Eric Moody: Jonathan Taylor a high-end RB1 regardless of matchup (1:17)Eric Moody breaks down Jonathan Taylor’s impressive fantasy season and why managers should look to get running backs playing behind a good offensive line. (1:17)
Mackenzie KraemerCloseWorks at ESPN Stats & InformationFollow on XOct 8, 2025, 02:00 PM ET
ESPN Eliminator Challenge is one of the most fun games to play this NFL season. The rules are simple: pick one team, and as long as they win (or tie), you advance to the next round. If they lose, you are out. The caveat is you cannot pick the same team twice. If you’ve made it this far, give yourself a pat on the back.
Week 5 finally featured the chaos Eliminator Challenge is typically known for. Three of the five biggest favorites lost last week, making it the first time since 2015 where three underdogs of at least 7 points lost outright. The Arizona Cardinals were the most popular pick last week, and they blew a 15-point fourth-quarter lead, made more possible by Emari Demercado’s early celebration just before going in for a touchdown, which resulted in a fumble out of the end zone.
The Cardinals were also the top choice in this column last week. However, since this column used the Cardinals in Week 2, we pivoted to the Detroit Lions, one of the few big favorites to actually win.
Overall, there were nine upsets in Week 5, the most in any week since 2022. Those upsets knocked out more than half of the remaining entries in Eliminator Challenge, the most eliminations in any week this season.
Spinning ahead to Week 6, there is one obvious selection — the Green Bay Packers hosting the Cincinnati Bengals. The Packers are the second-biggest favorites all season. That will likely make them the most popular choice, but unlike the Buffalo Bills two weeks ago, there is less incentive to save the Packers for later.
This is tied for the second-most-lopsided spread of the week, as the Jets are the only winless team remaining in the NFL this season. The big decision with Denver is which week do you want to use them? They host the Giants next week, the Cowboys in Week 8, and they face the Raiders in Weeks 10 and 14. The Broncos are a fine choice this week, but they have similar future value as Green Bay, except they are much smaller favorites to win this week.
The Rams are tied for the second-biggest favorites of the week based on the betting odds. However, both Mike Clay and ESPN Analytics’ models are low on the Rams compared to the odds. Los Angeles is being picked in only 1% of entries as of Tuesday evening, so if that holds, the Rams become more appealing. But once Lamar Jackson is officially ruled out, expect more players to select the Rams, which is enough to pivot to one of the other options on this list.
Eric Moody: Jonathan Taylor a high-end RB1 regardless of matchup (1:17)Eric Moody breaks down Jonathan Taylor’s impressive fantasy season and why managers should look to get running backs playing behind a good offensive line. (1:17)
Eric Moody breaks down Jonathan Taylor’s impressive fantasy season and why managers should look to get running backs playing behind a good offensive line. (1:17)