The fantasy blocking breakdown series reviews the impact that run and pass blocking have on fantasy football performance, using methodologies detailed here.

This week's fantasy blocking breakdown will look at the issues slowing Ben Roethlisberger, Detroit's game plan quandary against the Panthers that led to Cam Newton's dominant performance, if it's time to believe in the Giants' running backs and whether the Bengals' ground game can turn things around.

Does Roethlisberger have it anymore?

Following the 30-9 rout at the hands of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Roethlisberger said, "Maybe I don't have it anymore." Fantasy managers sure don't think Roethlisberger has it, as his 11.7 fantasy points per game pace ranks 28th among quarterbacks.

Some pundits say that Roethlisberger is doing too much dink-and-dunk passing, yet he rates fifth this season in air yards per attempt (9.3) and nearly equaled that mark in the contest against Jacksonville (8.9).

The main problem is Roethlisberger isn't beating defenses downfield when they don't blitz. Last season he tallied 12.1 yards per attempt and threw for 16 touchdowns on vertical passes (aerials thrown 11 or more yards downfield) where the opposing team did not blitz him. Those numbers have plummeted this season, as Roethlisberger is averaging only 9.2 YPA (ranked 24th) and has only one touchdown pass when not facing a blitz on a vertical pass attempt.

This is why the Jaguars blitzed on only one of Roethlisberger's dropbacks. The lack of extra defenders rushing the passer caused Jacksonville to get pressure on only 15.8 percent of Roethlisberger's dropbacks, the fourth-lowest total in Week 5, but the tradeoff was blanket coverage that allowed the Jaguars to pick off five of Roethlisberger's vertical throws. That led to Roethlisberger posting minus-three points on vertical passes and a total of 2.6 points, which is tied for the seventh-lowest single-game fantasy point mark of his career.

As long as teams think they don't need to fear what Roethlisberger can do when the pass rush isn't impacting him, they will mimic the Jaguars' approach and sit back in coverage all day long. Combine that factor with a couple of tough matchups (at Kansas City, versus Cincinnati) and a bye week coming up over the next month for the Steelers and it means Roethlisberger's fantasy managers might do well to come up with a replacement plan for Big Ben sooner rather than later.

Lions were more concerned with the ground game than with Newton

Detroit's defense came into the Week 5 matchup against Carolina ranked 31st in my good blocking rate (GBR) metric that measures how often an offense gives its ball carriers good run blocking.

This weakness could have been a huge problem against a Panthers offense that ranked third in GBR, so Lions went all out to fix this issue by adding an extra defender to the tackle box on 25 plays, a total that was third highest in Week 5.

The tactic worked against the rush, as the Panthers lost a total of 3 yards when rushing against a loaded tackle box. The problem for the Lions is losing the extra defender in the secondary was disastrous for their coverage, as Newton was 12-of-16 for 157 yards and three touchdowns when throwing against a loaded tackle box. Those plays accounted for 18.3 of Newton's 26.2 fantasy points and will serve as a future warning for teams that try too hard to slow the Panthers' rushing attack. That should allow Carolina to lean on its ground game more and that makes Christian McCaffrey and Jonathan Stewart potential buy-low candidates.

Is it time to start believing in the Giants' running backs?

The Giants came into Week 5 ranked 29th in fantasy points per game by their running backs (17.4). That number took a step up against the Chargers, as Orleans Darkwa, Wayne Gallman and Shane Vereen combined for 35.9 points in that matchup.

Does this scoring spike mean it is time to believe in the Giants' running backs?

One element pointing in that direction is New York's blockers posted a 52.0 percent GBR in this game, which is the team's best total in that category so far this season. Part of that was due to a Chargers rush defense that came into Week 5 ranked tied for 28th in my good blocking productivity (GBP) metric that measures overall rush defense effectiveness.

The Giants' blockers aren't likely to repeat their performance on the road in Week 6 against a Denver defense that currently ranks first in GBP allowed (1.8). That could change in contests against Seattle in Week 7 and the Los Angeles Rams in Week 9, two teams that came into Week 4 with the same 4.0 GBP that the Chargers had prior to the Giants contest. These favorable matchups could make Darkwa and Gallman superb waiver-wire stash options this week.

Why is Joe Mixon struggling?

Mixon ranks 20th in touches per game among running backs with four or more games played (15.6), yet he ranks 38th in fantasy points per game (8.7). What is causing this variance between workload and production?

Poor blocking has a lot to do with it. The Bengals were tied for 25th in GBP (2.6) going into the Buffalo game and saw that number drop to 2.5 after the Bills held them to a 2.3 GBP in Week 5.

Having noted this, part of the issue is Mixon hasn't displayed many of his breakaway skills. Mixon has posted a 6-yard or higher mark in my good blocking yards per attempt (GBYPA) metric in only one contest this year. The current league average in GBYPA is 7.7 yards, so Mixon hasn't even been middle of the road in GBYPA in a game more than once.

Having noted this, it should be pointed out that Mixon ranked first among Power 5 running backs in plays that gained 20 or more yards in 2016. This means his subpar GBYPA trend is unlikely to continue, especially since the Bengals have upcoming matchups against Pittsburgh, Indianapolis and Jacksonville, teams that all rank 20th or lower in fantasy points allowed per game to opponents' running backs.

Fantasy managers with Mixon on their roster should be patient with him through the Bengals' bye in Week 6. Savvy fantasy managers without Mixon on their roster should value him as a very good buy-low bye week candidate.