Week 7 Fantasy Football Rankings: The Best 8 Running Back Matchups This Week

Some NFL running backs seem broken, stuck in a rut. Others have been toiling in futility. There are ways to cure these ills, and they do not necessarily involve voodoo dolls. Good matchups can be a panacea, or at least a one-week fix.

There are also running backs who have thrived and simply have a great matchup to make it all gravy for their owners this week. 

Here are some of these matchups.

Trent Richardson

There may be some injury concerns for Richardson, who left Sunday's game against the Bengals with a "flank" injury that turned out to be his ribs, but the rookie is apparently day-to-day and should be good to go this weekend.

He goes up against a Colts defense that was absolutely shredded on the ground by the likes of perennial plodder Shonn Greene and the Jets offense. Granted, Greene looked like a man possessed last week, but Richardson is a superior player.

Of course, the Colts are likely going to try plugging their leaky defense this week. Do not expect a three-touchdown outburst from Richardson, but a good day is in store if his injury is indeed minor.

Chris Johnson

For the second time in three weeks, Johnson had a good game running the ball last week. This time it came against a decent Pittsburgh defense, though snake-bitten as it seems most defenses in the AFC North have been this season.

Jamie Harper stole Johnson's rushing touchdown at the goal line, but Johnson nearly got to 100 yards rushing.

Buffalo's defense is a perfect segue to a big week for Johnson. Had the Bills not faced Larry, Moe and perhaps Curly behind a horrific offensive line last week in Arizona, they might be giving up the most fantasy points to opposing running backs. As it stands, they are the fourth worst.

If Johnson does not have a great game, we may finally, really know where he stands in the pantheon of fantasy running backs: the basement.

Felix Jones

You should sooner trust a toddler with a pair of scissors than trust Jones with your fantasy football team, but this is, perhaps, the best week to do it. (Note: just to clarify, this is the best weekend to trust Jones, not a toddler with a pair of scissors.)

Jones has burned fantasy owners time and again in the past, whether it was with injury or underwhelming performances. He gets a shot at redemption this week after his fantastic performance against the Ravens.

DeMarco Murray's foot injury will keep him out of Dallas' Week 7 tilt against the Panthers, who have been terrible against opposing running backs. Of course, it is just as likely that Phillip Tanner will score 20 fantasy points while Jones languishes on the sideline with a freak elbow injury, but this is as good matchup nonetheless.

Stevan Ridley

Ridley is coming off a poor performance against a good Seattle defense on the road, but his 16-carry workload shows us Bill Belichick was willing to forgive Ridley's fumble issues from the prior week.

That is good news for Ridley and his owners, and he gets a good matchup to boot. The Jets might have shut Vick Ballard and the Colts down last week, but the Patriots are a horse of a different color.

Remember, New York was absolutely steam rolled by the San Francisco 49ers on the ground just a week earlier. While the Patriots have a more balanced attack, they have been committed to the run. It should be a nice week for Ridley and one randomly selected running back in the Patriots' backfield.

Maurice Jones-Drew

The Jaguars have been atrocious on offense this season. Even Maurice Jones-Drew has fallen into a malaise, unusual no matter how poor Jacksonville has performed as a team.

The antidote might be coming this week against the Raiders, who had allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to running backs this season until they got to face the plodding Michael Turner in a surprising defensive performance.

Jones-Drew should see a typically heavy workload, and that is music to his fantasy owners' ears.

Darren McFadden

If Maurice Jones-Drew has a tasty matchup, this is a veritable smorgasbord for McFadden.

Despite having a pretty good game last week, including a touchdown, he still averaged 2.6 YPC, lowering his season average to 3.2. He did look more decisive and evasive despite the low average, though, and the Falcons are not a bad rushing defense.

The Jaguars are allowing 4.7 YPC and the second-most fantasy points to opposing running backs. If there is any team that is going to jump start Run DMC, it is the Jaguars.

Arian Foster

It almost goes without saying that Foster will have a good fantasy week; he is, after all, the top fantasy back in the league and shows no signs of letting up. Even on a down day against the Packers, Foster scored two touchdowns and had a great day.

This week, though, fantasy owners must be licking their chops for Foster's prospects. The Ravens are reeling with the loss of Lardarius Webb and Ray Lewis to injury. They have already given up the fifth-most rushing yards this season to go along with seven touchdowns, and the Texans are sure to try pounding them into submission.

Doug Martin

The Buccaneers like to run the ball.

There was growing concern for Doug Martin, who was averaging an awfully pedestrian 3.5 yards per carry (YPC) before going up against the Chiefs last weekend. He had a pretty good game, though LeGarrette Blount got the rushing touchdown in garbage time.

Martin faces off against a Saints team that is giving up the third-most rushing yards per game to opponents despite being one of the teams that has had a bye week thus far. It could be a shootout, but Martin figures to be a prominent figure in the fray.