DeMarco Murray, Ryan Mathews, Darren Sproles Post-Week 9 Fantasy Advice

The Philadelphia Eagles threw themselves right back into the NFC East race with a 33-27 overtime victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night, and their running backs provided critical late boosts for fantasy owners across the country.

Well, DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews did. Darren Sproles was largely missing in action.

With that in mind, here is a look at the final tallies from each back as well as some reactions moving forward:

Carries	Rushing Yards	Catches	Receiving Yards	Total Touchdowns	Targets	Fantasy Points
18	83	6	78	1	7	22.1

This was Murray’s best day since joining the Eagles in terms of total yardage, and he looked like the playmaker who led the league in rushing yards last season behind the Dallas offensive line.

There was also a revenge factor in place that fantasy owners cannot rely on in the future. After all, he was returning to Dallas and ran for only two yards in the last matchup against his former team. That won’t be there every Sunday, but it helped those who were looking for late points in Week 9.

What’s more, Murray played a serious role as a receiver in both contests against the Cowboys, with 78 receiving yards Sunday and 53 in Week 2. Football Outsiders ranked Dallas as the 27th-best team in the league against running backs as pass-catchers coming into Sunday, so don’t expect that trend to continue for Murray against better competition.

Even if you can't rely on receiving yards, Murray is still a must-start because of the ceiling fans saw Sunday. He is still a superstar player who is a year removed from an NFL rushing crown in a league without many elite backs left. Jamaal Charles and Le’Veon Bell are out for the season, Matt Forte is dealing with a knee injury and Eddie Lacy is not producing.

Murray hasn’t been nearly as consistent as he was last season, but he ran for at least 83 yards in three of his last four games. He is turning the corner, and fantasy owners should keep him in their lineups.

Carries	Rushing Yards	Catches	Receiving Yards	Total Touchdowns	Targets	Fantasy Points
11	67	0	0	1	1	12.7

It is a risky proposition to play Mathews even if he does look more explosive than Murray at times, because he is receiving fewer carries than the starter. Murray has 106 attempts on the year, while Mathews has 67, and the latter played an additional game this season while Murray sat out with an injury.

Mathews has never seen more carries than Murray in a game that they both played. Plus, the former Cowboys back is averaging nearly 20 rushes per game in his last four outings, which ties into his increased production. Head coach Chip Kelly will likely continue feeding his workhorse the ball.

Mathews is a solid injury insurance policy with 409 rushing yards on the year, but it is impossible to trust him as a starting running back in fantasy circles. The workload isn’t there for the former Fresno State Bulldogs star.

Carries	Rushing Yards	Catches	Receiving Yards	Total Touchdowns	Targets	Fantasy Points
5	23	2	3	0	3	2.6

If workload is a concern for Mathews owners, it is reason for paranoia for those who are relying on Sproles. The only game this season in which Sproles has notched more than five carries came against the New York Jets, when Murray was out.

In his career, Sproles has always been more of a receiver, so his fantasy value is not tied to the number of carries he receives. He has 3,933 receiving yards in his career, and many expected him to thrive in the role of shifty pass-catcher out of the backfield in Kelly’s uptempo offense in 2015.

However, he has only 165 receiving yards on the season, and 76 of those came in Week 1 against the Atlanta Falcons. Sproles has gotten lost in the offense this season, much to the chagrin of fantasy owners.

He does have 14 punt returns this year, including one that went for a touchdown, so he offers value in leagues that include return numbers in individual point totals. If that is not the case in your league, Murray is the only Philadelphia running back who is worth starting every week at this point of the season.