Fantasy Football Week 8: Rashard Mendenhall and Backs Who Will Break out

This week will be a crazy time in NFL football, and there are certain running backs who haven’t performed and will break out like a hormonal teenager.

While these players have been stifled or just haven’t show the explosiveness, watch your eyes because this is the week.

Rashard Mendenhall—The Pittsburgh Steelers are playing the putrid New England Patriots defense and this is the perfect time for Rashard Mendenhall to break loose.

While the front four is good against the run, Mendenhall has the speed and moves to get to the edge and turn it upfield.

If the Steelers can stay in the game score-wise so they can feed the rock to Mendenhall, they’ll have a chance to win this game.

Jackie Battle—The Kansas City Chiefs are preparing for a dogfight with division rival San Diego Chargers, and Jackie Battle is one of the key weapons in that battle.

The veteran running back hasn’t carried the full workload before, but this is the perfect opportunity to play against the team he has been practicing for since he joined the Chiefs.

The key for Battle’s success will be that the Chiefs keep the score close enough to where the team doesn’t abandon the run. Unless it’s a PPR league and he starts catching passes.

Chris Johnson—I haven’t said this once this season, but if there was one week that Chris Johnson looked like the running back we know he is, this will be the week.

The Indianapolis Colts are bad in every sense of the word, and when Chris Johnson gets a matchup like this, he needs to exploit it.

If the Titans get up early, expect a heavy dosage of Chris Johnson in the run game and in the short-pass game.

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