Week 8 Start 'Em, Sit 'Em: Mark Ingram, Peyton Hillis and Other RBs to Sit

In our Week 8 fantasy football rankings, these five (or six?) running backs come with the highest risk factor and should likely sit on your bench:

Bernard Scott, Cincinnati Bengals

Scott gets his chance to start on Sunday against the Seahawks, but there's been nothing from his recent performances that suggests he'll be an improvement over Cedric Benson (suspension). What's more, it will also be tough sledding against the Seahawks, who give up the least amount of yards per rush in the NFL through seven games.

Mark Ingram, New Orleans Saints

Fellow rookie DeMarco Murray rushed for the Cowboys' franchise record of 253 yards against the same Rams defense that Ingram will face on Sunday. However, will the Saints rookie even be available?

Ingram missed Thursday's practice with a heel injury and is currently questionable. The matchup is enticing enough to hold up hope, but he has the potential of the dreaded game-time no-go.

Alfonso Smith, Arizona Cardinals

Beanie Wells will miss Sunday's game in Baltimore, which means Smith is likely to take on the lion's share of carries for the Cardinals.

Starting touches always give the potential for relevant fantasy numbers, but can you really trust Smith against the Ravens defense? He's only valuable if the Cardinals get goal-line looks, which is doubtful.

Peyton Hillis, Cleveland Browns

We should have seen it coming, but the Madden curse has certainly struck again. Hillis is still fighting a bad hamstring and is questionable for Sunday. Even if he does play, the Browns back will likely sacrifice a bunch of carries to Montario Hardesty.

The 49ers defense, the top-ranked fantasy defense against the run, is also a bad matchup.

DeAngelo Williams/Jonathan Stewart, Carolina Panthers

It's tough to figure out which Panthers running back is going to get the touches on a week-to-week basis. One week it's DeAngelo Williams, the next it's Jonathan Stewart.

At this point, Stewart is the safer bet because of his talent out of the backfield. Unless one of these guys goes down, both are risky starts.