team’s leading rusher in 2020 and 2021… Tyreek Hill is tied for seventh in targets among wide receivers so far this season…

Zach Wilson had his first rushing touchdown of the year… Breece Hall had his first career 100 yard receiving game and also set a career high with 18 carries… In 25 snaps, Michael Carter had 12 touches… Corey Davis, Garrett Wilson, and Elijah Moore all saw four targets… Despite playing just one fewer snap than C.J. Uzomah, Tyler Conklin saw only one target and failed to catch a pass for the first time this year…

Chargers 30 at Browns 28

After not scoring in the first three weeks of the season, Austin Ekeler had touchdowns rushing and receiving for the second consecutive game… Although I made the bold statement last week that Sony Michel appeared to have taken command of the backup running back position, Michel saw just one carry. In contrast, Joshua Kelley had 10 carries and two catches with a touchdown… Mike Williams had a career-high 10 catches on 13 targets. It was the third time he’s seen double-digit targets on the year…

Nick Chubb (RB2 overall) leads all running backs in yards (593) and touchdowns (seven) and is second in attempts (98)… Kareem Hunt finally scored for the first time since Week 1… After seeing three targets in Week 4, David Bell saw just one for the third time in his four games… Amari Cooper has seen double-digit targets in three of four games and has correspondingly scored in each of those games… Pharaoh Brown saw his first snaps for Cleveland since 2019… David Njoku is tied for eighth in tight end targets, but tied for fifth in receptions…

Steelers 3 at Bills 38

Kenny Pickett threw for 327 yards in his first career start, but failed to throw a touchdown… It was the highest yardage total for a Steelers’ quarterback since Ben Roethlisberger in Week 16 of 2020… Although out-snapped by Jaylen Warren for the first time this season, Najee Harris still led the Steelers in carries… Diontae Johnson (WR32) has seen at least 10 targets in four of five games, but has yet to score… Johnson is the highest-scoring fantasy receiver without a touchdown so far… Pat Freiermuth suffered a concussion that will subsequently keep him out for Week 6…

Josh Allen threw for over 400 yards for the second time this season… Despite the Bills’ leading for the vast majority of the game, no Bills’ running back had more than six carries… Following his 98 yard touchdown reception on the game’s opening drive, Gabriel Davis had a 62 yard touchdown catch as well… Stefon Diggs had over 100 yards receiving and a touchdown for the third time this year, but the first time in three weeks… While Dawson Knox missed the game, Quintin Morris saw his most extensive action of the season (38 snaps, three receptions on five targets)…

Bears 22 at Vikings 29

Justin Fields had his first 200 yard passing game on the year, while throwing for just his third score… In his first game action since a Week 3 injury, David Montgomery led the Bears in rushing attempts and scored a touchdown… Be that as it may, Montgomery averaged just 1.7 yards per carry… Velus Jones, Jr. caught his first career target for a touchdown… Cole Kmet had his best fantasy performance of the season, albeit with only 8.5 points (four catches for 45 yards)…

Kirk Cousins had 296 yards passing for his highest total on the year… Furthermore, Cousins (QB12) has thrown at least one touchdown in every game this season… Dalvin Cook had two touchdowns for the first time this season… Consequently, it was Cook’s best fantasy score of the year (26.1) by far… While second to Cooper Kupp in targets and receptions, Justin Jefferson leads all receivers with 547 yards on the year… Jefferson (WR3) has had 30+ fantasy points in three of five games… Jalen Reagor caught his only target for his first touchdown since Week 7 of 2021 with the Eagles…

Lions 0 at Patriots 29

The top-ranked Lions’ offense was shut out for the first time since 2020… Jared Goff did not throw a touchdown, but threw an interception for the fourth time in five games… With D’Andre Swift unavailable because of injury, Craig Reynolds led the Lions’ backfield in snaps and targets… Jamaal Williams led the Lions’ running backs in carries and rushing yards… Josh Reynolds matched his season-high with 10 targets and has now scored at least 15.2 fantasy points in three straight games… Amon-Ra St. Brown has not scored a touchdown since Week 2 and scored just 5.8 fantasy points, his lowest total since Week 11 of last season… One week after his best career fantasy performance, T.J. Hockenson was held to just one catch for six yards… Detroit is on the bye in Week 6, which will give its injured starters an opportunity to heal up some…

Bailey Zappe threw a touchdown in his first career start… Mac Jones will be questionable for Week 6… Damien Harris suffered a hamstring injury that may keep him out multiple weeks… In Harris’s absence, Rhamondre Stevenson had a career-high 164 rush yards… Tyquan Thornton played 25 snaps in his NFL debut and was second among the Patriots’ receivers with three targets… Jakobi Meyers led New England wideouts with 48 snaps played and seven catches on eight targets… With Jonnu Smith out, Hunter Henry had his most prolific day of the season thus far, with four catches on five targets for 54 yards…

Seahawks 32 at Saints 39

Geno Smith (QB6) had a season-high three touchdowns, the fourth time he’s thrown multiple scores in a game this season… Smith (113.15) is currently the highest-rated starting quarterback in the league… Rashaad Penny broke his leg and will miss the rest of the season… Kenneth Walker III scored his first career touchdown on a 69 yard run… Tyler Lockett scored his first two touchdowns of the season and tied Davante Adams for WR3 overall on the week… Noah Fant and Will Dissly have both seen over 30 snaps a game. For the season, Fant has caught 13 of 16 targets for 105 yards and a score. Dissly is 15/16 for 137 yards and three touchdowns. Colby Parkinson has seen just seven targets, but has caught six for 115 yards and a score… Dissly is currently TE13 on the season…

Andy Dalton started his second game in a row and has been announced as the Week 6 starter, as Jameis Winston deals with a back injury… Alvin Kamara (194) had his highest total yardage since Week 3 of 2020, but is yet to score on the year… With Michael Thomas missing another game, Chris Olave once again was the leading wideout for New Orleans on just 40.3 percent of snaps… Olave left the game under concussion protocol and is questionable for Week 6… Taysom Hill had a career day on the ground, rushing nine times for 112 yards and three scores. He also threw for a touchdown… Hill is TE7 overall in spite of the fact he has only one reception on the year. Most of his production has come from under center…

Falcons 15 at Buccaneers 21

Marcus Mariota had his most efficient rushing day of the year, averaging 8.7 yards on seven carries… Mariota is sixth in the league in quarterback rushing yards… Tyler Allgeier led the Falcons’ backfield in snaps and carries, but Avery Williams got the lone touchdown for the group on just three carries and two receptions… Drake London has a 33.1 percent target share, good for third among wideouts in the league… Kyle Pitts was held out due to injury but looks to be on-track to play in Week 6…

Tom Brady attempted 52 passes for the second straight game and is third in the league with 207 attempts this year… Brady has not thrown an interception since Week 1… Leonard Fournette and Rachaad White have split snaps roughly 60/40 the last two weeks, but Fournette nonetheless continues to see the vast bulk of the workload, with 24 touches in Week 5 to just eight for White… In two games since returning from injury, Chris Godwin has caught 13 of 16 targets… With Cameron Brate out, rookie Cade Otton took 93.7 percent of snaps at tight end…

Titans 21 at Commanders 17

Derrick Henry had his second straight 100 yard rushing game and his first multiple-score game of the season… Henry has also caught 10 of his 14 targets thus far… Hassan Haskins has not had a rushing attempt since Week 2… Robert Woods led the Titans’ wideouts in receiving, but has yet to score more than 13 fantasy points on the year… Geoff Swaim and Austin Hooper played 42 and 34 snaps, respectively, but each saw only one target… The Titans will be on the bye in Week 6…

Carson Wentz threw for 359 yards, his most since Week 5 last season… Wentz (QB7) is second in the league in pass attempts through five games… Rookie Brian Robinson led the team with nine carries in his NFL debut, just two months after being shot as the victim in a carjacking… Antonio Gibson saw only three rush attempts on two more snaps than Robinson… Dyami Brown had two catches for 105 yards and his first two career scores… Jahan Dotson missed the game with injury… Curtis Samuel has had zero rush attempts the last two weeks after having eight through the first three games… Starting tight end Logan Thomas also missed the game with injury…

Texans 13 at Jaguars 6

Dameon Pierce had a career-best 26 carries and scored for the third week in a row… Rex Burkhead played just 12 snaps, his lowest usage of the year… Brandin Cooks and Nico Collins each had four receptions on six targets. No other Houston wideout was targeted in the game… O.J. Howard led the team’s tight ends in snaps for the second straight game… Houston is one of four teams on the bye in Week 6…

Trevor Lawrence failed to throw a touchdown pass for the first time this year. He threw multiple interceptions for the first time as well… Travis Etienne has closed the gap on touches with James Robinson the last two weeks, and has also out-snapped him in both games… After averaging nine targets per game through the first month of the season, Christian Kirk saw only three targets… Evan Engram had season-highs in targets and yards…

Week 5 Blitz Pickup: Sunday Late Games

Eagles 20 at Cardinals 17

Jalen Hurts (QB3) has rushed for at least one touchdown in four of five games. He has thrown for at least one touchdown in two games this season… Miles Sanders (RB12) averaged just 3.9 yards per carry in the game… A.J. Brown had his lowest fantasy output of the season and has scored just one touchdown on the year (Week 3)… DeVonta Smith had 10 catches on 11 targets… Dallas Goedert had season highs in catches and targets, going eight of nine… Goedert is third in the league for tight end receiving yards this season…

Kyler Murray had his best rushing game of the season with four carries for 42 yards… James Conner, Darrel Williams, and Jonathan Ward were all injured in the game… Ward will head to IR. Conner and Williams are out for Week 6… Eno Benjamin got his first touchdown on the year… After one target in Week 4, Greg Dortch did not see a pass thrown his way in Week 5… Rondale Moore caught seven of eight, while Marquise Brown caught eight of ten… Zach Ertz saw 10 targets for the third time this season…

49ers 37 at Panthers 15

Jimmy Garoppolo has thrown a touchdown in every game he’s played this season. He had two in Week 5… Jeff Wilson, Jr. had his fourth career 100 yard game… Marlon Mack was released after Week 5… Deebo Samuel had a season-low four touches, but scored for the second week in a row… George Kittle was targeted a season-best six times… Robbie Gould left the game with a left (non-kicking leg) knee contusion…

Baker Mayfield did not throw a touchdown for the first time this year… Mayfield suffered a high ankle sprain that may cause him to miss several weeks… Christian McCaffrey saw 12 targets, his most since Week 16 of 2019… McCaffrey’s target share of 22.9 leads all running backs… Terrace Marshall caught all four of his targets, his first on the year…

Cowboys 22 at Rams 10

Cooper Rush has not thrown an interception since taking over in the wake of Dak Prescott‘s injury… Although Ezekiel Elliott had 22 carries to just eight for Tony Pollard, Pollard led the team in rush yards and scored the Cowboys’ lone offensive touchdown… Pollard is averaging 5.6 yards per rush to just 3.8 for Elliott, but Elliott has 81 attempts on the year to just 44 for Pollard… CeeDee Lamb leads the league in wide receiver target share with a 35.0 tally… In Michael Gallup‘s second game back from injury, Noah Brown saw just two targets… Dalton Schultz has not caught a pass since Week 2, and has seen just 4 targets in the last two games (one in Week 5)… Schultz left the game with an injury and did not return…

Matthew Stafford has thrown seven interceptions to just five touchdowns this season and is QB26… Cam Akers took all 13 running back rush attempts in the game. Darrell Henderson was used exclusively in the pass game, catching four of five targets… Cooper Kupp leads the league in wideout targets (64) and is second with a 33.7 percent target share… Ben Skowronek has seen a 12.6 percent target share. Allen Robinson II has a 12.1 percent share… Tyler Higbee (TE6) has a 25.3 percent target share, second in the league among tight ends to only Mark Andrews… Higbee is the highest-ranked tight end without a touchdown thus far this season…

Week 5 Blitz Pickup: Sunday Night

Bengals 17 at Ravens 19

Joe Burrow has at least one touchdown in every game this season… Burrow threw his first interception since throwing four in Week 1… Joe Mixon had his most efficient running game of the season, averaging 5.6 yards on 14 carries… Mixon ranks sixth in total targets among running backs… Tee Higgins left the game with an ankle injury and is questionable for Week 5… In Higgins’s absence, Hayden Hurst had season highs in receptions and yardage, and scored for the second week in a row…

Lamar Jackson leads all quarterbacks in rushing with 374 yards and has the highest rush share of any non-running back at 36.8… Jackson has thrown at least one touchdown in every game, but also has an interception in all but one… Kenyan Drake played 27 snaps to 26 for J.K. Dobbins… Dobbins out-touched Drake eight to five… Drake had not been active since Week 2… Rashod Bateman missed the game with a foot injury and has been ruled out for Week 6 as well… Devin Duvernay was the leading Baltimore receiver while playing two fewer snaps than Demarcus Robinson, who saw only two targets… Mark Andrews has the highest target share of any non-wide receiver in the league at 32.9. That figure is good for fourth among all players…

Week 5 Blitz Pickup: Monday Night

Raiders 29 at Chiefs 30

Josh Jacobs had 154 yards and scored for the second straight game. Jacobs is third in rushing yards and is RB4 overall on the year so far… Jacobs has the highest rush share of any back with a mark of 79.1 percent… Davante Adams had his first multiple-touchdown game as a Raider, but was charged with misdemeanor assault for pushing a cameraman following the loss and may face a suspension from the league… Hunter Renfrow caught all four of his targets for just 25 yards in returning from injury… Darren Waller suffered a hamstring injury and left the game without seeing a target… The Raiders are on the bye in Week 6…

Patrick Mahomes leads the league in touchdown passes (15) and has thrown multiple scores in all but one game… Clyde Edwards-Helaire led the Chiefs’ running backs in rush attempts and targets, but Jerick McKinnon led in snaps played and was far more effective in averaging 6.6 yards per rush to just 1.7 for CEH… Edwards-Helaire is RB8 on the year. His 6.5 points in Week 5 were his first game of the season with less than 14.9… JuJu Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling are separated by just three receptions and one yard on the season. Neither has caught a touchdown pass yet… Travis Kelce (TE1) had seven catches on eight targets for just 25 yards… Oh, yeah, he tied a Chiefs’ record with four touchdown catches. His previous career-high had been two scores, on numerous occasions…

Challenge Chase!

Ever wonder how you stack up against the experts? Now’s your chance to find out! You can utilize what you learned in the Week 5 Blitz Pickup, and use teams you’ve already drafted to take me on for weekly bragging rights with Flex Fantasy. Visit https://www.flex.fan/bellyup to sign up and challenge me, as I’ll be using lineups from my own home leagues. You can play for fun, play for money, or play for both! Look for SttChaseFFB’s teams in the Flex Fantasy Arena and sign up today. I promise I won’t rub it in (much) when I win. Got something to say? Leave a comment below, follow me on Twitter @SttChaseFFB, and catch me on the Belly Up Fantasy Live podcast Sundays and Wednesdays all season long. Slàinte!