Week 12 Fantasy Football Defensive Matchup Exploitation: RB

Ben Tate fantasy football
Ben Tate fantasy football
Nov 3 2013 Houston TX USA Houston Texans running back Ben Tate 44 rushes during the fourth quarter against the Indianapolis Colts at Reliant Stadium The Colts defeated the Texans 27 24 Troy Taormina USA TODAY Sports

The running back position has been volatile this season as good run-stopping teams have been able to hold even the most adept ball runners in check. This week, players like Chris Ivory, Ray Rice, Ryan Mathews, Bobby Rainey are virtually unstartable. Even DeMarco Murray figures to see limited production against an increasingly solid Giants defense that has held LeSean McCoy and Adrian Peterson to fewer than seven fantasy points in recent weeks.

Similarly, because of their situations and their matchups, stay away from guys like Donald Brown, Trent Richardson, Lamar Miller, and Andre Ellington this week.

Despite his tough matchup, Jamaal Charles is certainly a must-start against a Chargers D that started out good but have allowed 11+ points to Daniel Thomas, Knowshon Moreno, Alfred Morris, and Darrel Young over the last three weeks. Same goes for Reggie Bush and Joique Bell who face a Bucs run D that started out tough but have given up 11+ fantasy points to Antone Smith, Marshawn Lynch, DeAngelo Williams, Mike Tolbert, Jacquizz Rodgers, and LeSean McCoy over the last six weeks.

On the favorable side, definitely make sure to roll out Andre Brown, Matt Forte, Frank Gore, Eddie Lacy, Zac Stacy, Stevan Ridley, Shane Vereen, Pierre Thomas, Darren Sproles, Knowshon Moreno, and Alfred Morris this week. DeAngelo Williams could end up a decent start but has been severely limited by the running-back-by-committee, as is also the case with Chris Ogbonnaya. Ben Tate could be a solid start against the Jags but has been limited by his rib injury. If Darren McFadden doesn’t play, Rashad Jennings looks like a great start.

Let’s take a look at all of the running back matchups for Week 12.

Browse Matchups by Position: QBRBWRTE

Highly Unfavorable, Unfavorable, Neutral, Slightly Favorable, Favorable

Rank
vs
RB

AVG
RB
FPS
Allowed

Defense

Week 12 Opponents

1

12.3 Ravens Chris Ivory, Bilal Powell

2

12.77 Jets Ray Rice, Bernard Pierce

3

12.88 Cardinals Donald Brown, Trent Richardson

4

13.41 Bengals BYE

5

13.91 Panthers Lamar Miller, Daniel Thomas

6

14.39 Buccaneers Reggie Bush, Joique Bell

7

14.4 Chiefs Ryan Mathews, Danny Woodhead

8

14.51 Colts Andre Ellington, Rashard Mendenhall

9

14.57 Bills BYE

10

15 Seahawks BYE

11

15.3 Chargers Jamaal Charles

12

15.34 Giants DeMarco Murray

13

15.9 Lions Bobby Rainey, Brian Leonard

14

15.98 Texans Maurice Jones-Drew

15

16.48 Packers Adrian Peterson

16

16.69 Raiders Chris Johnson, Shonn Greene

17

16.87 Eagles BYE

18

17.34 Browns Le’Veon Bell

19

17.94 Saints Steven Jackson, Jacquizz Rodgers, Antone Smith

20

18.07 49ers Alfred Morris

21

18.1 Patriots Knowshon Moreno, Montee Ball

22

18.28 Falcons Pierre Thomas, Darren Sproles, Mark Ingram

23

19.65 Broncos Stevan Ridley, Shane Vereen, LeGarrette Blount

24

20.36 Steelers Chris Ogbonnaya, Willis McGahee, Fozzy Whittaker

25

20.87 Bears Zac Stacy

26

21.18 Vikings Eddie Lacy, James Starks

27

21.19 Titans Darren McFadden (Q), Rashad Jennings, Marcel Reece

28

22.19 Jaguars Ben Tate, Dennis Johnson

29

22.34 Redskins Frank Gore

30

23.11 Rams Matt Forte

31

23.22 Dolphins DeAngelo Williams, Mike Tolbert, Jonathan Stewart

32

24.03 Cowboys Andre Brown, Brandon Jacobs

*Values based on Yahoo standard scoring.

Browse Matchups by Position: QBRBWRTE

author avatar
Igor Derysh
Igor Derysh is Editor-at-Large at XN Sports and has been featured in The Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Boston Herald, Baltimore Sun, Orlando Sun-Sentinel, and FantasyPros. He has previously covered sports for COED Magazine, Fantasy Alarm, and Manwall.com.