With another hellish six-team bye week upon us, you likely had to scramble to replace the likes of Reggie Bush, Frank Gore, and Knowshon Moreno in your lineups. Worse, guys like Alfred Morris, Fred Jackson, Pierre Thomas, Darren Sproles, Lamar Miller, and Mike James are facing incredibly difficult matchups and Arian Foster, C.J. Spiller, and Zac Stacy could all be out with injury.
Luckily, players like Danny Woodhead, Ryan Mathews, DeMarco Murray (if healthy), Gio Bernard, Chris Johnson, Eddie Lacy, Adrian Peterson, Le’Veon Bell, and Ray Rice all have great matchups and are must-starts this week. Stevan Ridley, LeSean McCoy, Jamaal Charles, Marshawn Lynch, and Darren McFadden all make for strong starts as well. The Packers have either been terrible or stingy so it’s tough to tell what Matt Forte will do but he remains a must-start as always.
Let’s look at all of this week’s running back matchups.
Browse Matchups by Position: QB – RB – WR – TE
Highly Unfavorable, Unfavorable, Neutral, Slightly Favorable, Favorable
Rank |
AVG |
Defense |
Week 9 Opponents |
1 |
12.01 | Chargers | Alfred Morris, Roy Helu |
2 |
12.03 | Ravens | Chris Ogbonnaya, Willis McGahee, Fozzy Whittaker |
3 |
12.76 | Chiefs | Fred Jackson, Tashard Choice, C.J. Spiller (Q) |
4 |
12.89 | Jets | Pierre Thomas, Darren Sproles, Khiry Robinson |
5 |
13.19 | Cardinals | BYE |
6 |
13.61 | Bengals | Lamar Miller, Daniel Thomas |
7 |
13.75 | Seahawks | Mike James, Brian Leonard |
8 |
13.90 | Colts | Arian Foster (Q), Ben Tate (Q), Deji Karim, Ray Graham, Dennis Johnson |
9 |
14.33 | Bills | Jamaal Charles |
10 |
14.74 | Packers | Matt Forte |
11 |
15.03 | Panthers | Steven Jackson, Jacquizz Rodgers, Jason Snelling |
12 |
15.53 | Eagles | Darren McFadden, Marcel Reece |
13 |
15.55 | Giants | BYE |
14 |
15.83 | Buccaneers | Marshawn Lynch |
15 |
16.03 | Raiders | LeSean McCoy |
16 |
16.67 | Falcons | DeAngelo Williams, Mike Tolbert, Jonathan Stewart (Q) |
17 |
17.23 | Lions | BYE |
18 |
17.44 | Saints | Chris Ivory, Bilal Powell |
19 |
17.50 | Texans | Trent Richardson, Donald Brown |
20 |
17.85 | Patriots | Le’Veon Bell |
21 |
18.20 | 49ers | BYE |
22 |
18.84 | Broncos | BYE |
23 |
18.88 | Browns | Ray Rice |
24 |
18.88 | Cowboys | Adrian Peterson |
25 |
19.56 | Steelers | Stevan Ridley, LeGarrette Blount, Brandon Bolden |
26 |
20.16 | Titans | Zac Stacy (Q), Daryl Richardson, Isaiah Pead |
27 |
20.20 | Bears | Eddie Lacy, James Starks |
28 |
20.40 | Rams | Chris Johnson |
29 |
22.34 | Dolphins | Gio Bernard, BenJarvus Green-Ellis |
30 |
23.89 | Vikings | DeMarco Murray (Q), Joseph Randle |
31 |
23.90 | Jaguars | BYE |
32 |
23.97 | Redskins | Ryan Mathews, Danny Woodhead |
*Values based on Yahoo standard scoring.