We’re nearly a quarter of the way through the 2025 NFL season as we turn the calendar to October for Week 5. We get a smaller 10-game slate this week, and it’s always worth acknowledging how ownership tends to be somewhat consolidated on these shorter slates.

Bye weeks are also taking a toll, with four teams getting the week off, and we have another game Sunday morning overseas that takes two teams off the main slate. Week 4 delivered some big D/ST hits, so let’s dig in and identify the best plays on the board with the NFL DFS Week 5 D/ST Coach for your DraftKings and FanDuel contests!

NFL DFS Week 5 D/ST Coach for FanDuel & DraftKings Fantasy

We had some good calls last week with the NFL DFS Week 4 D/ST Coach, and we look to keep that momentum going in Week 5. The Houston Texans were the Play of the Week, and they delivered with 14 fantasy points by shutting out the Tennessee Titans. The Indianapolis Colts were one of my favorite plays in Week 3, but I faded them in Week 4 against the Rams, and they only scored five fantasy points. Don’t worry, I’m going back to the well with the Colts in Week 5 as you’ll see shortly.

The Detroit Lions were a recommended pay-up option, and they returned 19 fantasy points against the lowly Cleveland Browns offense, who will be making a change at quarterback for Week 5.

All in all, it was a good week if you went with the POTW, and we go right back to the well with some teams we’ve previewed over the last couple of weeks.

NFL Week 5 Defense/Special Teams

With a short slate in Week 5 (only 10 games), I’m keeping things rather consolidated. Bye weeks are taking effect as we don’t have the Green Bay Packers, Atlanta Falcons, Chicago Bears, and Pittsburgh Steelers for this slate. So we only have 20 teams to choose from. But we’re catching some breaks. I’m only recommending five D/ST’s below. I think that’s reasonable because I cover 25% of the available teams in the player pool. But we have two value D/ST’s in this article that are slight favorites, and one of them should be considered a cash game lock. Here are the top NFL DFS Week 5 D/ST Coach picks to help you dominate your contests!

 

 

 

NFL DFS D/ST Top Tier Picks for Week 5

Arizona Cardinals – DraftKings: $3,600 | FanDuel: $4,400

The Cardinals enter their Week 5 matchup as 7.5-point home favorites against the Tennessee Titans. I can’t say I’m overly impressed by the Cardinals' D/ST, but they get a great matchup against a rookie quarterback who has turned the ball over in every game this year while throwing for just two touchdowns.

The Titans rank in the bottom five in the NFL in explosive rushing plays (0.8%) and passing plays (5.0%). This correlates with the fact that the Titans' offensive line ranks fourth-worst in run block win rate (68%) and they’re second-worst in pressure rate allowed (41.6%).

Cam Ward ranks 32nd out of 33 qualified quarterbacks in EPA/Play at -0.28, and he’s only ahead of Joe Flacco, who was benched in favor of a rookie quarterback heading into Week 5. Ward has taken 17 sacks through four games, so this is an opportunity for the Cardinals to deliver a very safe floor for our NFL DFS lineups.

Detroit Lions – DraftKings: $3,500 | FanDuel: $5,000

This game has the highest total on the main slate, but fortunately, the Lions are 10.5-point favorites on the road. Because of some of the value options on this slate, I don’t think much ownership is going to land on the Lions. I prefer them mostly for tournaments because of the upside against this floundering offense, and there’s a value D/ST that should be a cash game lock in Week 5.

The Lions draw the hapless Cincinnati Bengals, who will once again trot out Jake Browning as their starting quarterback. Browning was horrendous against the Denver Broncos in Week 4, completing just 56% of his pass attempts for 125 yards. In two full starts, he’s thrown for just 265 yards, and since Joe Burrow got hurt, he’s thrown five interceptions.

The offensive line is rather hopeless for Cincinnati. They rank 29th in yards before contact per carry (0.55), they’re dead last in pass block win rate (45%), and they’re 27th in pressure rate allowed (36%). This may help explain why Browning ranks 31st out of 33 qualified quarterbacks in EPA/Play (-0.20). Again, because of the value at this position for DFS, we don’t need to go here in cash games, but I love this play for tournaments, especially if you’re rostering Jahmyr Gibbs at running back. But I also like the idea of saving salary with David Montgomery, who is originally from Cincinnati so this game means a good amount to him and I like him to find the end zone as a pivot off Gibbs.
 

 

 

NFL DFS D/ST Mid-Tier Pick for Week 5

Indianapolis Colts – DraftKings: $3,300 | FanDuel: $4,700

I don’t love this price tag on FanDuel, but I think the Colts are manageable for tournaments on DraftKings. They’ve certainly flashed upside this year with two performances where they returned at least 13 fantasy points. They enter this home matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders with six takeaways and 10 sacks. The Colts are currently 6.5-point favorites at home.

The Raiders are obviously not very good. Geno Smith has been sacked a dozen times in four games, and he’s thrown seven interceptions in that span. Smith ranks 26th out of 33 quarterbacks in EPA/Play (-0.01), and he’s also 31st in turnover-worthy play rate (5.6%), ahead of only Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Fields.

The offensive line is also in terrible shape. Kolton Miller might be regarded as the only good offensive lineman for the Raiders, and he was just placed on IR. The Raiders rank 30th in yards before contact per carry (0.51), and they’re dead last in stuffed run rate (31.1%). Similar to the Detroit Lions above, I would prefer to just play this team in tournaments and correlate the Colts D/ST with Jonathan Taylor at running back.

 

 

 

NFL Week 5 DFS D/ST Value Pick

New Orleans Saints – DraftKings: $2,200 | FanDuel: $3,500

I don’t expect much from the New Orleans Saints in this matchup, but there are a few things working in their favor against the New York Giants. First and foremost, the G-Men will not have their best offensive player, Malik Nabers. We obviously don’t celebrate injuries, but his absence does diminish the potential for a big play through the air for New York.

The Saints are also incredibly affordable, and they’re slight favorites at home. We rarely see this in DFS, so it does need to be acknowledged. They’re only favored by 1.5 points, but the over/under as of Thursday morning is at 42.5 points, giving the Giants an implied team total of 20.5 points. That’s still respectable, but again, it’s a value D/ST listed as a favorite at home.

And they draw Jaxson Dart in his second career start. This isn’t quite as good a spot as the Arizona Cardinals find themselves in because Dart showed us last week that he’s very comfortable using his legs to pick up first downs and score, for that matter. But the Giants have also seen Cam Skattebo emerge, so there are two rushing threats to account for.

The Saints' defense isn’t very good at the end of the day. Hence why I led off with “I don’t expect much” from this team. They’ve allowed 101 points in their last three games, and all three of those offenses posted over 300 yards. But the Saints have at least three sacks in the three games this year, and they have a takeaway in each of their last three games. The Giants rank 20th in the NFL in pressure rate allowed (33.5%), and the Saints rank 7th in sack rate through four games. They don’t offer a great ceiling, but we’re paying the bare minimum for a team that could return seven or eight fantasy points while giving us roster flexibility.

NFL DFS D/ST Fade for Week 5

Miami Dolphins – DraftKings: $3,100 | FanDuel: $3,900

The price on DraftKings doesn’t make any sense to me. I actually believe this is potentially a smash spot for the Panthers' offense, and I’m high on Tetairoa McMillan starting to breakout sooner rather than later.

Entering Week 4, the Dolphins are second-worst in defensive EPA/DB (0.39), ahead of only the Dallas Cowboys (0.44). I personally don’t think the Dolphins have a defensive back that can keep pace with McMillan, and I expect Carolina’s rookie receiver to win most contested catches.

And the Dolphins also just played on Monday Night Football, so this is a short week for them. They only allowed 21 points to the New York Jets, but prior to that, they allowed three consecutive offenses to drop over 30 points on them, and this team gives up a ton of yardage. They have just three takeaways on the season to go with eight sacks. There’s nothing that impresses me about this defense, and if Bryce Young can just manage the game effectively and get the ball into his best players’ hands, then I don’t see the Dolphins providing any sort of value for DFS.

 

 

 

NFL DFS Week 5 D/ST Play of the Week

Houston Texans – DraftKings: $2,400 | FanDuel: $3,600

The Texans were our Play of the Week for the last main slate, and they came through with a healthy 14 points for our NFL DFS lineups. Lamar Jackson is expected to miss this game, so we should expect a heavy dose of Derrick Henry in this matchup. But this defense has only allowed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to rack up more than 90 yards in any rushing matchup this season.

The Texans are tied for fifth in defensive EPA/DB (-0.08), but there are three teams ranked above them that are not on this week’s main slate. Houston ranks 3rd in pressure rate (44.7%), 10th in sack rate (7.3%), 9th in blitz rate (29.3%), and 7th in pass rush win rate (46%). The Ravens rank 29th in pressure rate allowed (38.1%), so this is a matchup where the Texans could rack up sacks, and the pressure could translate to some turnovers by Cooper Rush.

We’re fortunate to have two value D/ST’s this week as slight favorites in games with low implied totals. The Texans are 1.5-point favorites, and the over/under for this game is only at 40.5 points, so we should expect significant ownership to flock to the Texans, and you can just lock this team into your cash game lineups because they also allow you to pay up for more expensive skill position players that offer a good floor.