Fantasy Football: NFL Week 10 Running Back Recap
November 16, 2011
No Darren McFadden, no problem for the Oakland Raiders last week, as Michael Bush gained 242 yards from scrimmage to vault the Silver and Black into first place.
Elsewhere, DeMarco Murray continued his rookie sensation season and Chris Johnson may have begun to salvage what has been a disappointing campaign.
Here is a recap for all the Week 10 running backs.
Michael Bush | OAK | 30 Att | 157 Yds | 1 TD | 3 Rec | 85 Yds | Bush is making the most of his opportunity to be Oakland's featured back. |
DeMarco Murray | DAL | 20 Att | 135 Yds | 1 TD | 6 Rec | 36 Yds | Buffalo could just not stop Murray all game. He could have had another touchdown too if Dallas hadn't benched him after 20 attempts. |
Chris Johnson | TEN | 27 Att | 130 Yds | 1 TD | 4 Rec | 44 Yds | Finally a game for Johnson owners that justifies drafting him in the first round. Tennessee won't always be up against a soft defense like Carolina. |
Steven Jackson | STL | 27 Att | 128 Yds | 0 TD | 3 Rec | 23 Yds | A decent day for St. Louis' only reliable fantasy option. |
Maurice Jones-Drew | JAC | 25 Att | 114 Yds | 1 TD | 3 Rec | 23 Yds | You really have to wonder if the Colts aren't playing for last place, so it's not surprising Jones-Drew had a big game. |
Fred Jackson | BUF | 13 Att | 114 Yds | 0 TD | 4 Rec | 1 Yds | A costly fumble and no touchdowns was unsettling for Jackson's fantasy owners. Sean Lee's return to the Cowboys didn't help after sustaining a wrist injury. |
Marshawn Lynch | SEA | 32 Att | 109 Yds | 1 TD | 5 Rec | 58 Yds | One of the NFL's worst offenses simply dominated one of its best defenses. We knew never to trust Baltimore's offense but who would have thought they would have been this bad? |
Lance Ball | DEN | 30 Att | 96 Yds | 0 TD | 0 Rec | 0 Yds | I wouldn't get too excited about Ball just yet; Denver obviously saw an opportunity to rest Willis McGahee against the awful Chiefs. Still, with Moreno out and McGahee dinged, Ball may continue to see some opportunities. |
Michael Turner | ATL | 22 Att | 96 Yds | 0 TD | 1 Rec | 10 Yds | Turner was kept out of the end zone but still ran for a decent amount of yards. |
Chris Ogbonnaya | CLE | 19 Att | 90 Yds | 0 TD | 2 Rec | 19 Yds | With Peyton Hillis and Montario Hardesty out, Ogbonnaya may be a great pickup from the waiver wire—if he's still there. |
Arian Foster | HOU | 17 Att | 84 Yds | 1 TD | 4 Rec | 85 Yds | Foster only needed 21 touches touches to total 169 yards and twp touchdowns. |
LeSean McCoy | PHI | 14 Att | 81 Yds | 1 TD | 3 Rec | 12 Yds | Philadelphia's passing-game woes may turn into fantasy gold for McCoy owners, not that he isn't already. |
Matt Forte | CHI | 18 Att | 64 Yds | 1 TD | 1 Rec | 3 Yds | Chicago's offense didn't really need to try too hard against the Lions' hapless defense; it's nice to finally see him score. |
James Starks | GB | 13 Att | 63 Yds | 0 TD | 3 Rec | 11 Yds | Once again, Green Bay players not named Starks combined for a total of six touchdowns. |
Ben Tate | HOU | 13 Att | 63 Yds | 1 TD | 0 Rec | 0 Yds | Foster was so effective against Tampa Bay that Houston could rest Tate too. Matt Schaub's untimely exit may be a boost to both Foster and Tate's fantasy production, but like always we'll have to wait and see. |
Beanie Wells | ARI | 23 Att | 62 Yds | 0 TD | 0 Rec | 0 Yds | Wells was alright in the Cardinals' romp over the Eagles. Skelton was effective enough throwing against Philidelphia's vaunted pass defense that Wells didn't have to run that often. |
Jackie Battle | KC | 9 Att | 61 Yds | 0 TD | 0 Rec | 0 Yds | Battle continues to disappoint fantasy owners in dire-enough straights to start Kansas City's top running back. |
Shonn Greene | NYJ | 13 Att | 61 Yds | 0 TD | 2 Rec | 14 Yds | Not the best matchup against New England's horrible pass defense. |
Cedric Benson | CIN | 15 Att | 57 Yds | 0 TD | 1 Rec | 5 Yds | Continues to get a fair amount of touches, but may be in serious danger of losing some to Bernard Scott. |
Brandon Jacobs | NYG | 18 Att | 55 Yds | 0 TD | 2 Rec | 17 Yds | San Francisco's run defense is clearly the best in the NFL right now, so I hope you weren't expecting much more from Jacobs. |
Donald Brown | IND | 14 Att | 53 Yds | 0 TD | 4 Rec | 12 Yds | Indianapolis has to give it to somebody, but you know they're likely to be horrible. Might be alright in a PPR league. |
Knowshon Moreno | DEN | 4 Att | 52 Yds | 0 TD | 0 Rec | 0 Yds | Just when Moreno seemed started to rush well he exits the season with an injury. |
Adrian Peterson | MIN | 14 Att | 51 Yds | 1 TD | 0 Rec | 0 Yds | You know the Vikings are losing badly when Peterson only gets 14 touches. |
Reggie Bush | MIA | 14 Att | 47 Yds | 2 TD | 4 Rec | 4 Yds | For those of us who avoid playing the unreliable Bush in our fantasy leagues, Bush's two-touchdown game is like a stab in the heart. I still wouldn't want him on my team, but clearly he's worth considering given Miami's limited offensive options. |
Dexter McCluster | KC | 8 Att | 45 Yds | 0 TD | 6 Rec | 48 Yds | We'll have to wait and see what kind of a role McCluster will play with a different quarterback. Not a bad day though with 93 total yards, especially in PPR leagues. |
Rashard Mendenhall | PIT | 16 Att | 44 Yds | 2 TD | 1 Rec | 26 Yds | Mendenhall only averaged 2.75 rushing yards per carry, but still scored twice against a tough Cincinnati defense. |
Maurice Morris | DET | 10 Att | 44 Yds | 0 TD | 1 Rec | 6 Yds | With Detroit's running game in shambles due to injuries, Morris may continue to get opportunities. But he'll have to make more of them to start in standard fantasy leagues. |
Daniel Thomas | MIA | 17 Att | 42 Yds | 0 TD | 0 Rec | 0 Yds | Thomas continues to disappoint as Miami's other back; Bush being suddenly effective doesn't help either. |
Roy Helu | WAS | 6 Att | 41 Yds | 0 TD | 3 Rec | 13 Yds | Washington's offense is in such chaos, but that hasn't translated into better fantasy production from their running backs. |
Kendall Hunter | SF | 6 Att | 40 Yds | 1 TD | 1 Rec | 4 Yds | Hunter will need to step up for San Francisco to continue to win without Frank Gore. There's some promise he can with more opportunity. |
Taiwan Jones | OAK | 7 Att | 39 Yds | 0 TD | 0 Rec | 0 Yds | Even with Carson Palmer throwing effectively against San Diego, Oakland is still going to run the ball a lot and it's not just going to be Bush. |
Danny Woodhead | NW | 7 Att | 38 Yds | 0 TD | 1 Rec | 6 Yds | New England was able to win against the Jets without a run game. |
Bernard Scott | CIN | 7 Att | 38 Yds | 0 TD | 0 Rec | 0 Yds | Scott hasn't really gotten the chance he might need to break out, but he might if Benson continues to be mediocre. |
LaDainian Tomlinson | NYJ | 7 Att | 38 Yds | 0 TD | 2 Rec | 22 Yds | Tomlinson still gets to play a fair share of the Jets' unreliable offense. |
Mike Tolbert | SD | 7 Att | 36 Yds | 0 TD | 5 Rec | 37 Yds | Ugly numbers considering Mathews' performance, but clearly still not 100 percent healthy either. |
Derrick Ward | HOU | 11 Att | 36 Yds | 1 TD | 0 Rec | 0 Yds | Without Schaub, Houston may have a third viable running back to start in deeper fantasy leagues. |
DeAngelo Williams | CAR | 8 Att | 35 Yds | 0 TD | 0 Rec | 0 Yds | Carolina's offense looked terrible against one of the NFL's worst defenses, Tennessee. |
Ryan Mathews | SD | 6 Att | 34 Yds | 0 TD | 3 Rec | 23 Yds | If San Diego continues to play so clumsily on offense, Mathews might continue to have a depressing workload for fantasy owners. |
LeGarrette Blount | TB | 10 Att | 34 Yds | 0 TD | 1 Rec | 0 Yds | Tampa Bay couldn't get anything started against Houston's defense. |
D.J. Ware | NYG | 9 Att | 34 Yds | 0 TD | 5 Rec | 85 Yds | The Giants' second running back put up great receiving numbers against a tough San Francisco defense. |
Kregg Lumpkin | TAM | 4 Att | 31 Yds | 0 TD | 5 Rec | 30 Yds | May continue to be a fair play in PPR leagues, but I wouldn't consider him otherwise if Blount plays. |
Jacquizz Rodgers | ATL | 7 Att | 30 Yds | 0 TD | 1 Rec | 8 Yds | It would be great to see what Rodgers could do against an easier opponent and Atlanta can rest Turner. |
Pierre Thomas | NO | 6 Att | 29 Yds | 0 TD | 4 Rec | 85 Yds | Thomas caught for an impressive 85 yards, but continues to see a less-than-ideal workload for fantasy owners, especially in the red zone. |
Phillip Tanner | DAL | 11 Att | 29 Yds | 0 TD | 0 Rec | 0 Yds | Tanner wasn't too effective as Murray's backup. With Felix Jones returning I don't think we'll see Tanner all that often unless Dallas has already won the game. |
Marion Barber | CHI | 13 Att | 27 Yds | 0 TD | 0 Rec | 0 Yds | When Forte and your defense can score, Barber's fantasy value takes a considerable hit. |
Ray Rice | BAL | 5 Att | 27 Yds | 0 TD | 8 Rec | 54 Yds | Rice actually threw better than Joe Flacco against Seattle, tossing a touchdown to Ed Dickson. |
Isaac Redman | PIT | 7 Att | 25 Yds | 0 TD | 1 Rec | -8 Yds | Redman's poor performance isn't too surprising considering Cincinatti's defense. |
Jonathan Stewart | CAR | 4 Att | 23 Yds | 0 TD | 4 Rec | 22 Yds | With Newton trying to transition into a more traditional pass-first NFL quarterback, looks like we'll have to wait and see what kind of role Stewart can have in it. Couldn't be much worse than his Week 10 performance. |
Ryan Torain | WAS | 10 Att | 20 Yds | 0 TD | 1 Rec | 4 Yds | Torain was just appallingly bad against Miami's run defense. |
Kevin Smith | DET | 4 Att | 19 Yds | 0 TD | 2 Rec | 10 Yds | Can Detroit recover from their offensive woes, and will it involve Smith enough to start him in fantasy football? |
Javon Ringer | TEN | 6 Att | 19 Yds | 0 TD | 1 Rec | 7 Yds | With Johnson running well, Ringer is definitely only a backup. |
Willis McGahee | DEN | 4 Att | 17 Yds | 0 TD | 0 Rec | 0 Yds | It's a sad reflection of Kansas City that Denver was able to run so effectively while resting their best rusher and losing Moreno to injury. |
Spencer Larsen | DEN | 5 Att | 17 Yds | 0 TD | 0 Rec | 0 Yds | Obviously Denver won't get away with relying heavily on the run against most opponents. |
Delone Carter | IND | 6 Att | 14 Yds | 0 TD | 0 Rec | 0 Yds | Even with Painter only throwing for 94 yards, Indianapolis couldn't run either. |
Mark Ingram | NO | 8 Att | 11 Yds | 0 TD | 1 Rec | 3 Yds | Ingram continues to be a bitter pill for fantasy owners to swallow, but the Saints just won't commit to Thomas either. |
Ricky Williams | BAL | 3 Att | 8 Yds | 0 TD | 3 Rec | 24 Yds | At least Williams caught more passes than Anquan Boldin. |
BenJarvus Green-Ellis | NE | 8 Att | 8 Yds | 0 TD | 0 Rec | 0 Yds | Fantasy owners still brave enough to play Green-Ellis were hoping for better numbers against the normally vulnerable Jets defense. |
Kevin Faulk | NE | 5 Att | 8 Yds | 0 TD | 0 Rec | 0 Yds | No catches for the potential PPR prospect Faulk. |
Mewelde Moore | PIT | 9 Att | 7 Yds | 0 TD | 3 Rec | 25 Yds | You can't blame Jacksonville for not continuing to try with Jones-Drew's handcuff, but Karim just can't get anything going, even against an awful opponent. |
Deji Karim | JAC | 8 Att | 6 Yds | 0 TD | 1 Rec | 17 Yds | Grant was unimpressive with only eight carries. |
Ryan Grant | GB | 5 Att | 4 Yds | 0 TD | 0 Rec | 0 Yds | Still no sparks of life for the New England running game. |
Darren Sproles | NO | 2 Att | 1 Yds | 0 TD | 4 Rec | 2 Yds | Sproles was definitely a letdown against Atlanta. |
Jacob Hester | SD | 1 Att | 1 Yds | 0 TD | 1 Rec | 7 Yds | Hester caught a short touchdown pass, annoying Atlanta's fantasy owners. |
John Kuhn | GB | 0 Att | 0 Yds | 0 TD | 2 Rec | 9 Yds | Kuhn sucked another red-zone target from Starks and Grant. |
Frank Gore | SF | 6 Att | 0 Yds | 0 TD | 1 Rec | 8 Yds | Gore's latest injury turns what was looking to be another great season into the guessing game of if he will play 12 games in a season. |
Woman in Reuben Foster Case Recants Domestic Violence Claim