Fantasy Football Booms & Busts: Packers have a big day as Bears blow it in Week 5

It feels like a golden age for head coaches in the NFC North. Ben Johnson is the offensive genius for the Bears. Dan Campbell is the culture-changer and the fourth-down guy in Detroit. It's almost mandatory to call Minnesota's Kevin O'Connell a quarterback whisperer on every first reference, though that label might be getting a little stale.

Matt LaFleur? Oh, he's the guy in Green Bay who makes the playoffs just about every year and yet somehow stays on the hot seat most of the time.

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So it had to be satisfying for LaFleur to roll over Johnson and the Bears on Sunday, 31-7. The Packers collected 428 yards of offense (Chicago managed just 246) and were never challenged in the game. Green Bay cranked out 7.3 yards per play, while the Bears sputtered to just 3.8 per snap.

All of the primary Green Bay fantasy angles came home, especially the pieces in the passing game. Quarterback Jordan Love had a near-perfect day, completing 25-of-31 passes for 367 yards and two touchdowns. The Packers hit on six long passes for the game, including two home-run touchdowns to Christian Watson (6-143-2). Matthew Golden didn't score a TD, but he still got loose for 6-123-0, plus a two-point conversion catch. Tucker Kraft caught all five of his targets for 64 yards, one of them a 46-yard rainbow down the right sideline.

Say this for Love, he knows where his bread was buttered. His Big 3 accounted for 330 of Green Bay's 367 receiving yards. A narrow target tree is a fantasy manager's best friend. And the Packers might need to throw even more aggressively in future weeks, because there are still plenty of questions about the Green Bay defense (Chicago's backup QBs didn't provide much of a test Sunday).

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We also should note the Packers still aren't running well on the ground (2.7 YPC), though MarShawn Lloyd bailed out his day with two rushing touchdowns. LaFleur keeps scratching around for a possible answer — Lloyd had 10 carries, Kaleb Johnson had seven, Pierre Strong had five. Sometimes there are no right answers. Green Bay might have to junk the running game to keep up with the Cowboys and Lions the next two weeks.

Maybe Johnson outsmarted himself by going back to Tyson Bagent. Chicago's presumed No. 2 QB looked lost against the Packers, managing just 4.1 yards per attempt and throwing two picks. He was mercifully benched for Case Keenum in the fourth period, though Keenum was marginally better (5.7 YPA, one pick, no points). The Bears are desperate to get Caleb Williams back; he might be in play for Week 6's game with Atlanta.

So far we're all getting crushed on the pass catchers in the Chicago offense. Rome Odunze drew nine targets but they resulted in a meager 3-40-0 line. Luther Burden III (4-47-0) is not paying off his summer buzz. We're going to have some hard discussions about Colston Loveland (2-19-0) this week, with five straight games under expectation. The Williams return can fix some of these problems, but it feels like wishcasting to expect everyone to magically turn their season around.

D'Andre Swift was fine (73 total yards, touchdown) with the backfield essentially to himself. Roschon Johnson picked up five catches, mostly in garbage time. Here's hoping the Bears find some offensive answers in that Falcons game, because the Patriots and Seahawks have challenging defenses after that.

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Jaylen Warren marks his territory

The Steelers opened the year with a backfield platoon, mixing Warren with Rico Dowdle. But with Dowdle out with a toe injury, Warren is staking his claim. Warren was doing a little bit of everything before Week 5, and then went ballistic in Sunday's win over the Colts.

Warren raced to 33.8 fantasy points mostly through distance — he scored on an 80-yard touchdown catch and a 50-yard touchdown run. Aaron Rodgers loves to throw to his backs, and Warren ultimately had a snappy 6-80-1 day through the air. That makes it 19 catches on 26 targets for Warren, on pace for about 65 receptions.

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Dowdle is a good player ticketed for some kind of a role eventually, but we have to assume Warren has the lead in Pittsburgh.

We'll spend time handicapping the backs in Pittsburgh, but maybe the receivers are all dead ends. Trendy sleeper Roman Wilson was erased by a finger injury. DK Metcalf (3-12-0, four targets) was invisible, as he often is. Germie Bernard took advantage of nine targets (6-80-0) but maybe that isn't sustainable. I don't know anyone who is going to chase after tight end Pat Freiermuth (5-44-2), who caught two touchdowns out of nowhere. At least the Steelers only targeted six players on the day.

Drake Maye crushes again

Maye's slump was the talking point of September, but he's crushed everything in his path the last two weeks. His sharp play at Buffalo might have saved New England's season, and he was even better Sunday against the Raiders, throwing for four touchdowns and running in a fifth. Maye's perfect day (11.0 YPA, 150.9 rating) came attached to a number of afterthought pass-catchers — Kyle Williams (3-91-1), DeMario Douglas (4-65-2), Efton Chism (5-57-0), Eli Raridon (5-57-1). Hunter Henry (3-44-1), whom you might have started, had the other score. Meanwhile, Romeo Doubs was quiet (1-16-0, three targets).

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Rhamondre Stevenson (85 total yards, touchdown) held the fort capably, while TreVeyon Henderson left early with an ankle injury. The Patriots offense could really start cooking when A.J. Brown comes back — that might be possible Week 6 against the Jets.

Other Week 6 Booms (early games)

— For the most part, we should all ignore Jacksonville's 19-17 win over Philadelphia. It was a poorly played and poorly coached three hours of football, for the most part. But if you want to specifically dial up Parker Washington's highlight tape (6-124-2), that's allowed. Washington's ADP kept rising all summer but he's still in place to smash his draft-day ticket. Tight end Brenton Strange (7-68-0) has popped the last couple of weeks.

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— It rained in New York and Geno Smith was mediocre all day (6.1 YPA, four sacks). It didn't hurt Garrett Wilson much (7-104-1); sometimes you just have to bet on talent. Braelon Allen lugged the mail in the backfield, a 24-116-1 day of pile-moving and consistent positive runs. Breece Hall isn't expected back in Week 6, so we'll dial up Allen at New England.

— Jameis Winston wasn't sharp in the first half at Washington but he eventually came around — 326 passing yards, three touchdowns, just one turnover, just three sacks. But the most delightful thing about Winston is how he peppered his two best players — Malik Nabers (11-121-1) absorbed a silly 20 targets, and Isaiah Likely (11-94-2) collected 13. With concentration that narrow, this can be a fun offense. It was a disappointing return for Cam Skattebo (71 total yards), who almost lost the game with his overtime fumble. Thankfully for New York, the Commanders made a mess of the final minute and the game ended in a tie.

Other Week 7 Busts (early games)

— This was supposed to be the week Chase Brown got his season cooking, but he was a dud at Miami. His 13 rushes netted just 39 yards; he finished with a modest 60 total yards, he lost a fumble. Worse yet, Samaje Perine (16 touches, 78 total yards) stole a touchdown and made this backfield a 50-50 split. The Bengals probably won't look for major changes, heading into their Week 6 bye with a 3-2 record.

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— Deshaun Watson finally took a step back for Cleveland, taking eight sacks against the Jets and managing just 4.7 YPA. The Browns' receivers didn't cover themselves in glory, either — although Isaiah Bond had 74 yards receiving, he dropped a couple of passes. Quinshon Judkins continues to be a bell cow (18 opportunities), but the Cleveland line doesn't open many holes (3.1 YPC). Judkins was wearing a walking boot on his right foot after the game.