LaFleur: Love wasn’t on snap count vs. Chargers

The Lions’ speedster only caught two passes today, but he made them count. Williams’ first catch was a nine-yard, fourth-down touchdown on the Lions’ fifth drive. He nearly hauled in a 25-yarder via a play-action target on the sixth drive, but Cardinals CB Max Melton batted it away. He was open for an explosive gain on the next drive, but Jared Goff checked down to Sam LaPorta about 10 yards beneath Williams. A few plays later, Williams dusted his coverage defender for a 39-yard score from bunch formation, hauling in the touchdown pass in stride in the end zone. Goff later gave him another touchdown chance on a downfield throw targeted inside the Cardinals’ five-yard line, but Williams couldn’t secure it. He’ll now take a week off with the Lions’ Week 6 bye, but return as a WR2 against the Packers in Week 7.

Campbell will undergo an MRI tomorrow to fully assess the injury, but it seems likely that Drake Maye will be playing without his left tackle for a few weeks. They face the Jets, Bears and Dolphins over the next three weeks. Keeping Jets rookie EDGE David Bailey at bay could prove challenging.

Wilson again led the Seahawks in rushing sans Jadarian Price. He handled all but four of the team’s running back carries in this one and found the end zone on a two-yard plunge in the first quarter to tie the game at 7-7. Wilson coughed up a key fumble in the second quarter that gave the Niners the ball on Seattle’s 11-yard line. On the following play, the Seahawks would allow an 11-yard touchdown run to Christian McCaffrey to put the Niners back out in front. Assuming Zach Charbonnet (Achilles) is at least one more game away from returning, Wilson will be on the RB2 radar in Week 6 when the Seahawks take on the Broncos on Thursday night.

McCaffrey’s lone touchdown came on an 11-yard touchdown run immediately after the 49ers had recovered a fumble by Emanuel Wilson. He hasn’t had the gaudy yardage totals we’re accustomed to seeing, but fantasy managers won’t be mad at this performance. While McCaffrey has yet to rush for 100 yards in a game this season, he’s gone for 80-plus yards from scrimmage in three of five games and has scored in four straight. He continues to be the only fantasy-relevant running back on the Niners and is set up to smash in Week 6 against the Commanders on Monday Night Football.

The Seahawks face the Broncos in Week 6’s Thursday Night Football game. Late last week, Macdonald acknowledged that the short turnaround time would make it difficult to ramp up Charbonnet as planned. The Seahawks are set to scale back the intensity at practice this week, which runs counter to the rehab plan. The Seahawks face the Chiefs in Week 7’s Sunday Night Football game. That seems like a plausible return date at this point.

It was odd usage for Washington, who had at least five carries in three of four games headed into Week 5. Even Ashton Jeanty being limited with his ankle and foot injuries did nothing to bolster Washington’s involvement in the Vegas offense. In fact, Dylan Laube was the team’s clear No. 2 back behind Jeanty on Sunday. Laube had four carries and three receptions and punched in a short touchdown in the second half of the blowout loss. It raises serious questions about what Washington’s workload might look like if Jeanty misses time this season.

Evans’ only touchdown of the game came on a two-yard pass from Brock Purdy in the first quarter to give the Niners an early 7-0 lead. Evans came up big on multiple occasions in this one, hauling in three catches of 20-plus yards, including back-to-back receptions of 23 and 28 yards that helped set up a seven-yard touchdown to Brandin Cooks. Evans then caught a pass in the end zone on the next play to convert a two-point try and put the Niners up 29-26. This was Evans’ best day as a Niner. He set season-highs in receptions, targets, and receiving yards, and has now found the end zone three times on the year. With Deebo Samuel (hamstring) potentially set to miss some time, Evans could very easily see more days like today. He will be a fringe WR1/WR2 next week against a porous Commanders secondary.

Lions coach Dan Campbell tasked St. Brown with punt return duties (2/36) after Tom Kennedy got hurt. While St. Brown looked great weaving through traffic, his first return nearly ended in a lost fumble, but a teammate dove on the loose ball, bailing him out after it was punched out of St. Brown possession. St. Brown nearly had a 43-yard touchdown on a sideline play-action shot on the Lions’ seventh drive, but he couldn’t quite get his hands on it. He almost bagged short scores via out routes on the Lions’ eighth and ninth drives, but his coverage defender effectively challenged the pass on the first and the pass was just out of his reach on the second. He had a nice 36-yard catch-and-run on the eighth drive and nearly nabbed another explosive gain on the sixth drive, but Sam LaPorta accidentally knocked him down 11 yards downfield after St. Brown leapt over a downed Cardinals defender. He had another fumble recovered by a teammate after snagging a pass on a crosser. The Lions’ stud wide receiver will be an elite WR1 against the Packers following the Lions’ Week 6 bye.

JSN appeared to be playing through a bit of an ankle injury in this one, but he looked perfectly fine when he turned what would have been a short two-yard reception upfield for a 16-yard touchdown in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, as the Seahawks were attempting a comeback, JSN hauled in a 35-yard reception, evading multiple defenders to get the Seahawks to the 50-yard line. A few plays later, he would drop a wide-open pass that may have set the Seahawks up for a game-winning field goal opportunity, but JSN did his part to keep the Seahawks in what proved to be a sloppy game for the offense as a whole. He’s gone for 100-plus yards in four of his first five games of the season and will look for his fifth 100-yard game on Thursday night when the Seahawks visit the Broncos.

Sacks and a few errant throws under pressure derailed the Lions’ first three drives. Goff got things back on track after that, guiding the offense to seven straight scoring drives, including six touchdowns. He even punched in a one-yard rushing touchdown via a quarterback sneak, marking his first rushing score since 2023. Goff could have boosted his passing yards total with a likely explosive gain by targeting an open Jameson Williams on the first drive after halftime, but he instead checked down to Sam LaPorta in the flats for an eight-yard pickup. The Lions are on bye in Week 6, but Goff will be a locked-in QB1 against the Packers in Week 7.