Backfield Breakdown: Week 14 Running Back Usage and Week 15 Waivers

Backfield Breakdown: Week 14 Running Back Usage and Week 15 Waivers

This article is part of our Backfield Breakdown series.

I'm not sure if Week 14 was the worst week this season in terms of the number of overall injuries in NFL games, but it was certainly the worst for fantasy-relevant players going down. Running backs are rarely excepted when that's the case, and the injury bug bit Rhamondre Stevenson, Dameon Pierce and Jeff Wilson in Week 14.

There's also the matter of QB injuries impacting RB's team context, though James Conner did rather well for himself in the theoretically difficult spot against a tough New England defense without Kyler Murray by his side. The presence of a backup QB under center will often lead to more focus on the run game, but it also will tend to mean fewer red-zone opportunities and force the RB to take a larger percentage of his carries in unfavorable situations where the defense is expecting it (and possibly stacking the box).

In any case, it all makes for a messy week on waivers as we prepare for the first week of fantasy playoffs in many leagues. Lets get to it.

Stat Leaderboards

Snap/Carry/Target Shares

Here we're showing each running back's share of his team's snaps, carries and targets, with the third column in each case being the difference between a player's rates for Week 14 and the season as a whole. Sorting by these 'delta' columns is a quick way to see which backs got more/less work than usual, be it due to injury, game script or a role change (any of

I'm not sure if Week 14 was the worst week this season in terms of the number of overall injuries in NFL games, but it was certainly the worst for fantasy-relevant players going down. Running backs are rarely excepted when that's the case, and the injury bug bit Rhamondre Stevenson, Dameon Pierce and Jeff Wilson in Week 14.

There's also the matter of QB injuries impacting RB's team context, though James Conner did rather well for himself in the theoretically difficult spot against a tough New England defense without Kyler Murray by his side. The presence of a backup QB under center will often lead to more focus on the run game, but it also will tend to mean fewer red-zone opportunities and force the RB to take a larger percentage of his carries in unfavorable situations where the defense is expecting it (and possibly stacking the box).

In any case, it all makes for a messy week on waivers as we prepare for the first week of fantasy playoffs in many leagues. Lets get to it.

Stat Leaderboards

Snap/Carry/Target Shares

Here we're showing each running back's share of his team's snaps, carries and targets, with the third column in each case being the difference between a player's rates for Week 14 and the season as a whole. Sorting by these 'delta' columns is a quick way to see which backs got more/less work than usual, be it due to injury, game script or a role change (any of which will be discussed in the game-by-game section at the bottom of this article.

 SnpS% W14S% '22S% ΔCarr.CS W14CS '22CS ΔTgtTS W14TS '22TS Δ
1Travis Homer4990.7%18.3%72.4%964.3%5.9%58.4%38.3%3.3%5.0%
2Kevin Harris2949.2%5.3%43.9%838.1%3.6%34.5%00.0%0.0%0.0%
3James Conner7194.7%52.4%42.3%1568.2%40.0%28.2%717.1%8.5%8.6%
4Zonovan Knight3547.3%12.9%34.4%1777.3%14.1%63.2%24.5%2.2%2.3%
5Christian McCaffrey4469.8%35.9%33.9%1438.9%23.4%15.5%313.6%10.7%2.9%
6Pierre Strong1932.2%3.6%28.6%523.8%1.8%22.0%26.1%0.5%5.6%
7Marlon Mack2331.9%3.9%28.0%315.8%2.1%13.7%37.0%1.2%5.8%
8J.K. Dobbins2642.6%15.1%27.5%1535.7%12.2%23.5%00.0%1.7%-1.7%
9Gary Brightwell2133.3%6.1%27.2%521.7%3.4%18.3%39.4%1.4%8.0%
10Jordan Mason1930.2%6.6%23.6%1130.6%7.6%23.0%00.0%0.0%0.0%
11Latavius Murray3852.8%30.6%22.2%842.1%30.6%11.5%511.6%5.4%6.2%
12Joshua Kelley3240.0%18.7%21.3%417.4%12.2%5.2%24.2%2.9%1.3%
13Gus Edwards2134.4%13.3%21.1%1331.0%15.2%15.8%00.0%0.6%-0.6%
14James Cook2440.7%20.6%20.1%416.7%18.6%-1.9%13.7%5.5%-1.8%
15Raheem Mostert3772.5%52.6%19.9%1157.9%47.2%10.7%14.2%6.1%-1.9%
16Malcolm Brown1828.1%9.1%19.0%14.5%4.9%-0.4%25.9%0.9%5.0%
17Dare Ogunbowale1827.3%8.8%18.5%12.7%2.7%0.0%28.3%4.0%4.3%
18Travis Etienne5476.1%59.6%16.5%1768.0%48.1%19.9%00.0%7.6%-7.6%
19Isiah Pacheco2942.6%27.9%14.7%1356.5%39.0%17.5%37.1%1.9%5.2%
20Kyren Williams1929.7%15.8%13.9%313.6%8.2%5.4%25.9%2.6%3.3%
21Matt Breida2234.9%21.0%13.9%313.0%9.0%4.0%412.5%4.2%8.3%
22Rachaad White4052.6%38.9%13.7%1368.4%33.6%34.8%59.8%8.4%1.4%
23Chuba Hubbard2331.5%18.1%13.4%1430.4%15.2%15.2%315.0%2.9%12.1%
24D'Onta Foreman3547.9%34.6%13.3%2145.7%40.7%5.0%15.0%2.6%2.4%
25Jaylen Warren2240.0%27.2%12.8%315.0%12.0%3.0%39.7%5.3%4.4%
26Justin Jackson2129.6%16.8%12.8%413.3%9.2%4.1%12.8%3.5%-0.7%
27Eno Benjamin812.1% 12.1%38.1% 8.1%00.0% 0.0%
28Jerick McKinnon3957.4%45.3%12.1%626.1%16.7%9.4%921.4%10.6%10.8%
29Dalvin Cook5585.9%74.0%11.9%1588.2%70.3%17.9%25.0%9.3%-4.3%
30Cam Akers2742.2%30.5%11.7%1254.5%37.2%17.3%12.9%1.9%1.0%
31Raheem Blackshear1419.2%8.5%10.7%48.7%5.3%3.4%15.0%2.9%2.1%
32Derrick Henry5075.8%65.2%10.6%1785.0%75.1%9.9%513.2%10.5%2.7%
33Nyheim Hines1016.9%6.5%10.4%14.2%1.4%2.8%13.7%1.3%2.4%
34Julius Chestnut710.6%1.8%8.8%00.0%1.4%-1.4%25.3%0.6%4.7%
35Josh Jacobs5083.3%74.8%8.5%2771.1%81.8%-10.7%210.5%12.1%-1.6%
36Nick Chubb4562.5%54.3%8.2%1456.0%55.9%0.1%37.7%6.6%1.1%
37JaMycal Hasty1723.9%15.9%8.0%416.0%8.6%7.4%00.0%3.4%-3.4%
38Salvon Ahmed59.8%1.9%7.9%15.3%1.7%3.6%00.0%0.0%0.0%
39Miles Sanders4566.2%60.0%6.2%1754.8%47.1%7.7%39.7%6.2%3.5%
40Tony Jones59.3%3.5%5.8%17.1%2.6%4.5%25.6%1.4%4.2%
41Keaontay Ingram912.0%7.2%4.8%14.5%6.5%-2.0%00.0%0.4%-0.4%
42Demetric Felton912.5%7.7%4.8%00.0%0.2%-0.2%00.0%0.7%-0.7%
43Tony Pollard4157.7%53.1%4.6%1032.3%39.5%-7.2%512.8%10.2%2.6%
44Boston Scott1217.6%13.3%4.3%619.4%9.9%9.5%13.2%1.3%1.9%
45Corey Clement34.0% 4.0%00.0% 0.0%12.4% 2.4%
46Michael Carter3750.0%46.0%4.0%522.7%31.9%-9.2%613.6%9.4%4.2%
47D'Andre Swift2535.2%32.0%3.2%620.0%18.9%1.1%411.1%10.6%0.5%
48Ezekiel Elliott3549.3%46.2%3.1%1548.4%43.0%5.4%512.8%4.5%8.3%
49Samaje Perine2943.3%40.3%3.0%415.4%23.4%-8.0%515.6%9.6%6.0%
50Joe Mixon3958.2%55.6%2.6%1453.8%51.5%2.3%26.3%11.8%-5.5%
51Zamir White35.0%4.2%0.8%37.9%4.6%3.3%00.0%0.0%0.0%
52Mike Boone1115.3%14.6%0.7%315.8%7.3%8.5%24.7%3.5%1.2%
53Trayveon Williams23.0%3.9%-0.9%13.8%1.8%2.0%13.1%0.6%2.5%
54Benny Snell23.6%4.8%-1.2%210.0%5.7%4.3%00.0%0.5%-0.5%
55Ameer Abdullah813.3%14.8%-1.5%00.0%1.2%-1.2%210.5%6.0%4.5%
56Jeff Wilson815.7%17.4%-1.7%421.1%15.3%5.8%00.0%2.9%-2.9%
57Isaiah Spiller22.5%5.8%-3.3%00.0%6.1%-6.1%00.0%0.6%-0.6%
58Jamaal Williams2636.6%41.0%-4.4%1653.3%55.0%-1.7%12.8%3.1%-0.3%
59Austin Ekeler4758.8%63.2%-4.4%1565.2%51.9%13.3%816.7%20.6%-3.9%
60Kareem Hunt2838.9%44.5%-5.6%416.0%25.7%-9.7%410.3%8.5%1.8%
61Brandon Bolden11.7%7.8%-6.1%00.0%2.4%-2.4%00.0%2.1%-2.1%
62Kenneth Gainwell1217.6%26.2%-8.6%00.0%9.5%-9.5%13.2%5.4%-2.2%
63Najee Harris3156.4%65.5%-9.1%1260.0%53.4%6.6%39.7%9.2%0.5%
64Dameon Pierce3654.5%63.7%-9.2%2259.5%74.3%-14.8%00.0%9.2%-9.2%
65Alexander Mattison914.1%25.1%-11.0%211.8%16.5%-4.7%00.0%3.4%-3.4%
66Dontrell Hilliard913.6%26.0%-12.4%00.0%6.0%-6.0%00.0%8.0%-8.0%
67Leonard Fournette3647.4%60.2%-12.8%421.1%52.1%-31.0%713.7%11.4%2.3%
68Devin Singletary2949.2%68.0%-18.8%833.3%42.0%-8.7%27.4%9.6%-2.2%
69Kenyan Drake1118.0%37.1%-19.1%12.4%22.7%-20.3%211.8%5.8%6.0%
70Rex Burkhead57.6%26.9%-19.3%25.4%8.8%-3.4%14.2%9.0%-4.8%
71Justice Hill23.3%23.5%-20.2%00.0%10.0%-10.0%00.0%2.8%-2.8%
72Rhamondre Stevenson1322.0%67.0%-45.0%314.3%49.2%-34.9%39.1%18.1%-9.0%
73Saquon Barkley2031.7%78.6%-46.9%939.1%61.2%-22.1%26.3%15.1%-8.8%
74             
75David Montgomery  61.0%   35.2%   11.2% 
76Aaron Jones  60.9%   49.0%   13.7% 
77Alvin Kamara  59.7%   44.0%   16.5% 
78Jonathan Taylor  58.7%   59.6%   8.5% 
79AJ Dillon  49.3%   42.7%   7.8% 
80Kenneth Walker  47.3%   45.1%   6.2% 
81Antonio Gibson  46.9%   34.7%   12.0% 
82Tyler Allgeier  43.5%   31.3%   3.4% 
83Cordarrelle Patterson  34.6%   25.8%   5.5% 
84Khalil Herbert  29.3%   23.7%   2.6% 
85Brian Robinson  28.3%   36.7%   2.1% 

      

Week 15 Injury Report

Inactives

Kenneth Walker (ankle) & DeeJay Dallas (ankle)

Damien Harris (thigh)

Hassan Haskins (hip)

Craig Reynolds (IR - ribs)

Khalil Herbert (IR - hip)

Clyde Edwards-Helaire (IR - ankle)

Chase Edmonds (IR - ankle)

    

In-Game Injuries

Dontrell Hilliard suffered a neck injury and is out for Week 15, at least.

Jeff Wilson hurt his hip and missed the second half but is said to be only day-to-day.

Saquon Barkley played through a neck injury but was rested in the fourth quarter.

Dameon Pierce suffered a high-ankle sprain in the second half.

Rhamondre Stevenson injured his ankle and missed the second half after trying to return.

Mike Boone suffered another ankle injury and is on IR again.

    

Week 15 Waivers & Sleepers

Picking from players rostered in no more than half of Yahoo Leagues.

Waivers, Pt. 1 Top Adds & Streamers

  1. Pierre Strong - 1%
  2. Travis Homer - 34%  
  3.   Kevin Harris - 1% 
  4. Rex Burkhead - 3%
  5. Chuba Hubbard - 33%
  6. Kyren Williams - 34%

    

Waivers, Pt. 2 Bench Stashes & Sleepers

  1. Khalil Herbert (IR - hip) - 37%
  2. Alexander Mattison - 34%
  3. Kenneth Gainwell - 15%
  4. Jordan Mason - 12%
  5. Zamir White - 3%
  6. Deon Jackson - 6% 
  7. JaMycal Hasty - 8%
  8. Matt Breida - 10% 
  9. Joshua Kelley - 4%
  10. Jaylen Warren - 15% 
  11. Boston Scott - 1%
  12. Clyde Edwards-Helaire (IR 0 ankle) - 37%

     

Week 15 Drops & Benchings

Drop'em

Kenyan Drake

Nyheim Hines

James Robinson

Melvin Gordon

Tony Jones

Dontrell Hilliard (neck)

Mike Boone (IR - ankle)

Ty Johnson

   

Bench'em

Devin Singletary

Latavius Murray

Cam Akers

D'Andre Swift

Michael Carter

       

Week 15 Game-by-Game Breakdowns

Raiders (16) at Rams (17) 

 SnpS% W14S% '22Carr.CS W14CS '22TgtTS W14TS '22YdsTD
1Josh Jacobs5083.3%74.8%2771.1%81.8%210.5%12.1%1141
2Ameer Abdullah813.3%14.8%00.0%1.2%210.5%6.0%170
3Zamir White35.0%4.2%37.9%4.6%00.0%0.0%90
4Brandon Bolden11.7%7.8%00.0%2.4%00.0%2.1%00
  • Jacobs hurt his pinkie finger and briefly left, yet finished with his second largest snap share of the season.
    • I don't think a finger injury will knock him out, but Jacobs is in a contract year and on a team that would likely miss the playoff even if it won out, so he may be careful if he deals with an injury to a more worrisome part of his body (e.g. knee) late this season. Or maybe he just wants to win the rushing title, who knows.

    

 SnpS% W14S% '22Carr.CS W14CS '22TgtTS W14TS '22YdsTD
1Cam Akers2742.2%30.5%1254.5%37.2%12.9%1.9%431
2Kyren Williams1929.7%15.8%313.6%8.2%25.9%2.6%290
3Malcolm Brown1828.1%9.1%14.5%4.9%25.9%0.9%170
  • Akers made his third straight start but dropped to 42% snap share, after putting up 17-60-2 on 72% share in a loss to Seattle the week before.
    • He did score his fourth TD of the season and third in the past two weeks... but also lost a fumble late in the second quarter.
    • Akers took 67% of snaps in the first half, before dropping to 33% in the second half after his lost fumble late in the second quarter.
      • Akers, Williams and Brown each played 15-16 snaps after halftime, with Akers getting five touches, Williams four and Brown two.

         

Jets (12) at Bills (20) 

 SnpS% W14S% '22Carr.CS W14CS '22TgtTS W14TS '22YdsTD
1Michael Carter3750.0%46.0%522.7%31.9%613.6%9.4%200
2Zonovan Knight3547.3%12.9%1777.3%14.1%24.5%2.2%771
  • As promised, Knight stayed highly involved, and even got another start with Carter back from an ankle injury.
    • Knight finished with 17-71-1, giving him three in a row with at least 14 carries for 69 yards. He's also caught each of his 10 targets.
    • Carter was held to 3-15-0 on six targets and lost a fumble; not his best effort.
    • Both RBs played at least 40% of snaps in every quarter.

     

 SnpS% W14S% '22Carr.CS W14CS '22TgtTS W14TS '22YdsTD
1Devin Singletary2949.2%68.0%833.3%42.0%27.4%9.6%430
2James Cook2440.7%20.6%416.7%18.6%13.7%5.5%150
3Nyheim Hines1016.9%6.5%14.2%1.4%13.7%1.3%70
  • Singletary rebounded only a little from his season-low 44% snap share the week before.
    • 49 percent, with 10 of the 17 RB opportunities. I'm starting Knight over him this week, if I start either.
  • Cook was held to 15 yards on five touches, after 20 touches for 107 yards the week before. But Cook's 41% snap share was his  second largest of the season, down only a sliver from 43% the week before.
    • Hines laso took some snaps but with only two touches for seven yards.

         

Eagles (48) at Giants (22) 

 SnpS% W14S% '22Carr.CS W14CS '22TgtTS W14TS '22YdsTD
1Miles Sanders4566.2%60.0%1754.8%47.1%39.7%6.2%1552
2Boston Scott1217.6%13.3%619.4%9.9%13.2%1.3%371
3Kenneth Gainwell1217.6%26.2%00.0%9.5%13.2%5.4%00
  • Sanders had his third game of the year with more than 150 total yards and multiple TDs. 
    • He scored from 3 and 40 yards out in this one, while Scott had a three-yarder late in the fourth quarter.
    • Scott got four of his six carries after Sanders' final carry (the 40-yard TD). Before that, Sanders had taken 17 of the team's 19 RB carries.

     

 SnpS% W14S% '22Carr.CS W14CS '22TgtTS W14TS '22YdsTD
1Matt Breida2234.9%21.0%313.0%9.0%412.5%4.2%150
2Gary Brightwell2133.3%6.1%521.7%3.4%39.4%1.4%410
3Saquon Barkley2031.7%78.6%939.1%61.2%26.3%15.1%480
  • Barkley's snap share plummeted as he played through a neck injury and the Giants got crushed. It does seem he avoided a setback with the injury, and could get back to his normal workload for the crucial rematch against Washington in Week 15.
    • He's not the locked-in, high-end RB1 he was earlier this season.
  • Barkley played 52% of snaps in the first half and 17% in the second half, so what Daboll said is partially true, but the RB's work was also scaled back well before the game got out of hand.
    • Brightwell got 47% of snaps and five touches after halftime, compared to Matt Breida's 36% and two touches. But it's hard to say just how much that means, given that it was a blowout. It might be Breida over Brightwell (or a 50/50 split) if Barkley were to miss time.

         

Jaguars (36) at Titans (22) 

 SnpS% W14S% '22Carr.CS W14CS '22TgtTS W14TS '22YdsTD
1Travis Etienne5476.1%59.6%1768.0%48.1%00.0%7.6%320
2JaMycal Hasty1723.9%15.9%416.0%8.6%00.0%3.4%130
  • Etienne wasn't targeted despite playing 76% of snaps, and was held to 32 yards on 17 carries as Trevor Lawrence and Evan Engram put the Jags offense on their backs.
    • Etienne hasn't seen more than three targets in a game since... Week 7. Frustrating for fantasy, but the Jacksonville offense has made a lot of real-life progress in that same time.

     

 SnpS% W14S% '22Carr.CS W14CS '22TgtTS W14TS '22YdsTD
1Derrick Henry5075.8%65.2%1785.0%75.1%513.2%10.5%1551
2Dontrell Hilliard913.6%26.0%00.0%6.0%00.0%8.0%00
3Julius Chestnut710.6%1.8%00.0%1.4%25.3%0.6%80
  • Henry put up 17-121-1 rushing and 3-34-0 on five targets.
    • He's the league leader in carries (275), and already has a career high for catches (26).
  • Hassan Haskins (hip) was inactive for a second straight game, making Chestnut the No. 3 back, which trasnlated to a couple targets after Hilliard suffered a neck injury (Hilliard is already ruled out for Week 15).

    

Ravens (16) at Steelers (14) 

 SnpS% W14S% '22Carr.CS W14CS '22TgtTS W14TS '22YdsTD
1J.K. Dobbins2642.6%15.1%1535.7%12.2%00.0%1.7%1201
2Gus Edwards2134.4%13.3%1331.0%15.2%00.0%0.6%660
3Kenyan Drake1118.0%37.1%12.4%22.7%211.8%5.8%20
4Justice Hill23.3%23.5%00.0%10.0%00.0%2.8%00
  • Dobbins returned from IR and took 15 carries on his 22 snaps (43%), running for 120 yards and a short TD.
    • Edwards also got carries, 13, while Drake had only one and took five of his 11 snaps on third down.

     

 SnpS% W14S% '22Carr.CS W14CS '22TgtTS W14TS '22YdsTD
1Najee Harris3156.4%65.5%1260.0%53.4%39.7%9.2%501
2Jaylen Warren2240.0%27.2%315.0%12.0%39.7%5.3%270
3Benny Snell23.6%4.8%210.0%5.7%00.0%0.5%40
  • Harris scored his fourth TD in the past four weeks but had only 50 total yards, losing some work to Warren and even a couple carries to Snell.

         

Browns (10) at Bengals (23) 

 SnpS% W14S% '22Carr.CS W14CS '22TgtTS W14TS '22YdsTD
1Nick Chubb4562.5%54.3%1456.0%55.9%37.7%6.6%540
2Kareem Hunt2838.9%44.5%416.0%25.7%410.3%8.5%120
  • It's been a rough first two weeks of the Deshaun Watson era. What a shame.

     

 SnpS% W14S% '22Carr.CS W14CS '22TgtTS W14TS '22YdsTD
1Joe Mixon3958.2%55.6%1453.8%51.5%26.3%11.8%1060
2Samaje Perine2943.3%40.3%415.4%23.4%515.6%9.6%241
3Trayveon Williams23.0%3.9%13.8%1.8%13.1%0.6%80
  • Mixon ceded more snaps than usual in his first week back from a two-game absence, but he still had 10 more carries than Perine (who drew five targets and played 43% of snaps).
    • Mixon's 96 rushing yards were his second most this season.

         

Texans (23) at Cowboys (27) 

 SnpS% W14S% '22Carr.CS W14CS '22TgtTS W14TS '22YdsTD
1Dameon Pierce3654.5%63.7%2259.5%74.3%00.0%9.2%781
2Dare Ogunbowale1827.3%8.8%12.7%2.7%28.3%4.0%10
3Eno Benjamin812.1% 38.1% 00.0% 10
  • Pierce left with an ankle injury in the fourth quarter and is likely to miss at least a week or two.
    • Ogunbowale took 33% of snaps in the fourth quarter, with one catch.
    • Burkhead took 28% of snaps in Q4, with two carries and one catch.
    • Benjamin took 17%, with two carries.
      • None of them did anything with the touches. Maybe Burkhead gets enough targets to be a startable RB2 the next few weeks... but not if he's losing this many pass snaps to Ogunbowale. If I'm just looking for a Week 15 starter, I think I'd rather take a shot on Pierre Strong and hope Stevenson can't play.

     

 SnpS% W14S% '22Carr.CS W14CS '22TgtTS W14TS '22YdsTD
1Tony Pollard4157.7%53.1%1032.3%39.5%512.8%10.2%622
2Ezekiel Elliott3549.3%46.2%1548.4%43.0%512.8%4.5%811
  • Pollard scored the first two TDs and Elliott the game winner; their workload split is probably the closest thing to a true 50/50 in the NFL right now.

         

Vikings (23) at Lions (34) 

 SnpS% W14S% '22Carr.CS W14CS '22TgtTS W14TS '22YdsTD
1Dalvin Cook5585.9%74.0%1588.2%70.3%25.0%9.3%361
2Alexander Mattison914.1%25.1%211.8%16.5%00.0%3.4%-10
  • Cook saved face with a short TD but otherwise was shut down despite handling his third largest snap share of the season.

     

 SnpS% W14S% '22Carr.CS W14CS '22TgtTS W14TS '22YdsTD
1Jamaal Williams2636.6%41.0%1653.3%55.0%12.8%3.1%370
2D'Andre Swift2535.2%32.0%620.0%18.9%411.1%10.6%390
3Justin Jackson2129.6%16.8%413.3%9.2%12.8%3.5%311
  • I should have kept my mouth shut about Swift, last week's cover photo for Backfield Breakdown.
    • After 51% of snaps and 18 touches Week 13, Swift showed up on the Week 14 injury report (ankle) and slid back to the 30s for snap share.
    • In five of the past six games Swift landed between 31-36 percent snap share.
  • Craig Reynolds (ribs) was designated to return from IR and might replace Jackson as the No. 3 back down the stretch.

    

Chiefs (34) at Broncos (28) 

 SnpS% W14S% '22Carr.CS W14CS '22TgtTS W14TS '22YdsTD
1Jerick McKinnon3957.4%45.3%626.1%16.7%921.4%10.6%1342
2Isiah Pacheco2942.6%27.9%1356.5%39.0%37.1%1.9%930
  • McKinnon and Pacheco continued with their runner-receiver, 50-50ish backfield split, and this time it was McKinnon who shone with 7-112-2 on nine targets, a receiving line that would make Ja'Marr Chase proud.
    • McKinnon has 34 targets in six games since a Week 8 bye, including four games with six or more.
  • The 13 carries were Pacheco's fewest since Week 9, but he eclipsed 65 rushing yards for a fifth consecutive week all the same, plus the three targets and three catches were personal bests.

     

 SnpS% W14S% '22Carr.CS W14CS '22TgtTS W14TS '22YdsTD
1Latavius Murray3852.8%30.6%842.1%30.6%511.6%5.4%310
2Marlon Mack2331.9%3.9%315.8%2.1%37.0%1.2%771
3Mike Boone1115.3%14.6%315.8%7.3%24.7%3.5%290
  • Murray got a third straight start but managed only 31 yards on 11 touches and lost more work to Mack, who took a screen pass for a 66-yard TD early in the third quarter.
  • Boone hurt his ankle again and is done for the season.
    • In the second half with Boone out, Murray played 58% of snaps and had five touches, while Mack got 41% and four touches.

   

Panthers (30) at Seahawks (24) 

 SnpS% W14S% '22Carr.CS W14CS '22TgtTS W14TS '22YdsTD
1D'Onta Foreman3547.9%34.6%2145.7%40.7%15.0%2.6%750
2Chuba Hubbard2331.5%18.1%1430.4%15.2%315.0%2.9%991
3Raheem Blackshear1419.2%8.5%48.7%5.3%15.0%2.9%491
  • Hubbard has played between 32-to-42 percent of snaps in three straight games, taking a big chunk out of Foreman's workload.
    • That chunk included a short TD on Sunday, though only after Foreman failed to convert his own scoring chance.
    • And Foreman still got 21 carries, his fourth game in a row with double digits (averaging 21.8 carries for 85.3 yards in that stretch)

     

 SnpS% W14S% '22Carr.CS W14CS '22TgtTS W14TS '22YdsTD
1Travis Homer4990.7%18.3%964.3%5.9%38.3%3.3%340
2Tony Jones59.3%3.5%17.1%2.6%25.6%1.4%20
  • Homer dominated snaps (91%) on an extremely pass-heavy day for the Seattle offense with both Kenneth Walker and DeeJay Dallas inactive due to ankle injuries.
    • Homer has largely been used as a passing-down specialist in Seattle, but the team clearly doesn't trust Jones, at least not yet. It makes for an interesting situation with another game coming up Thursday (against the Niners)... you figure Homer will get at least 10 touches if Walker and Dallas are out again, even if the Seahawks go super pass-heavy.

         

Buccaneers (7) at 49ers (35) 

 SnpS% W14S% '22Carr.CS W14CS '22TgtTS W14TS '22YdsTD
1Rachaad White4052.6%38.9%1368.4%33.6%59.8%8.4%770
2Leonard Fournette3647.4%60.2%421.1%52.1%713.7%11.4%460
  • White had a 13-4 advantage in carries and slight advantage in snaps, after Fournette got 60% of snaps the week before.
    • White did get seven of his 18 opportunities in the fourth quarter, while Fournette added only two despite taking plenty of snaps (45% in Q4).
  • That's White's fourth game in a row with at least 15 touches and 69 total yards.

     

 SnpS% W14S% '22Carr.CS W14CS '22TgtTS W14TS '22YdsTD
1Christian McCaffrey4469.8%35.9%1438.9%23.4%313.6%10.7%1532
2Jordan Mason1930.2%6.6%1130.6%7.6%00.0%0.0%560
  • McCaffrey played 98% of snaps in the first half and 18% after halftime.
    • Mason, meanwhile, got all his carries in the second half. McCaffrey had a huge day even without much post-halftime work, scoring on a 27-yard pass and a 38-yard run.

         

Dolphins (17) at Chargers (23) 

 SnpS% W14S% '22Carr.CS W14CS '22TgtTS W14TS '22YdsTD
1Raheem Mostert3772.5%52.6%1157.9%47.2%14.2%6.1%440
2Jeff Wilson815.7%17.4%421.1%15.3%00.0%2.9%260
3Salvon Ahmed59.8%1.9%15.3%1.7%00.0%0.0%10
  • Mostert played 81% of snaps in the second half with Wilson sidelined by a hip injury, taking eight of the nine RB opportunities while Ahmed got a lone carry.

     

 SnpS% W14S% '22Carr.CS W14CS '22TgtTS W14TS '22YdsTD
1Austin Ekeler4758.8%63.2%1565.2%51.9%816.7%20.6%1041
2Joshua Kelley3240.0%18.7%417.4%12.2%24.2%2.9%350
3Isaiah Spiller22.5%5.8%00.0%6.1%00.0%0.6%00
  • Kelley reached 40% snap share for a second straight week; both high-volume games for the Chargers offense it's worth noting, i.e., Ekeler played a smaller share of the snaps than usual, but not fewer snaps in terms of the raw total (as you can probably tell by the continued production and large touch counts).

Patriots (27) at Cardinals (13) 

 SnpS% W14S% '22Carr.CS W14CS '22TgtTS W14TS '22YdsTD
1Kevin Harris2949.2%5.3%838.1%3.6%00.0%0.0%261
2Pierre Strong1932.2%3.6%523.8%1.8%26.1%0.5%901
3Rhamondre Stevenson1322.0%67.0%314.3%49.2%39.1%18.1%100
  • This was a backup-fest, with Stevenson hurting his ankle and joining Damien Harris (inactive - thigh) on the sideline. Both rookies then had their moments for New England, starting with a bulldozing 15-yard TD run by Harris in the second quarter.
    • Strong scored from three yards out in the fourth, and also had a 44-yard carry.
  • In the second half Strong played 70% of snaps and got eight of the 10 RB opportunities, piling up 90 yards.

     

 SnpS% W14S% '22Carr.CS W14CS '22TgtTS W14TS '22YdsTD
1James Conner7194.7%52.4%1568.2%40.0%717.1%8.5%1141
2Keaontay Ingram912.0%7.2%14.5%6.5%00.0%0.4%10
3Corey Clement34.0% 00.0% 12.4% 210
  • Conner played more than 95% of snaps for a third time in the past four weeks.
    • He's scored five TDs in that time, averaging 18.8 carries for 79 yards and 3.5 catches for 19.5 yards.

         

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jerry Donabedian
Jerry was a 2018 finalist for the FSWA's Player Notes Writer of the Year and DFS Writer of the Year awards. A Baltimore native, Jerry roots for the Ravens and watches "The Wire" in his spare time.
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