A horse a horse my kingdom for a horse, or at least a workhorse running back. With the playoffs here or around the corner it’s time to hand the ball to these guys.
Start ’em
Rex Burkhead / Dion Lewis New England Patriots
Miami is 25th against running backs in fantasy points allowed. Two weeks ago Burkhead touched the ball 15 times for 53 total yards and two touchdowns. Lewis had the rock 16 times for 113 yards (112 on the ground). Either of these guys could have a big game. I look for Lewis to get into the end zone this week since he’s been denied the past two weeks. Tom Brady gets all the press and rightfully so but the Patriots are 9th in the NFL in rushing yards.
Frank Gore Indianapolis Colts
Gore has averaged 14 carries and 53 yards a game this year. The past five games he’s rushed at least 17 times and no fewer than 13 times. He is consistent. The Bills pass defense is one of the better ones in the league. Their rush defense isn’t logging in at 31st in the NFL. The Colts should try to control this one on the ground and take some of the heat off of Jacoby Brissett. I see Gore having a strong day and maybe gets into the end zone in this one.
Payton Barber Tampa Bay Buccaneers
I talked about Barber in a previous article. He had the most touches of any Bucs running back all season. If Doug Martin returns from concussion protocol, and he is trending positively to do that, it would eat into Barber’s workload. I still like the Tampa runners against the Detroit Lions defense.
Isaiah Crowell Cleveland Browns
Probably no one was happier that Josh Gordon was on the field than Crowell, except Gordon himself. The big back has had trouble getting anything going with defenses focused on the run. It will be much harder for defenses to do that now. The Green Bay Packers rushing defense is 28th against running backs. The gave up 143 total yards to the aforementioned Barber. The type of back that has done damage to them though is the bigger, first and second down type of runner. In the top 10 running back performances only two had 50 yards receiving, LeVeon Bell and Alvin Kamara. Packers have given up 7 touchdowns to that top 10 on the ground and only one through the air.