Living the Stream: IDP Matchup Plays: Week 5

No one wants to be Living the Stream a month into the fantasy football season. But some IDP managers have already been tossed in the deep end. For them, it's sink or swim time.

Ah, bad aquatic metaphors. Never gets old—for me, anyway.

For some, it has been a matter of injuries. We still don't know when edge rusher Myles Garrett will log his first stats as a member of the Los Angeles Rams. The last couple of weeks have seen the likes of New York Giants edge rusher Brian Burns (who led the NFC in sacks last year) and Green Bay Packers linebacker Edgerrin Cooper felled by season-ending injuries.

For others, it has been underperforming IDPs. The list of those bums at just the linebacker spot is jaw-droppingly long. If you were one of the first five managers to draft a linebacker over the summer, odds are you aren't happy about it.

Whatever the reason, quite a few fantasy seasons are already hanging by a thread—about to be devoured more thoroughly and messily than Captain Quint.

I feel your pain. My starting edge rushers in Deathmatch this year? Garrett and Burns. So, um…yeah.

For those managers, patience is not an option. They simply cannot afford another clunker week, whether it's because of holes in the lineup or guys who just aren't getting it done. They need points—this week. They need matchup plays—this week.

They have to Live the Stream.

And hope that the Orca holds together a little longer.

Week 5 IDP Matchup Plays

S C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Buffalo (at LA Rams)

Gardner-Johnson has been quite the wandering soul of late—the 28-year-old has played for six teams, including four in just the last two seasons. Now, however, he's starting in Buffalo, and after giving up the game-winning touchdown in last week's matchup with the New England Patriots, Gardner-Johnson was…well, he wasn't happy.

"They won the game, whatever," he told reporters. "They didn't do s---. They didn't do s--- better than us. We've got to play better. And they can mark that. We'll be back to see them at the end of the year, so they better have that same energy. They put up what, 20-something points? They barely scored. They struggled all game."

All righty then.

Gardner-Johnson was quiet last week against the Patriots, but he has posted a couple of solid stat lines so far this season. Monday night's potential Super Bowl preview in Los Angeles sets up well to keep Gardner-Johnson busy—the Rams lead the league in fantasy points allowed to safeties this year.

S Joshua Metellus, Minnesota (at New Orleans)

After topping 100 total tackles in 2023 and 2024, Metellus missed three games and saw his numbers decline last season. Now, the seventh-year veteran is quietly on pace to hit triple digits once again. While speaking to reporters, Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores said Metellus' impact on one of the NFL's best defenses goes beyond the stat sheet.

"He's been fantastic," Flores said. "Just his ability to learn multiple roles — nickel safety, strong safety, free safety, linebacker--he's allowed us to have as much flexibility defensively as we can possibly have. He's been instrumental as far as getting the whole group on this high football IQ page so that we can be as multiple as we want to be, or as we can possibly be, and try to give the offenses, which are very good, as many problems as we possibly can."

Metellus hasn't posted big numbers this season, although he did rack up nine total tackles, a QB hit and a pass defensed two weeks ago against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This week should be his best stat line of the season to date—the Saints have surrendered the second-most fantasy points to safeties through four games this season.

EDGE Boye Mafe, Cincinnati (at Miami)