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The Week 5 matchup between the San Diego Chargers and the Oakland Raiders should be a high-scoring affair. We've got the fantasy projections courtesy of numberFire.
San Diego Chargers
The bad news is that running back Melvin Gordon only has 71 rushing yards in the last two weeks combined. The good news is that he has three touchdowns over that span and is proving to be really good at catching passes out of the backfield. The Oakland Raiders rank seventh in the NFL in defending fantasy running backs. Gordon should have more room to run in Week 5. With Danny Woodhead and Keenan Allen out for the year with knee injuries, it’s obvious that the team’s top offensive weapon is its second-year rusher.
The only other player that has as much to do with the Chargers offense as Gordon is the guy who calls the shots under center. That would be quarterback Philip Rivers. Despite failing to lead his team over the New Orleans Saints in Week 4, fantasy owners were still happy with Rivers’ numbers. He threw for 321 yards and two touchdowns. Only two teams give up more points to fantasy quarterbacks than Oakland, so don’t be surprised if Rivers flirts with 350 passing yards and a trio of touchdowns in Week 5. Those kind of numbers would push him far above his projected point totals.
Oakland Raiders
Quarterback Derek Carr led the Oakland Raiders to an impressive victory over the Baltimore Ravens in Week 4. His stat line read like this: 25 completions, 199 yards and four touchdown passes. Baltimore did a good job limiting Carr’s opportunities down the field, but they couldn’t stop him from connecting with wide receiver Michael Crabtree. This week will be a different story. The San Diego Chargers have already been in their share of shootouts and Week 5 is going to be another one. With home field advantage, it would be foolish to expect anything less than for Carr to go shot for shot with Philip Rivers. Three-hundred yards and three touchdowns is definitely within reach for Carr in what should be a close, but high-scoring game.
The aforementioned Crabtree should reap some of the benefits of the upcoming matchup. Crabtree caught seven of 12 targets for 88 yards and three touchdowns against the Ravens. He has been outplaying teammate Amari Cooper lately. Crabtree isn’t usually a top fantasy wide receiver but another big game against the Chargers could have fantasy owners relying on him as a No. 1 receiver moving forward. Cooper may be number one on the team’s depth chart, but he’s not the top producing receiver on the team right now. That title belongs to Crabtree.