Welcome to the season’s final edition of our fantasy backfield committee update, which will help you understand what's going on in the Shanahan-created world of running back tandems.
The four "worry levels" — High, Medium, Low and Non-Existent — are subject to change on a weekly basis and completely, subjectively determined by the humble fantasy analyst who writes this article. If you have any comments, insight, etc., please post a comment below. Under the most recent week and for the season, the player order goes according to who has the most touches.
Many of the situations below have changed due to players resting, injuries, etc. There are more high worry levels than usual, so if you need some running back help this week, keep an eye out for some new names. If you own a back whose team has already clinched its playoff slot – like LaDainian Tomlinson, for example – you’re rolling the dice by starting him. Maybe you should join the rest of the fantasy football universe and schedule your championship game a week earlier.
Thanks for reading all season.
Arizona Cardinals
Comment: If the Cardinals decide to rest some players after an early Vikings’ win, I have no idea who will get the leftover carries, and I don’t think I’ll be recommending the pickup of LaRod Stephens-Howling. Stick with Beanie and Hightower if you have them, and hope for the best.
Atlanta Falcons
Comment: No word, again, on whether Turner will play. I know “The Curse of 370” is a little silly, but Turner’s become another data point to support it.
Baltimore Ravens
Comment: The Ravens need a win this week, so they’ll probably get the ball to Rice every chance they get against the Raiders. Also, did you trade McGahee in early October like I told you to?
Buffalo Bills
Comment: F-Jax and Lynch get to play against the Colts’ B-team. Unless they try to protect the B-team from injury, in which case they’ll try to import defensive players from an Indy-area high school. You can never be too careful, right?
Carolina Panthers
Comment: Williams didn’t practice Wednesday, so Stewart could be in line for another big day against the Saints’ backups.
Chicago Bears
Comment: Either Forte is going to pad his stats with a big day against the Lions, or the Bears are going to fall on their faces after their big win over the Vikings. There’s no middle ground.
Cincinnati Bengals
Comment: If the Bengals take it easy against the Jets this week, L.J. could get plenty of work. Too bad the Jets will be sky-high in front of their alcohol-free crowd.
Cleveland Browns
Comment: After a couple of November deactivations – presumably because of bad blocking – Harrison’s carried the ball 73 times the last two games. This from a guy who Eric Mangini recently compared to Leon Washington.
Dallas Cowboys
Comment: Jones has had double-digit touches in each of the last three games. The more he gets the ball, the better the odds are of him breaking off a big play. I think I’ll go ahead and predict one for this week.
Denver Broncos
Comment: The Broncos will be playing for a playoff berth, and I wonder if that means they’ll give Buckhalter more work since he’s been more productive than Moreno.
Detroit Lions
Comment: I think Morris will bounce back with a nice day against the Bears. Just a hunch.
Green Bay Packers
Comment: Grant’s a candidate to get some rest this week, and I’d bet on Jackson over Green as the beneficiary. I wouldn’t bet a lot on it, though.
Houston Texans
Comment: Gary Kubiak said earlier this week that, A) Foster might start, and B) Foster and Moats would get more work than Brown. I could see starting either Foster or Moats in a fantasy matchup.
Indianapolis Colts
Comment: If you have Brown, start him. The Colts will probably want to shake more rust off him before the playoffs. Despite his output last week, 16 carries is nothing to sneeze at.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Comment: If I were the Jags, I’d put my slim playoff hopes squarely in MJD’s hands.
Kansas City Chiefs
Comment: Charles has broken the 100-yard mark in three straight games. He might be the midseason fantasy free-agent pickup of the year.
Miami Dolphins
Comment: Williams missed some of last week’s game with a shoulder injury, but he’s expected to play this week. He’ll get the ball until he drops.
Minnesota Vikings
Comment: I feel like Purple Jesus is about to finish the most disappointing 1,900-yard, 18-touchdown season in fantasy history. If you own him, did he make you as happy as you thought he would?
New England Patriots
Comment: You hate Maroney again, don’t you? You kind of knew he’d have a game at some point in which the other backs took his carries, but you didn’t think it would be the week of your fantasy championship game. If you never draft him again, I won’t blame you. Anyway, all bets are off this week with the Pats possibly resting people. Morris, Maroney, Taylor, BenJarvus Green-Ellis – anything can happen.
New Orleans Saints
Comment: The Saints have the NFC’s top seed locked up. I think Hamilton’s the bet here.
New York Giants
Comment: Jacobs is done for the season, and the New York Daily News speculates that rookie Gartrell Johnson is the likely candidate to pick up whatever carries Bradshaw doesn’t get. Don’t get carried away and pick up a guy you never heard of until just now, though.
New York Jets
Comment: The Jets need a win to make the playoffs, and the Bengals’ seed might be locked by the 8:30 p.m. ET kickoff. Can you envision a scenario where the Jets blow the Bengals out and give Greene plenty of carries as the clock winds down? He’s getting the ball enough to be a flex option as it is.
Oakland Raiders
Comment: Over the last three games, McFadden has 34 touches for 257 yards. If he produces like that, he can be a decent fantasy option next season, right?
Philadelphia Eagles
Comment: Westbrook’s return produced just the chaos we feared. Stay away, stay away, stay away.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Comment: When I wrote that article before the season telling everyone to draft Parker, I really hoped he’d crack the 300-yard barrier. You’re almost there, Fast Willie!
San Diego Chargers
Comment: The Chargers have nothing to play for, and Tolbert did a nice job in garbage time last week against the Titans. He’s a fantasy no-name who might be worth starting.
San Francisco 49ers
Comment: Gore gets a road game against the Rams to wrap up the season. Think they’ll do whatever they can to get him to 1,000 rushing yards, even though that stat is kind of meaningless nowadays?
Seattle Seahawks
Comment: Jones might not play due to his re-injured ribs, so get Forsett in there if you have him..
St. Louis Rams
Comment: Jackson was an unexpected scratch last week, and his status for this week is TBD. Too bad the workload split between Darby and Ogbonnaya didn’t tell us anything. I’d avoid this group unless you know Jackson will be active.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Comment: Ward has a hamstring injury that kept him out of practice Wednesday. Look for Williams to get a big workload to close out his unlikely healthy season.
Tennessee Titans
Comment: M-V-P! M-V-P! In fantasy, anyway.
Washington Redskins
Comment: What an awful mess. Ugh.
