10 D/ST sleepers to target for fantasy football Week 5

4. Chicago Bears at Las Vegas Raiders

The Bears have allowed 17 points or less in two of their last three games, with 14 sacks over the full three-game stretch (at least four in each. Week 5’s matchup will be a challenge on the road against the Las Vegas Raiders, but there’s an angle to play.

Raiders quarterback Derek Carr played like an MVP candidate the first three weeks of the season. Week 4 against the Chargers he was humbled a bit, throwing for less than 200 yards (196) while taking four sacks. Joey Bosa’s comments after last Monday night’s game aside, Carr has taken 12 sacks in four games.

The Bears may make me look foolish for having them as a top-five D/ST sleeper this week. But I’ll be a little bold and buy in against an offense and quarterback that is prime to keep experiencing some regression from a fast start.

3. Washington Football Team vs. New Orleans Saints

The Washington defense has massively underachieved so far this season, and at first glance playing the Saints does not seem likely to make things better. But quarterback Jameis Winston has not yet reached 25 pass attempts in a game this season, and in two road games thus far he has averaged less than 120 passing yards per game while taking a total of seven sacks.

The Saints are also dealing with injuries to left tackle Terron Armstead and center Erik McCoy. Armstead is almost sure to be out, and McCoy’s status is unclear as of this writing. The pass rush has not been the biggest issue for the WFT defense to this point, but the shouldn’t have too much trouble getting to Winston and forcing him into mistakes on Sunday.