Fantasy Football Matchup Rankings Week 5 | Strength of schedule by position | Playoff matchups

Sep 17, 2023; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua (17) is stopped by the San Francisco 49ers defense in the second half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
By Jake Ciely
Oct 4, 2023

The Athletic has live fantasy football advice for NFL Week 5

This is the weekly fantasy football strength of schedule, or fantasy football matchup rankings, piece. The word of the day is “APA,” which might make you say, “DAMN!” but it’s really for Adjusted Points Allowed. Essentially, it’s the “true” measure of the strength of schedule because it breaks matchups down by strength of opponent (positionally) faced each week.

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The difference in a defense facing an elite player versus a basement talent will skew the fantasy points allowed for a team. APA adjusts for the previous opponents and gives us an “expected fantasy points allowed” to find the best and worst matchups. This is a truer and more accurate “strength of schedule.”

Please read for the APA explanation:

  • APA is my calculation involving stats, metrics and matchup situations to adjust for opponent.
  • These will get stronger and more predictive as the season rolls along.
  • Rankings are from most favorable matchup (1 being the best) and most adjusted points allowed to the worst matchup.
  • Use these to make tough calls with players close in start/sit choices.
    • Does *not* mean you bench a stud with a tough APA for a flier with a good matchup.
  • The TEAM is the one with the matchup. The OPP is the team they are facing and “+/-” is the difference from the positional average.
  • No DST since it’s wildly variable and lacks predictive value (one DST touchdown skews scoring too much).

🚨 HEADS UP 🚨

This is a stat table post, so comments won’t be monitored… but they still will be on all of my other pieces each week (waivers, rankings, etc.), so just drop your questions in there and I’ll get them!


Week 5 Fantasy Football Strength of Schedule
Matchup Rankings (APA)

Quarterback Matchups

Running Back Matchups

Wide Receiver Matchups

Tight End Matchups


Fantasy Football Strength of Schedule
Playoff Matchup Rankings (APA)

Quarterback Playoff Matchups

Running Back Playoff Matchups

Wide Receiver Playoff Matchups

Tight End Playoff Matchups

(Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sportss)

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Jake Ciely

Jake Ciely is rankings: Fantasy Football, Fantasy Baseball, candy, movies, video games, cereal... anything! Truly, Jake is a ranking prodigy. Oh, he's also the senior fantasy writer for The Athletic, an award-winning analyst and loves DuckTales. Make sure you #CheckTheLink and #BanKickers ... woo-oo! Follow Jake on Twitter @allinkid