This article is part of our Red Zone Watch series.
Chicago Bears
Running back Jeremy Langford was one of the more effective scorers from inside the five-yard line last season, but he failed to get any looks Sunday against the Cowboys before leaving in the third quarter with an ankle injury. The Bears did score two touchdowns from inside the 10-yard line, with tight end Zach Miller catching both of backup quarterback Brian Hoyer's passes to him in the end zone. Rookie Jordan Howard took over the backfield in Langford's absence, but it's yet to be seen if he'll be given the opportunities near the goal line, especially if starting QB Jay Cutler can return for Week 4 against the Lions.
Cleveland Browns
The Browns' offense is admittedly a mess, as they've already used three starting quarterbacks in three games, while their most versatile signal caller is a wide receiver. Running back Isaiah Crowell has gotten more work than Duke Johnson in the red zone, though the real threat is now Terrelle Pryor, who scored on a three-yard run out of the wildcat during Sunday's game against the Dolphins. Pryor had a monster game, catching eight passes for 144 yards, rushing four times for 21 yards and a touchdown and completing 3 of 5 passes for 35 yards through the air. With a weapon like that, there's no reason to think the Browns won't look to Pryor often when they're near the end zone, especially with Corey Coleman out for a number of weeks and Josh Gordon suspended
Chicago Bears
Running back Jeremy Langford was one of the more effective scorers from inside the five-yard line last season, but he failed to get any looks Sunday against the Cowboys before leaving in the third quarter with an ankle injury. The Bears did score two touchdowns from inside the 10-yard line, with tight end Zach Miller catching both of backup quarterback Brian Hoyer's passes to him in the end zone. Rookie Jordan Howard took over the backfield in Langford's absence, but it's yet to be seen if he'll be given the opportunities near the goal line, especially if starting QB Jay Cutler can return for Week 4 against the Lions.
Cleveland Browns
The Browns' offense is admittedly a mess, as they've already used three starting quarterbacks in three games, while their most versatile signal caller is a wide receiver. Running back Isaiah Crowell has gotten more work than Duke Johnson in the red zone, though the real threat is now Terrelle Pryor, who scored on a three-yard run out of the wildcat during Sunday's game against the Dolphins. Pryor had a monster game, catching eight passes for 144 yards, rushing four times for 21 yards and a touchdown and completing 3 of 5 passes for 35 yards through the air. With a weapon like that, there's no reason to think the Browns won't look to Pryor often when they're near the end zone, especially with Corey Coleman out for a number of weeks and Josh Gordon suspended for one more.
Dallas Cowboys
Ezekiel Elliott's fantasy owners were left a bit nervous in Week 2 after this two fumbles led to Alfred Morris getting a goal-line carry (which he turned into a touchdown). Well, nervousness has turned to full-blown panic, as the Cowboys scored three rushing touchdowns inside the four-yard line, with Elliott having to watch Dak Prescott, Alfred Morris and even Lance Dunbar (!) get in the end zone. Elliott was still a workhorse, rushing 30 times for 140 yards while also catching both of his targets for 20 receiving yards, but his fantasy upside is certainly capped if he's getting pulled near the goal line.
Green Bay Packers
Eddie Lacy broke the 100-yard mark Sunday against the Lions, but he was kept out of the end zone despite the Packers scoring four red-zone touchdowns. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw two TDs to Jordy Nelson (eight and 17 yards, respectively) and one each to Davante Adams (14 yards) and Richard Rodgers (two yards), continuing the trend of throwing for scores from in close instead of using their running backs. The Packers have used a fairly even distribution of plays from inside the 10-yard line (nine passes, eight runs), but their success is coming from the arm of Rodgers and not the feet of Lacy.
Minnesota Vikings
Matt Asiata may have gotten the start Sunday against the Panthers in place of the injured Adrian Peterson, but Jerick McKinnon led the team with 16 carries for 45 yards. Neither scored a touchdown, but it was McKinnon who rushed for a two-point conversion in the third quarter to make it 16-10, a bit of a surprising opportunity given that Asiata has had the goal-line back role in the past. If McKinnon can keep Asiata off the field when the Vikings are in close, there's little reason to think he can't be a viable fantasy option in many leagues.
New York Giants
The Giants were without starting running back Rashad Jennings on Sunday against Washington, but that didn't stop them from running close to the goal line, as Shane Vereen scored on a one-yard run on the team's first drive, while Orleans Darkwa scored on a two-yarder in the second quarter. Despite having one of the better wideout trios in the league, the Giants have run the ball more inside the 10-yard line than they've thrown, despite the ratio flipping inside the red zone overall (which is why it's important to look deeper into the stats). Jennings is expected to return in Week 4, and he could get plenty of touches with Vereen now ruled out for the season because of a triceps injury.
Philadelphia Eagles
Rookie quarterback Carson Wentz has been a revelation in the first three games of the season, as he has thrown for 769 yards and five touchdowns without an interception. However, the Eagles are not using his arm much as they get close to the goal line, as they've thrown the ball on just 41 percent of their snaps inside the 20-yard line, and only 21 percent from inside the 10. Starting running back Ryan Mathews was used sparingly Sunday against the Steelers after aggravating an ankle injury, which gave significantly more playing time to Wendell Smallwood, who rushed 17 times for 79 yards and a touchdown (which came from one-yard out) and Kenjon Barner, who had eight carries for 42 yards and an eight-yard score. Head coach Doug Peterson said after the game that Mathews is his starting running back when healthy, but it's clear that whoever starts in the Eagles' backfield will have value inside the red zone.
