NFL Player News

Texans quarterback Brian Hoyer, who relieved starter Ryan Mallett in Sunday's loss to the Falcons, will remain the backup quarterback in Week 5, the Houston Chronicle reports.

Hoyer directed three touchdown drives upon entering Sunday's game, but head coach Bill O'Brien is sticking with Mallett when the Texans host the Colts on Thursday.

Texans quarterback Ryan Mallett will remain the Texans' starting quarterback for Thursday night's game against the Colts, the Houston Chronicle reports.

Mallett has been preferred to teammate Brian Hoyer since Week 1, but upon an abysmal start to Sunday's game against the Falcons, Mallett was replaced at quarterback by Hoyer, who went on to lead the Texans to three touchdown drives.

Nonetheless, with a short week to prepare ahead of Thursday's divisional meeting with the Colts, the Texans will opt to keep Mallett at the helm of their offense. While that status certainly gives Mallett the superior status, neither player's performance this season should exude much confidence in fantasy owners.

Bengals receiver Mohamed Sanu had four catches for 84 yards in the Sunday victory over Kansas City. He was targeted six times.

Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton effectively spread the ball around to multiple receivers in the game, and Sanu happened to be open more frequently than teammate Marvin Jones this week. Next week the Bengals face a tough test against Seattle that might limit Sanu's productivity.

Bengals wide receiver Brandon Tate caught a 55-yard touchdown pass from Andy Dalton in the Week 4 defeat of Kansas City. Shockingly, it came on his first offensive snap of the season.

Tate had previously been limited to special teams duty. The score came on a broken play in which Dalton scrambled outside of the pocket and Tate broke deep as a result, and then laid out to make a great catch.

The impressive snag probably won't get him much more action on offense, however, as long as the rest of the receiving corps is healthy.

Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater completed 27 of 41 passes for 269 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 23-20 loss at Denver. He was sacked seven times, lost a fumble and finished with 23 rushing yards.

Bridgewater was harassed the entire game, and his fumble on a sack in the closing minute sealed the loss. He showed some fight though, helping Minnesota stick around against a tough Broncos' squad. Besides facing a stingy defense, Bridgewater was without Charles Johnson (ribs) and Jarius Wright (hand), who was active at way less than 100 percent. On a positive note, Bridgewater showed a good rapport with rookie Stefon Diggs and veteran Mike Wallace, as they combined to catch 14 passes for 170 yards and a touchdown.

The Vikings will have their bye next week, but things should get easier for Bridgewater in Week 6, facing a suspect Chiefs' secondary.

Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton completed 17 of 24 passes for 321 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's game versus the Chiefs. He also carried the ball three times for 16 yards in the 36-21 victory.

The 27-year-old picked apart the reeling Chiefs secondary for 13.4 yards per attempt, but four rushing touchdowns by the Bengals on the day limited his fantasy output. Dalton has now accounted for 10 touchdowns versus just two turnovers through four games, and he currently is on pace to top all of his career-best numbers from the 2013 season. Dalton and company will draw a tough home matchup with the Seattle Seahawks in Week 5.

Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers completed 22 of 32 passes for 224 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 17-3 win at San Francisco. He also ran three times for 33 yards.

Rodgers made some nice plays, as usual, but also missed a couple of easy throws. He nearly scored on a 17-yard run in the third quarter, but was stopped at the one-yard line, and fullback John Kuhn later rumbled into the end zone. Rodgers is arguably the league's best QB, both in real terms and fantasy wise, but keep in mind he's been somewhat ordinary on the road over the last couple of seasons. Entering Sunday's game, he's posted a mortal 25:11 TD:INT ratio over his last 14 games away from home, while compiling a ridiculous 43:0 TD:INT ratio during that same span at Lambeau Field. It's all irrelevant though, as fantasy owners are going to play him under any circumstance.

In Week 5, the veteran QB will have a home tilt against the Rams, who have played solid defense so far this year.

Redskins quarter back Kirk Cousins completed 31 of 46 passes for 290 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's win over the Eagles. He also scored on a one-yard touchdown plunge on his only carry of the game.

A strong showing for the fourth-year signal caller, who has thrown for over 600 yards on 95 attempts in the last two games. Cousins' fantasy value stands to benefit if the Redskins continue their pass-heavy ways, especially if he can continue to limit the turnovers (four in four games). Washington could be forced to throw early and often next week, when they visit the high-scoring Falcons.

Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor (ankle) completed 28 of 42 passes for 274 yards with one touchdown and one interception Sunday against the Giants. He also rushed six times for 15 yards.

Taylor connected with nine different receivers as tight end Charles Clay led the way with nine catches on 13 targets for 111 yards. His streak of passing for at least three touchdowns ended at two, but he's thrown for 270 yards or more in successive outings. That's a fairly solid output without top wideout Sammy Watkins.

Up next is a trip to face the Titans in Week 5.

Raiders quarterback Derek Carr completed 20 of 33 passes for 196 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in Sunday's loss to Chicago.

Carr ranks in the upper half of quarterbacks after Week 14 with a 97.7 QB rating. Perhaps most impressively for the second-year quarterback, he's managed to take care of the ball, collecting seven touchdown tosses with just two interceptions. Carr struggled with a dearth of targets last season, but his growing rapport with first-round pick Amari Cooper could elevate him into a valuable pickup for bye weeks.