Sunday Aftermath: Jeremiyah Love's Struggles, The Packers' Outburst, And More

On the day they traded Marvin Harrison Jr., the Cardinals probably couldn’t help but wonder if Jeremiyah Love will be next. Not next month or even next year, but some inevitable time down the line. It’s been that kind of decade for the Birds, who never really got up to highway speeds with Kyler Murray, and remained stuck in neutral with Harrison. Rather consciously or not, Love seems to have internalized that this is a place that wastes its young talent, and it seems to have made him miserable.

For their part, the Cardinals seem determined to prove him right. Love’s most unassailable usage came in their second game — of the preseason. That’s where he picked up an ankle injury still bothering him to this day. Love was fit to be unleashed on August 13 against the Raiders but apparently not on September 13 against the Chargers. He had fewer touches in the Cardinals’ season opener (13) than he did against the Silver and Black (14).

That’s a number he’s risen above just twice in five regular season appearances. If you draft a running back at No. 3 overall, it is presumably to do everything. You can’t take an RB in the top five if they are going to be part of a committee. But the Cardinals seem to barely trust Love to do anything. Tyler bleeping Allgeier, who caught 61 passes during the entirety of his rookie contract, is the Cards’ third down and two-minute drill back. “Make it make sense,” you say, but you know you can’t.

Now nursing long-term injuries to both ankles in addition to his ego, Love seems unlikely to “get right” any time soon. Fantasy managers just have to pray it is before he meets the seemingly irrestible fate of all top-five Cardinals skill players: A ticket out of Arizona.

Five Week 5 Storylines

Jordan Love and the Packers finally play the offense they promised in the offseason. Laid low by their postseason devastation at the hands of the Bears, the Packers pledged to remake their system. They wanted to get the ball in their best players’ hands more often, and they wanted to better “finish” contests. Aka not take their foot off the gas and treat the second half as if the goal were to get the clock to zero rather than score the most points. The project had not been going too well through the first four weeks of the season. It turns out all they needed to get it right was the Bears themselves — and their backup quarterback. Yes, this was not the same Chicago team Green Bay will face later this year and perhaps again in the playoffs. But it was a demon that needed to be slayed, and it was done in spectacular fashion. If you watched the game, it felt like Love was completing a deep pass every other play. That’s because he was. Love’s 252 “completed air yards” were the most of his career. The Pack have been wanting to air out. They have finally done so. Hopefully it’s a taste of what’s to come instead of the precursor to another one of coach Matt LaFleur’s patented retreats.

Bears look human without Caleb Williams and Kyle Monangai. Which brings us to Chicago. Arguably no team had been flying higher despite the absence of its franchise player and starting quarterback. They had defeated teams with both their No. 2 and No. 3 quarterbacks. It seemed Ben Johnson could do no wrong. Maybe he can’t, but he was finally wronged by Tyson Bagent. There can only be so much smoke and so many mirrors. Sunday the smoke evaporated, the mirrors were smashed, and the Bears were vividly reminded of Williams’ importance, even if he doesn’t implement Johnson’s offense with the same precision as his automaton backups. Williams is a blunt-force instrument that both Johnson and fantasy managers desperately need. It appears we will finally get him in Week 6 against the Falcons.  

Snakebitten TreVeyon Henderson re-injures ankle. First off, it’s never a good thing when the word “latest” appears before the phrase “ankle injury.” That’s what Henderson is dealing with. Slated for a Monday MRI, missed time appears all but guaranteed. It, obviously, is the last thing Henderson or fantasy managers needed after a slow start to the 2026 season where Henderson failed to take advantage of Rhamondre Stevenson’s ongoing miscues. As unwanted as a potential injured reserve placement might be, it could buy players time as they assess their next move with a runner who seemed unlikely to force his way back into the RB2 ranks any time soon. If Henderson goes week to week, things get tougher with byes beginning in earnest and injuries mounting. In the meantime, “Corey Kiner” is now the next man up for the Pats.

Things get worse for the Eagles; It’s unclear how they’ll get better. The good news: The Eagles converted a third down. They even scored a few second half points. Emphasis on “a few” since it was only three, but yeah. Miraculously, they were somehow in position to win until one of the worst special teams mistakes in recent memory. That was the only near miracle in a game where Will Shipley joined Saquon Barkley, DeVonta Smith and Tank Bigsby on the shelf. Now the Eagles’ already-depleted depth is in the “Dameon Pierce zone,” with the even more ominous “Jaydon Blue zone” lurking. There’s no true “fix” here, and will be no hope of any kind until Barkley and Smith return. Until then, Jalen Hurts can no longer be treated as a QB1.

Justin Herbert goes from benchable to droppable. The only thing the Eagles really have going for themselves right now is that they’re not the Chargers. The sheer scale of the disaster is beyond Herbert’s control, but it’s a simple fact that even in the very worst setups, if you are a good quarterback, you won’t typically have five total touchdowns compared to nine total turnovers. We already stopped starting Herbert several weeks ago. Now it would appear the only appropriate course of action is dropping him. He also belongs outside the top 24 in superflex leagues until something changes. With basically everyone else hurt, it’s unclear what that fabled “change” might be.

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Five More 5 Storylines

Marvin Harrison Jr. shipped to the Texans amidst the Sunday afternoon action. In the scope of the wider football world, a former top-five overall pick was just traded in part for a second-rounder. Better compensation than most were expecting, but a disastrous outcome for the Cardinals two years after they spent the No. 4 overall selection. Either way, a fascinating story. By our narrower fantasy football purview, however, the takeaway is … new Kayshon Boutte just dropped? Because whatever the Texans’ project for “MHJ” is, it’s going to be long term. For now, they just need someone else to clear space opposite Nico Collins, and to hopefully credibly fill in whenever Collins suffers his next soft-tissue injury. C.J. Stroud is playing much better than anyone who watched the 2025-26 postseason could have expected, but Harrison’s fantasy fortunes probably don’t rise above those of a volatile WR4 for the time being.

Slumping David Montgomery lost to injury vs. Titans. Harrison arrives in Houston as “D-Mont” checks out for a bit. Already amongst the league’s worst running backs this season, the last thing Montgomery needed was an injury. It compounds the problem for fantasy managers, who were facing uncomfortable questions about Montgomery’s place in their starting lineup. We should now at least get short-term clarity. D-Mont will be affixed to Week 6 benches, and perhaps beyond. If Woody Marks fares well in his absence, he will likely take over 1A duties. If he doesn’t, Montgomery comes back hopefully healthier and refreshed, perhaps as soon as Week 9 following the Texans’ Week 8 bye. Hold on if you can, but be prepared to let go if Marks hits the ground running.  

Broncos show very little following change at play-caller. About the only noticeable difference following Sean Payton’s inevitable play-calling coup was the collapse of RJ Harvey’s receiving work. Beyond that, it was more of the awful same. Barely-there QB2 returns for Bo Nix, and a complete inability for Jaylen Waddle to post WR2 numbers. Waddle has now finished below 40 yards receiving in 4-of-5 games as a Bronco, and below 20 in 3-of-5. I have tried to keep the WR2 faith, but how long can you keep ranking a player like that in the top 24? The answer is “no longer,” at least for Thursday’s short-week date with the Seahawks’ dominant pass D.

Deebo Samuel goes down for Niners offense running low on players. The 49ers actually got the best of that dominant Seattle pass defense, but they did so with another low-key performance from their nominal No. 2 receiver. Samuel went down like a ton of bricks on a third quarter rushing fumble, to the point onlookers were worried he had suffered a severe head injury. Instead it was a severe hamstring pull, the kind of issue that has frequently been Samuel’s Niners and fantasy downfall. Already struggling to produce despite a golden setup, Samuel could end up a drop if you can’t stash him on an I.R. spot. The returns have just not been strong enough, and Samuel’s injury recoveries have a way of lingering.

Jaylen Warren continues to look like the best player on the Steelers. The question is: Will it matter with Rico Dowdle (toe) close to return? It seems like the answer should be a no-brainer “yes” but when you spend the first four seasons of your career in a committee, you quickly become a typecast player. Even if you provide gangbusters returns on bell-cow usage like Warren has done the past three weeks, coaching staffs tend to psych themselves out with the “so and so has never handled these kinds of workloads before” line of thinking. It’s certainly true Warren has never handled these kinds of workloads. Each of the three highest snap percentages of his career have come in the past three weeks. But he’s held up remarkably well under the pounding. Any player is more likely to get hurt if they are on the field more. Hopefully the Steelers don’t mistake that league-wide generality for a Warren specific.  

Questions

1. How does the NFC East go winless in a week where two of its teams were playing each other?

2. Justin Herbert and Tua Tagovailoa are imploding at the same time. Did a star die or a moon explode somewhere?

3. Remember when Deshaun Watson was “back”?

Early Waivers Look (Players rostered in less than 50 percent of Yahoo leagues)

QB: Kirk Cousins (vs. BUF), Aaron Rodgers (@TB), Michael Penix Jr. (vs. CHI), Jameis Winston (vs. NO), Jalon Daniels (vs. PIT)
RB: Keaton Mitchell, Kendre Miller, Dameon Pierce, Samaje Perine, Kimani Vidal, Raheim Sanders, Corey Kiner
WR: Malik Washington, Keon Coleman, Keenan Allen, Tre Tucker, Adonai Mitchell, Kendrick Bourne, Derius Cooper
TE: Brenton Strange, Chig Okonkwo, Darren Waller, Pat Freiermuth, Tyler Higbee
DEF: 49ers (vs. WAS), Giants (vs. NO), Colts (vs. TEN), Panthers (@PHI)

Stats of the Week

Braelon Allen's 116 yards rushing against the Browns were nearly double his previous career high of 59. We finally got proof of plug-and-play RB2 concept.

Titans pain stat of the week via Buck Reising: “Robert Saleh’s 0-5 start with the Titans is worse than both of Brian Callahan’s first two seasons. 1-3 in 2024, 1-4 in 2025.”

185. That’s how many pass attempts C.J. Stroud has gone without an interception to begin the season. Rattle that stat off to someone who just woke up from a coma they went into following the Texans’ Divisional Round loss.

Awards Section 

Week 5 Fantasy All-Pro Team: QB Drake Maye, RB Jahmyr Gibbs, RB Jaylen Warren, WR Christian Watson, WR Parker Washington, WR Malik Nabers, TE Isaiah Likely

Week 5 All Bank Examiner Squad: QB Justin Herbert, RB Omarion Hampton, RB Jeremiyah Love, WR CeeDee Lamb, WR Jaylen Waddle, WR Carnell Tate, TE Mark Andrews

The Very Worst Play In The History Of The Sport Award: The Commanders’ walk-off clock 0:00ing.

How Does It Rain Exactly 2.7 Inches Every Game Award: MetLife Stadium.

The Please God Anything But That Andddddd You Did It Award: Tua Tagovailoa.