Andy Dalton leads fantasy football in scoring this season

Not only is Andy Dalton playing like an elite quarterback on the field, but he's likely been the MVP for your fantasy football team if you've had him this season.

It's surprising to say the least, but in today's NFL, quarterbacks are leading the way in scoring more often than not. Through five weeks, Dalton is the No. 1 fantasy scorer with 137.4 total points, according to FFToday. He's also the No. 2 player in fantasy points per game (27.5), just behind Patriots QB Tom Brady (29.9) and ahead of Packers QB Aaron Rodgers (25.7), Panthers QB Cam Newton, and Bills QB Tyrod Taylor (24.3)

While it's surprising that Dalton has scored that much, it's not that big of a shock to see him back among the top fantasy quarterbacks. Though the Bengals are built to have a dominant ground game, their schedule and running back play has forced them to rely on the arm of Dalton more than most expected.

If you read our Bengals running back fantasy football preview, you'd know they were going against a brutal schedule in terms of defenses' ability to stop running backs. They were set to face the No. 1 (Ravens, twice), No. 3 (Seahawks), No. 4 (Cardinals), No. 5 (49ers), No. 6 (Bills), No. 9 (Rams), No. 10 (Broncos) and No. 11 (Chiefs) defenses in terms of points allowed by opposing running backs in 2014.

Three of Cincinnati's first five games have come against the aforementioned teams, and all three helped limit the Bengals' ground game and force the offense to run through Dalton. It's not getting easier this week either when Cincinnati travels to Buffalo to face the Bills' defense, who is allowing the seventh-fewest points to opposing backs this season.

In other words, don't expect Dalton's red-hot start to slow down this week, but don't expect him to keep producing as he has, as the season rolls on and weaker run defenses allow Jeremy Hill and Giovani Bernard to carry the offense more.

There is, however, no reason Dalton should not be owned in 100-percent of fantasy leagues going forward. He's simply too good to not be rostered in every league, and you'd be wise to play him this week against a Bills defense allowing the sixth-most points to quarterbacks this season.