Fantasy Football Week 5 scoring leaders: Sunday’s Top performers

Editor’s note: This post will take a look at the top Fantasy Football Week 5 scoring leaders and top performers from Sunday’sgames.

Week 5 in the NFL featured plenty of great fantasy football action with big weeks from some big names as well as some surprise producers.  Peyton Manning threw his 500th career touchdown in the Broncos game against the Cardinals, and a pair of games needed overtime to decide the winner.  There were also some great comebacks and rallies which led to some exciting finishes.

We’ll have more coverage throughout the week on our fantasy football hub to help you gear up for week six, but before we leave Sunday of week 5 behind, let’s take a look at the top performers from a fantastic day of NFL football.

Demaryius Thomas-WR-Denver Broncos

Thomas entered week four with just one touchdown on the season and a season-high of 62 yards.  Apparently, the Broncos used the bye week figuring out ways to get him more involved, and that plan surely worked on Sunday. Thomas set a franchise record going off for 226 yards and a pair of touchdowns on his eight catches.  With Calvin Johnson and A.J. Green dealing with injuries already this season, Thomas could emerge as the top WR1 with more games like this one.

Peyton Manning-QB-Denver Broncos

Thomas’s output was only part of Peyton’s day as he threw for a personal-best 479 yards and four touchdowns.  Manning was picked off twice but still had a monster game in any scoring system.

Branden Oliver-RB- San Diego Chargers

Depending on your league scoring, there’s a good chance that the little-known Chargers running back turned in the most points of any running back this week.  Oliver ran for 114 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries and added four catches for 68 yards and a second touchdown.

Arian Foster-RB-Houston Texans

Foster was back to full strength in week 5 and back to being a RB1. Against the Cowboys, he ran for 157 yards and a pair of touchdowns while adding 15 yards on a pair of catches.  His ability is unquestionable, but he needs to stay on the field at full strength.

Austin Davis-QB-St. Louis Rams

Davis threw for 375 yards and a trio of touchdowns in the Rams loss to the Eagles.  He added 30 yards rushing and the Rams only lost by six in Phily.  He should keep his job for now and remain a QB2 moving forward.

Andre Ellington-RB-Arizona Cardinals

After being drafted as an RB on the rise, Ellington had been slowed by a foot injury in the early part of the season.  The Cardinals bye week allowed him to get some extra rest and he played his best game of the season week five against Denver.  Ellington finished with 32 yards rushing with a touchdown while adding a second touchdown as part of his 112 receiving yards on four catches.

Pierre Thomas-RB-New Orleans Saints

Thomas re-emerged after a tough start to the season with an Ellington-like performance.  Like Ellington, he had a receiving touchdown and a rushing touchdown while catching eight passes for 77 yards and running for 35 yards and a score on just four carries.  He isn’t going to get a full workload in the Saints timeshare of a backfield, but he is still playable when he’s involved as eh reminded us this week.

Philip Rivers-QB-San Diego Chargers

Rivers continues his recent string of impressive performances by destroying the Jets in week five.  He threw for three touchdowns giving him 11 total in his last four games while completing 20 of his 28 passes and finishing with 288 yards.

Greg Olsen-TE-Carolina Panthers

Olsen caught a pair of touchdown passes from Cam Newton in the Panthers come-from-behind win over the Bears.  Olsen finished with 72 yards to go with his two scores on six catches on his nine targets.

Phil Dawson-K-San Francisco 49ers

Normally, kickers don’t make this list, but normally kickers don’t rack up 20 points in ESPN standard scoring.  Dawson went 5-5 on field goals including a pair from over 50 yards and is nine for nine in the 49ers last two games.