The Buffalo Bills and Houston Texans will take center stage Sunday afternoon in the marquee game of Week 5. While the Stefon Diggs reunion is the focal point, it’s also a contest that should feature plenty of fantasy football fireworks with so much talent on the field.
Buffalo’s offense is in desperate need of a bounce-back game after getting shut down by the Baltimore Ravens last week. Meanwhile, Houston’s star-studded attack has shown some promising signs over the first four games, but it’s still searching for peak form.
Sunday’s kickoff at NRG Stadium is set for 1 p.m. ET on CBS.
Bills-Texans Fantasy Football Key Storylines (Week 5)
Buffalo: Josh Allen Injuries Impacting Fantasy Stock
Josh Allen is coming off a forgettable performance against the Ravens. He didn’t account for any touchdowns and got sacked three times before getting removed from the game in the fourth quarter because of the lopsided score. Baltimore won 35-10.
While it was a concerning result for Allen and the Bills as a whole, the bigger-picture issue is the superstar quarterback’s increasingly banged-up body.
The 28-year-old University of Wyoming product rushed nine times and scored two touchdowns on the ground in the team’s Week 1 win over the Arizona Cardinals. He suffered an injury to his non-throwing hand after leaping into the end zone, though:
Cannot stop watching this @JoshAllenQB touchdown.
#GoBills | #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/xU0dd6BLOT
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) September 8, 2024
Allen has tallied just 11 total carries in the three games since the injury. He also hasn’t scored a rushing touchdown during that stretch. For a player who relies heavily on rushing production to bolster his fantasy production, that’s a massive hit.
Meanwhile, the signal-caller took a beating against Baltimore last week. That includes a failed trick play where he both appeared to put a lot of stress on his throwing elbow while following through with an empty hand and hit his head on the subsequent hit:
The four plays before the disastrous “trick play” call where our franchise QB nearly got injured…
24-yard pass to Keon Coleman
WHY GET CUTE
#BillsMafia | #NFL pic.twitter.com/4JuMjW6RGR
— Buffalo Sports Talk (@BUFSportsTalk) September 30, 2024
Nobody is willing to risk their body more than the Bills quarterback. He’s spent his entire career trying to run through (or leap over) opposing defenders to gain extra yards. Those hits tend to take a cumulative toll over the course of 17-plus games, though.
Allen will never see a fantasy bench when active. His upside is too high. He’s one of the few QBs who can single-handedly win a week for a fantasy manager.
That said, expectations should be kept within reason until Allen produces one of his trademark monster scores to show he’s healthy again. He’s a fringe top-10 option for Week 5.
Houston: Dalton Schultz Production Will Finally Arrive
Schultz was expected to take a step back in the Texans’ offensive pecking order this season. The arrival of Diggs to play alongside Nico Collins and Tank Dell left the passing game with too many weapons and not enough targets to go around. It’s still worse than expected for the Houston tight end, though.
The Utah native hasn’t caught more than three passes in any game. He’s yet to score a touchdown. His season-high target total is five. The list of concerning numbers goes on and on.
Houston #Texans really need Dalton Schultz to get more involved. Schultz has run the most routes of tight ends but is only accounting for 10% of the targets and 7% of receiving yards. pic.twitter.com/kLmNDrFtVC
— TexansCap (@TexansCap) October 2, 2024
Yet, if there’s a chance of a breakout game, it could be against the Bills. Buffalo owns perhaps the NFL’s best cornerback group in Rasul Douglas, Christian Benford and Taron Johnson, who returned to practice this week after being sidelined by a forearm injury.
Although that trio gives the Bills a chance to slow down the Texans’ elite WR trio, they seemingly don’t have an answer for Schultz in the middle of the field. The Buffalo linebacker group has been decimated by injuries, led by Matt Milano, one of the most effective LBs at shutting down opposing TEs.
Schultz should finally be able to translate his routes into targets, catches and yards as a result. He’ll also have a golden opportunity to score his first touchdown of the campaign.
His first standout game of the season would come at a perfect time, too. Most fantasy managers are likely on the verge of dropping him to the waiver wire. Another lackluster performance against the Bills would probably make that the right decision.
Main Image: Tommy Gilligan – USA Today Sports
The post Bills-Texans Fantasy: Josh Allen Concern; Dalton Schultz Breakout appeared first on Last Word on Pro Football.