Start Justin Fields vs. Sam Howell vs. C.J. Stroud vs. Jordan Love vs. Brock Purdy vs. Anthony Richardson vs. Jared Goff | Fantasy Football Week 5 QB Start Decision
Week 5 of the NFL season is here, and after an up-and-down start for several quarterbacks, fantasy owners are having a difficult time determining who to start.
FantasySP’s “Who Should I Start?” tool is loaded with trending decisions at quarterback, and I’m here to try and help you make an educated decision. For this discussion, we’ll be putting Chicago Bears’ Justin Fields, Washington Commanders’ Sam Howell, Green Bay Packers’ Jordan Love, San Francisco 49ers’ Brock Purdy, Indianapolis Colts’ Anthony Richardson and Detroit Lions’ Jared Goff up against each other.
Tough start decision? We have you covered. Find out in depth stats, red zone opportunities, projections, breaking news, and crowdsourcing real fantasy owners faced with the same start/sit decision. Check out our Who Should I Start tool.
Why You Should Start Justin Fields
Fields is coming off his best game of the season in week 4. He completed 28-of-35 passes for 335 yards and four touchdowns. Turnovers were still a problem, with an interception and fumble lost. Still, it was a step in the right direction after three brutal showings to open the season.
You also have to take Fields’ showing with a grain of salt as he was facing the Denver Broncos, the worst defense in stopping opposing quarterbacks. Fields will take on a Commanders’ defense in week 5 that’s the 10th worst. Washington allows an average of 244.3 passing yards and 1.5 touchdowns, with an additional 32.8 yards (and 1 touchdown in four games) on the ground.
Fields is tied for the league lead in turnovers (7), and Washington has five takeaways. Another thing to mention is that Washington is just three sacks off the league lead, and Fields has been sacked the third-most times (17).
Fields, who should have every offensive starter alongside him (not including Chase Claypool), is the fourth-ranked quarterback in our week 5 projections.
Why You Should Start Sam Howell
Howell bounced back from a rough week 3 showing with another respectable performance against the Philadelphia Eagles in week 4. He completed 29-of-41 passes for 290 yards. He led a game-tying drive in the final minute and tossed his one touchdown as the fourth quarter clock expired.
Aside from his terrible week 3, Howell has been a pretty solid fantasy quarterback. He’s thrown for over 200 yards and at least one touchdown in three games, and has just one interception outside week 3.
Howell has a great matchup against the Bears’ defense. Chicago is currently the second-worst defense when it comes to slowing opposing quarterbacks, with an average of 22 fantasy points allowed. Need another positive from a matchup standpoint? The Bears will be without two defensive backs - Eddie Jackson and Jaylon Johnson - and could be missing a third - Jaquan Brisker.
Howell is ranked ninth in our weekly projections.
Why You Should Start C.J. Stroud
I just got done writing about Stroud and what a strong start he’s gotten off to. He’s already thrown for 1,212 yards, which is the highest amount of the quarterbacks in this discussion.
Stroud has completed 94 of his 151 passes and thrown six touchdowns. He has not thrown a pick yet. Stroud rushes when he needs to, with 51 yards and five first downs on 14 attempts.
After being sacked 11 times in weeks 1 and 2 combined, he wasn’t sacked in weeks 3 or 4. His overall stats haven’t been hurt by pressure, with his best statistical games being week 2 and week 4.
Up next for the rookie is a matchup with the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons’ defense has been average in slowing opposing quarterbacks, with 16 fantasy points allowed. Atlanta has allowed the third least passing yards, but six passing touchdowns, so the defense is a bit better than it appears.
Stroud is ranked 18th in our week 5 projections.
Why You Should Start Jordan Love
Love had one of his better statistical games in week 4 against the Lions, but two interceptions ended up hurting his overall score. J-Lo completed 23 of his 36 passes for 246 yards and a touchdown. He ran for a touchdown for the second straight week.
Love’s completion percentage was over 60% for the first time all season, but he was also sacked five times, which was twice more than in weeks 1-3 combined.
After a mini bye, the Packers will jump back into action in week 5 against the Las Vegas Raiders. It’s another favorable matchup, as the Raiders are the eighth worst team against opposing quarterbacks. QBs have averaged 213.3 yards and two touchdown passes, but haven’t done much on the ground.
Love slots in as the 14th-ranked quarterback for week 5.
Why You Should Start Brock Purdy
Purdy continues to quietly be a highly-efficient quarterback that wins games. He turned in his highest completion percentage ever against the Arizona Cardinals in week 4 after completing 20-of-21 passes. The 20 completions went for 283 yards and a touchdown. He still hasn’t thrown a pick this season.
It’s never a flashy performance, but Purdy takes care of the ball well and puts up solid fantasy points every week. One negative is that he isn’t throwing the same amount of touchdown passes this season as he did last year, but it’s still too early to tell if that will continue, or if he can average at least two a game.
Purdy will face one of his stiffest challenges as a pro when taking on the Dallas Cowboys in week 5. The Cowboys are tied with the Buffalo Bills for the least amount of fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks on average (8). The game will probably come down to whether Dallas can turn Purdy over, with seven interceptions and three fumble recoveries through four games.
The tough matchup has Purdy in 19th in the weekly projections.
Why You Should Start Anthony Richardson
Richardson had a wild statline in his team’s week 4 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Richardson completed just 11 passes on 25 attempts, but for 200 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
Despite missing the previous week with a concussion, Richardson didn’t hesitate as a runner, going for 56 yards and a touchdown on 10 attempts. He fumbled twice, losing one.
In his two full games, Richardson has shown flashes of brilliance, but also looked like a rookie with some bad decisions and turnovers. He might not be a 300+ yard passer at this point, but tacking on his rushing yards, he’ll be in the 300 total yard conversation.
Richardson will next take on a Tennessee Titans’ defense that’s been average in slowing quarterbacks so far. Quarterbacks have done their damage by passing, although the Titans haven’t faced a running threat like Richardson so far.
Richardson is fifth in the weekly projections.
Why You Should Start Jared Goff
Goff is the seasoned veteran of the group, but is playing some of his best football of his career. Goff is up to 1,029 passing yards and six touchdowns while having completed 91 of his 131 attempts. He has been intercepted three times, but hasn’t lost a fumble.
Goff has thrown for at least 200 yards and a touchdown in every game so far. His interceptions have come in the past three games. He doesn’t run all that much, but has rushed for one score already.
Goff and the Lions will face the Carolina Panthers in week 5. The Panthers have been one of the best defenses against opposing quarterbacks, allowing just 12 fantasy points a game. The Panthers have allowed the sixth fewest passing yards.
Goff slots in as the 11th-ranked quarterback in the projections.
Final Numbers and the Recommended Start
As of this publication, owners prefer Fields over Howell, Stroud, Purdy and Goff. Owners are taking Love and Richardson over Fields. I usually fall pretty much in line with what everyone is thinking, but not in this case.
I absolutely love the idea of Howell going up against a poor Bears’ defense that’s banged up and missing players. The matchup is so appealing that I’d take Howell over any of the other quarterbacks in this discussion. If he can limit his turnovers, I like him to finish as one of the top players at the position this week.
I like Love as the next best choice. He too has a favorable matchup ahead of him, and has been the best fantasy quarterback of the bunch so far. I expect another multi-touchdown day and above average showing for Love.
Give me Richardson next. He’s put up solid passing numbers despite limited completions, and his running ability adds a handful of points each week. I’m surprised to see him as the fifth-ranked quarterback this week, but believe he should at least finish in the top 10.
I’d take Stroud next. He’s facing a tough defense, but he’s simply been so good this season that I can’t put him any lower. He might not match the numbers he’s already put up, but if he takes care of the ball again, I think he’ll outscore the remaining three QBs.
I’m not super confident in this one, but I’d take Fields over Goff and Purdy. All three are guys I’d try to avoid this week given Fields’ past showings and Goff and Purdy’s really tough matchups. I’d lean Fields over the other two simply because of the matchup he has.
I’d take Purdy over Goff for my last choices. Purdy has the tougher matchup on paper, but I like his chances to score more than Goff.
Why? The Cowboys have the best defense when it comes to slowing the run, so the 49ers might be behind the chains a bunch and Purdy then would pass more. He takes care of the ball, so I trust him to avoid a ton of negative points.
If the Lions can’t pass against the Panthers, they can rely on David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs against a Panthers’ defense that struggles mightily against the run. I think Detroit will emphasize the run early and often, and that will limit what Goff can do passing.
