Raiders vs. Patriots Fantasy Football Worksheet, Week 5

The Worksheet, a comprehensive fantasy football preview by Rich Hribar, breaks down everything you need to know about the Raiders vs. Patriots Week 5 matchup.

Find a breakdown of every Week 5 NFL game in our Worksheet Hub.

Trust = spike production for that player

Raiders vs. Patriots Fantasy Quarterback Preview

Drake Maye

After opening the season with weeks as the QB27, QB25, and QB32 with 21.6 total fantasy points over the first three weeks, Maye finished as the QB1 overall in Week 4 with 26.2 points.

He completed 59.5% of his passes, lost a fumble, and had an interception (not his fault), but Maye made up ground with 3 passing touchdowns, a two-point conversion, and 54 rushing yards to get back in QB1 graces.

I even benched Maye in a league last week.

And while I would have liked those points (nobody cares, but I still narrowly won the matchup), it was a major step in a positive direction for using Maye since he has a strong upcoming schedule.

I also don't want to say Maye is back as a front-end QB1, since most of his peripheral rate stats have been on par with the season so far.

He just finally had the passing touchdowns and the rushing spike, while avoiding stacking negative plays.

Maye lost 1.0 EPA or worse on a season-low 9.5% of his dropbacks.

Through three weeks, that rate was 21.2%.

Maye was still pressured at a high rate (47.6%) and only threw for 5.3 Y/A when pressured.

Kept clean, he has been awesome all season outside of the Seattle game.

On Sunday, he was 15 of 22 (68.2%) for 190 yards (8.6 Y/A) from a clean pocket.

In Weeks 2 and 3, he was 19 of 27 (70.4%) for 262 yards (9.7 Y/A) when kept clean.

His receivers made some big catches in the end zone, but they still did not create their own yardage.

No Patriots wide receiver or tight end forced a missed tackle after a reception (they have 1 all season from Hunter Henry).

Only 27.4% of his passing yardage was after the catch (28th in Week 4).

One thing that stood out for the Patriots was their play-action usage.

Maye used play action on a season-high 35.1% of dropbacks, up from 21.3% in Weeks 1-3.

Using play action, Maye was a modest 7 for 13 for 83 yards (7.2 Y/A) with a touchdown.

I am not going to push Maye back into the front of fantasy QB1 ranks because Sunday's game had a lot of the same concerns we have had to this point, but I also won't be streaming him again.

That makes him a more volatile QB1.

The Patriots still have a solid team total, and we are looking for the rushing and ball protection to be the most static elements from Sunday.

It sounds almost unbelievable to type, but Maye could be impacted if Mack Hollins is out.

The Raiders have been a defense we have been trying to get a feel for this season.

They played another solid game on Sunday against Patrick Mahomes, holding him to a 50% completion rate and 225 yards passing.

Mahomes still did throw a pair of touchdowns, but the Raiders have allowed a sub-60% completion rate in three of four games this season.

They are getting pressure at a 42.5% rate (4th), which has been a problem for the New England offense.

When the Raiders pressure the opposing passer, they allow 4.8 yards per attempt (10th).

From a clean pocket, the Raiders are allowing 8.3 Y/A (24th).

Kirk Cousins

Cousins stayed hot for fantasy gamers on Sunday, delivering his third consecutive top-10 scoring week.

Closing as the QB4 (22.6 points), Cousins has scored 20-plus fantasy points in three straight games for the first time since 2022.

Cousins had a season-low 59.6% completion rate, but he threw the ball a season-high 52 times on Sunday to produce 365 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

He has thrown multiple touchdowns in every game this season.

It was once again a game with wild splits with or without play action.

With play action on Sunday, Cousins was 9 for 13 (69.2%) for 133 yards (10.2 Y/A) and a touchdown.

Without play action, he went 22 for 39 (56.4%) for 232 yards (5.9 Y/A), with a touchdown and an interception.

On non-play action throws for the season, Cousins has a 61.9% completion rate (19th), 6.2 Y/A (21st), and a 3.8% interception rate (24th).

He does still have a 4.8% touchdown rate on non-play action passes (12th).

Compare that to a 71.8% completion rate (5th), 9.6 Y/A (2nd), a league-high 15.4% touchdown rate, and no interceptions off play action.

This is another spot where I want to price in some potential regression for Cousins.

He is the QB16 in expected points.

That mid-QB2 range feels like the right place for him.

Especially in what looks like another tough assignment.

The Patriots are seventh in passing points allowed per attempt and sixth in passing points allowed per game (11.7).

They have allowed multiple passing touchdowns just once through four games.

That said, the Patriots have been vulnerable to the play-action pass, which we just highlighted.

New England has allowed a 71.1% completion rate (23rd) and 8.6 Y/A (22nd) on play-action passes compared to a 62.5% completion rate (13th) and 5.6 Y/A (5th) on static dropbacks.

Raiders vs. Patriots Fantasy Running Back Preview

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