Carlos Hyde turned in the biggest performance of any fantasy football player, let alone for running backs, during week 1 of the NFL season and he was rarely mentioned on anyone’s radar coming into the first week.
Hyde produced 30.2 points in a physical effort against Minnesota on Monday night. Many people were waiting to see what San Francisco would look like without Jim Harbaugh, and if Monday was any indication, we’re in for pretty much the same approach.
Other major running back contributors were Matt Forte with 22.6 points, Chris Ivory with 22, Bishop Sankey with 20.60, Jeremy Hill with 18.3 and Danny Woodhead with 18.2.
On a week-to-week basis, likely only Forte and Hill are good plays, but Ivory, Sankey and Woodhead do offer some upside.
Here are our best bets of what running backs to start and sit in week 2 of the NFL season.
Start
Chris Ivory vs. Indianapolis
We’re riding the Chris Ivory train again.
Indianapolis should bounce back with a good effort this week, but the New York Jets are going to do anything to keep this as low-scoring as possible.
Enter Ivory.
The Jets running back finished third among running backs for points last week, and against the Colts, he should get plenty of looks again. Last week, he logged 20 carries, and it could have been more if the game was close in the fourth quarter.
The Jets instead used Bilal Powell toward the end, giving Ivory some rest.
Fantasy football owners should expect possibly even more touches this week, and the Colts allowed 147 rushing yards against Buffalo last week. Combine that with Indianapolis’ middle of the pack numbers last year against the run, and Ivory is another good bet for points this week.
Justin Forsett vs. Oakland
As long as Forsett is healthy, which you should keep an eye on this week, he should run wild on Oakland’s defense.
Baltimore’s offense was anemic in week 1 against Denver, and Forsett didn’t add much. He rushed for 43 yards and hauled in 13 receiving yards for 5.6 fantasy points.
The Ravens passing attack was even worse, with Joe Flacco registering less than a point in fantasy football. We expect the Ravens to come out and pound the ball against the Raiders, which surrendered 127 rushing yards last week to the Bengals.
That number could have been worse had the game not been over by halftime. Forsett will get several carries and should bounce back from a disappointing effort.
Ameer Abdullah vs. Minnesota
That rush defense was horrible by Minnesota on Monday. The Vikings allowed allowed a league-worst 230 yards on the ground.
The Lions will go at Minnesota with a different attack (the 49ers were more smash mouth, while the Lions will spread out Minnesota), but a team that allows that many yards in one game is concerning.
And Abdullah did get the most opportunities on the Lions in terms of touches. He garnered 11 touches and registered 50 rushing yards and 44 receiving yards.
The coaching staff would be wise to increase his workload a bit, and against the Vikings if he has the hot hand, he will likely load up on more fantasy points.
We’re concerned about the split system, but Abdullah did enough in his first game to warrant more carries. Expect Detroit to feed him the ball more and start him this week.
Marshawn Lynch vs. Green Bay
For how much Green Bay should be happy with its week 1 victory, the defense should cause concern.
Matt Forte ran all over the Packers defense to the rune of 141 rushing yards. And now Seattle is coming to town after Lynch totaled less than 20 carries last week.
The Seattle coaching staff will feed Lynch the ball far more this week, making him likely the best fantasy option at the running back position.
Sit
Matt Forte vs. Arizona
We know what Forte did last week against the Packers. But this is a new week and the matchup isn’t good for Forte.
The Cardinals held New Orleans to 54 yards rushing, registering the best number against the run during week 1. Arizona’s defense will once again look to halt the run this week and force Jay Cutler to beat them.
That doesn’t bode well for Forte, who hasn’t been known to be a bruising running back able to carry the load for 25 or more carries.
He will take a step back this week and the Bears will throw more, based on the Cardinals forcing the action.
Chargers runnings backs vs. Cincinnati
We didn’t like San Diego’s running back situation in the offseason for fantasy football owners. It’s not that there isn’t talent. It’s that there’s too many players in the backfield who can gobble up touches.
That will be a persistent problem for Melvin Gordon and Danny Woodhead owners in the future. Woodhead registered one of the highest running back totals in week 1, but how can you trust him going forward?
There’s no reason to believe either one will emerge from the pack, unlike in Detroit where Abdullah should be given the nod. And in this matchup, the Bengals have traditionally been good against the rush, so this is a matchup to avoid in week 2.
Lamar Miller vs. Jacksonville
We were a bit discouraged with the amount of touches Miami afforded Lamar Miller in week 1 against Washington.
The Dolphins only attempted 18 rushes against Washington, which was two shy of the lowest amount of rushing attempts in the NFL in week 1. Miller netted only 13 of those carries.
The offensive gameplan may be more tailored to Ryan Tannehill, which doesn’t bode well for Miller owners. Also, while Jacksonville did allow more than 100 rushing yards to Carolina, it did that by allowing only 3 yards per carry.
Only Seattle, Baltimore and Arizona allowed less yards per carry against the rush last week.
Miami is aware of that number and if it didn’t run the ball against Washington, it may abandon the run early against the Jaguars if it isn’t working.
Miller may not garner enough looks in this game to be a solid play for week 2.
Latavius Murray vs. Baltimore
Derek Carr practiced in full Wednesday, making it likely he will play Sunday against Baltimore.
That’s bad news for Murray owners.
Without Carr, it would be realistic to believe the Raiders would tailor their gameplan specifically for Murray. However, if Carr plays, then Murray may not see as much action.
And on the Raiders offense, if there isn’t a ton of volume, then Murray will likely not have many fantasy points.
The offense sputtered out of the gate and the Ravens run defense is consistently good. It showed that once again last week, limiting Denver to less than 3 yards per rushing attempt.
And if the Raiders fall behind early, expect plenty of passing. Go ahead and sit Murray.
