Week 5 Thursday Night Fantasy Fallout: Irving, Pickens Break Out, Lamb's Injury, and More

Before we keep looking at start/sit fantasy football decisions for Week 5, let's go over some fantasy takeaways from Thursday's contest between the Buccaneers and Cowboys!

The result was a surprising Buccaneers win, 24-16.

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Bucky Irving Breakout

One of the biggest reasons behind the Buccaneers' win was a monster performance from Irving, the team's top running back.

He got 21 rushing attempts, gaining 165 yards and a touchdown. He had a long run of 72 yards, and was tough to slow most of the night. Irving also caught two of his three targets for 10 yards and an additional touchdown to push his fantasy showing up another level.

It was easily his top fantasy showing of the season so far, and likely left a few fantasy owners frustrated if he was on the bench - he started in 92.73% of leagues.

Kenny Gainwell and Sean Tucker stole four and five rushing attempts, respectively, but Irving was still over 20 attempts, so there's a lot to like with this performance.

Tampa Bay was still without Baker Mayfield, so the running game was going to be the focal point of the offense. Things look very bright for Irving after this outing, and when Mayfield returns, Irving's outlook could get even safer.

I'd be ecstatic to have Irving right now, but for those still not fully in on him, the lead-up to Week 6 will be a potential sell-high chance with Irving. 

Bucs' Passing Game Still Lackluster

Down Mayfield, it was Jalon Daniels getting another start. He fared OK, but only threw for 189 yards, and no one pass catcher put together a huge performance.

Emeka Egbuka was the top pass catcher after hauling in six of his nine targets, but he only had 38 receiving yards, and 21 of those were on one grab. He finished with a decent PPR score, especially when you tack on a 14-yard rushing score.

Chris Godwin was targeted three times, catching each one, but for only 37 yards. He also had a three-yard rush.

Tez Johnson made the most of his one catch and target, going for 64 yards. Tight end Cade Otton added 25 yards on three grabs and four targets.

While a couple guys scored a few points, the passing game was pretty lackluster again without Mayfield. I'd expect that to stay the same until Mayfield is back as the starter.

The Steelers will be a tougher defensive matchup in Week 6, so if Mayfield is out again, it will be hard to trust the Bucs' pass catchers outside deeper leagues.

George Pickens Gets Rolling

Despite the upset loss, Dallas was happy to get Pickens rolling finally.

The wide receiver caught nine of his 13 targets for 130 yards and a touchdown. It was his first score of the season, and he posted season-highs in catches, targets and yards too.

He's had over 75 yards in three straight games, but between 2-9 catches now. So to see him have a complete performance makes it easier to trust him moving forward.

Pickens' big game came with star wideout CeeDee Lamb laying a dud, and also working through an injury. He missed critical points of the game with tightness in his quad.

Lamb finished with two catches and nine yards across five targets. He had 37 receptions for 498 yards and four scores across 46 targets in his first four games, so he'll likely go down as one of the week's top fantasy busts.

And now we have to worry about the injury with Lamb as well, so he'll get knocked down several pegs as a fantasy asset. It will be a time to buy low on Lamb, but we'll need an update on his injury before we can go after him confidently.

Other Cowboy Performances

Quarterback Dak Prescott threw for 316 yards, but just one touchdown and also two picks. He needed 42 attempts to get to those numbers.

Running back Javonte Williams was a decent fantasy performer, but a score bailed him out. He had 45 rushing yards and a touchdown across 12 carries, while catching two of his three targets for 17 more yards.

Wideout Ryan Flournoy surprised with 90 yards across three grabs and four targets. That's a good showing for him, but his production moving forward won't be great if Lamb and Pickens are around. Keep him in mind as a waiver wire possibility if Lamb were to miss time.

Tight end Jake Ferguson is the other notable fantasy option on the Dallas offense. He was limited to 19 yards across three catches and six targets, so it was another lackluster fantasy showing for him.