Heading into November, I am identifying running backs with season-saving potential for their teams. That's not to say their respective squads are down and out right now. However, they might need a boost offensively and/or are facing an uphill climb with the upcoming schedule. Here are my top three choices.
The bye week couldn't come soon enough for Kyle Shanahan's group as injuries have cascaded upon this team early in the season. Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, Jauan Jennings, Ricky Pearsall and Brandon Aiyuk (out for the season) have all missed at least one game this season. But the 49ers' greatest absence has been that of reigning Offensive Player of the Year Christian McCaffrey, who's been sidelined by Achilles tendonitis. The good news is he could return in Week 10 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Having McCaffrey back on the field would be a welcome sight for a team sitting at 4-4, including 1-3 in one-score games. The 49ers rank fourth in rushing through eight weeks, and kudos to Jordan Mason and Isaac Guerendo for stepping up in McCaffrey's absence. They have been good, and at times even great. Mason currently has the NFL's third-most rush yards with 685. Guerendo rushed for 6.1 yards per carry and a touchdown in Sunday night's win over Dallas. But San Francisco isn't the same without McCaffrey, who leads the NFL with 119.1 scrimmage yards per game since joining the team prior to Week 7 of the 2022 season. The 49ers are 26-7 in games in which McCaffrey has played for them (including playoffs).
Right now in the NFC West, the 49ers have the same record as the Cardinals and Seahawks, while the Rams, who are finally getting healthier, aren't far behind at 3-4. The division is truly up for grabs as the NFL approaches midseason, and McCaffrey is the type of player who can make all the difference in those one-score games thanks to his versatility as a ball-carrier and pass catcher. With a healthy McCaffrey, this feels like a playoff team.
It appears the Bears might be reading my RB Index column. After their 1-2 start to the season, in which they failed to rush for more than 85 yards in a game, I wrote that they needed to lean on D'Andre Swift and the run game to help rookie quarterback Caleb Williams. In the four games since, Chicago has averaged 151.7 rush yards per contest, going 3-1 in those games. Swift has logged four straight games with 100-plus scrimmage yards and a rush TD. Averaging more than 21 touches per game since Week 4, he has taken a lot of pressure off Williams and opened the pass game for a talented receiving trio by commanding attention in the box. Sitting fourth in the NFC North with a tough schedule ahead -- all six division games upcoming -- the Bears must continue to lean on their dependable and red-hot running back.
The 2-6 Browns face a steeper climb to reach the playoffs this season. The good news is they are 1-1 in the division coming off an upset of Baltimore. With Deshaun Watson out for the year, Sunday's Browns win was the first full game pairing Jameis Winston under center and Nick Chubb in the backfield. The result? Cleveland scored 20 points for the first time this season, thanks to a three-TD day by the veteran QB. Chubb is still working his way back to pre-injury form, but he's averaging 13.5 carries per game since returning in Week 7. No other RB averages more than nine carries per game for Cleveland in 2024. Chubb is set to become a featured element in an offense that should be more run-heavy moving forward. Winston played well last week, but let's not forget his turnover issues over the years. Chubb's presence will improve a rushing attack that ranks 27th in yards per game, and in turn will allow Winston and Co. to take downfield shots off play-action. Expect to see a more balanced offense as Chubb gets more opportunities.
Top 15 running backs
Former NFL rushing leader and current NFL Network analyst Maurice Jones-Drew will survey all running backs and rank his top 15 each week of the 2024 season. His rankings are based on this season's efforts. Here is MJD's list heading into Week 9, with up/down arrows reflecting movement from last week's pecking order.
2024 stats: 8 games | 145 att | 946 rush yds | 6.5 ypc | 9 rush TDs | 8 rec | 66 rec yds | 2 rec TD | 0 fumbles lost
Henry had his lowest rushing total since Week 1 in Sunday's loss to the Browns. He ran for 73 yards and a touchdown (the 99th of his career) on 11 carries -- good for 6.6 yards a pop. With Baltimore's line struggling to protect Lamar Jackson (18 QB pressures, three sacks), it's odd that the team didn't turn to Henry more in a one-score game.
2024 stats: 7 games | 130 att | 766 rush yds | 5.9 ypc | 5 rush TDs | 17 rec | 106 rec yds | 1 rec TD | 0 fumbles lost
On Sunday, the Eagles offense was held scoreless in the first quarter for the seventh straight week. Philly found some rhythm in the second quarter, but things really opened up in the second half thanks to some big plays through the air and hard running by Barkley. The veteran back, who had just 35 yards on nine totes before halftime, helped move the chains and control the clock once Philly took a sizeable lead, finishing with 108 yards on 22 carries. His best runs came on the Eagles' second possession in the fourth quarter, earning gains of 11, 19 and 17 yards to set up a Jalen Hurts TD to put them up by three scores.
2024 stats: 7 games | 92 att | 591 rush yds | 6.4 ypc | 6 rush TDs | 19 rec | 154 rec yds | 1 rec TD | 0 fumbles lost
The Lions are riding the hot hand of Gibbs, who galloped for 127 yards on 11 carries in Sunday's beatdown of the Titans. Seventy of those yards came on the first play of Detroit's fourth possession, when Gibbs followed his blockers on the left side before darting into the open field and looking like he received a Super Mario Bros. boost to fly into the end zone. Per Next Gen Stats, Gibbs reached a top speed of 22.03 mph on the play, the second-fastest speed by a ball-carrier this season. That TD was also the longest play from scrimmage in Gibbs' career.
2024 stats: 8 games | 116 att | 546 rush yds | 4.7 ypc | 4 rush TD | 30 rec | 238 rec yds | 1 rec TD | 0 fumbles lost
Kirk Cousins had the Falcons offensive cooking for most of the day against the Bucs with four TD passes in the win. Robinson, who led all players with 63 rush yards on the day, hauled in all six of his targets, including Cousins' final TD pass. The second-year running back has now had three straight games with at least 100 scrimmage yards to help put the Falcons atop the NFC South heading into November.
2024 stats: 7 games | 139 att | 533 rush yds | 3.8 ypc | 8 rush TDs | 19 rec | 90 rec yds | 2 rec TD | 1 fumble lost
The Rams are an entirely different offense with Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua healthy, evidenced by Matthew Stafford's four TDs in the Week 8 win over Minnesota. He had thrown just three over his first six games this season combined. Williams had himself a solid day as well, rushing for 97 yards on 23 carries and catching five passes for 19 yards and a touchdown. Williams has scored in every game this season, but this was his first contest without a TD run.
2024 stats: 7 games | 99 att | 452 rush yds | 4.6 ypc | 7 rush TDs | 14 rec | 145 rec yds | 1 rec TD | 0 fumbles lost
The Bills were firing on all cylinders in Seattle, and while several offensive playmakers had impressive performances -- Josh Allen, Khalil Shakir and Keon Coleman among them -- an argument could be made that Cook was the best of the bunch. He punished the 'Hawks all game long to finish with 111 rush yards and two second-half touchdowns on 17 carries, and he caught all three of his targets for 22 yards. Sunday marked Cook's first game this season with at least 100 rush yards and his second with at least two rush TDs. Buffalo's offense has to feel good about where it's at right now.
2024 stats: 8 games | 145 att | 667 rush yds | 4.6 ypc | 3 rush TD | 17 rec | 115 rec yds | 1 rec TD | 1 fumble lost
Jacobs was a major player in Green Bay's Week 8 win, especially after quarterback Jordan Love exited with an injury, coming up with a 38-yard run up the middle for a touchdown in the third quarter. Jacobs wore down the Jags defense to the tune of 127 rush yards and two touchdowns -- a 3-yard run for the first score of the game and that 38-yarder -- on 25 carries. Those TDs doubled his rush TD total coming into the game.
2024 stats: 8 games | 121 att | 505 rush yds | 4.2 ypc | 6 rush TDs | 40 rec | 307 rec yds | 1 rec TD | 0 fumbles lost
It was more of the same for the Saints offense in Week 8 without Derek Carr. Kamara did about all he could for the unit, racking up 122 scrimmage yards on 16 touches in the loss. This offense has barely stayed afloat with Spencer Rattler and Jake Haener under center, and the good news is Carr could return this week.
2024 stats: 7 games | 93 att | 415 rush yds | 4.5 ypc | 7 rush TDs | 14 rec | 138 rec yds | 0 rec TDs | 1 fumble lost
Montgomery did a little bit of everything in the Lions' latest win. He rushed for 33 yards and a touchdown, caught a pass for five yards and THREW a TD to Sam LaPorta on National Tight Ends Day. Since joining the Lions, Montgomery has 20 rush touchdowns in 21 games, which makes him the fastest to reach that number in franchise history. Barry Sanders and Billy Sims each needed 22 games to do so with Detroit.
2024 stats: 7 games | 112 att | 535 rush yds | 4.8 ypc | 4 rush TDs | 19 rec | 87 rec yds | 0 rec TDs | 0 fumbles lost
One week after failing to score a touchdown, the Chargers hit pay dirt three times in a win over New Orleans, including Dobbins' 1-yard plunge in the second quarter. The Saints were able to stall the run for much of the game and limited Dobbins to 57 yards on 17 carries.
2024 stats: 8 games | 129 att | 557 rush yds | 4.3 ypc | 4 rush TDs | 16 rec | 155 rec yds | 0 rec TDs | 1 fumble lost
Another week, another second-half comeback by the Arizona Cardinals, who exploded for 288 yards and 21 points in that span. Conner was relatively quiet until the fourth quarter, when Conner scored on a 2-yard run and then burst for 17 yards on the Cardinals' next drive to help set up the game-winning field goal. That'll do.
2024 stats: 5 games | 102 att | 503 rush yds | 4.9 ypc | 5 rush TD | 14 rec | 115 rec yds | 1 rec TD | 0 fumbles lost
Mixon has rushed for at least 100 yards in four of his five games this season, including 105 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries in last week's win over Indianapolis. The Texans have thrived when Mixon has been healthy, and they'll likely lean on him more moving forward with Stefon Diggs out for the season and Nico Collins still on IR. Mixon ranks 13th in rushing yards entering Week 9 despite missing three games this season.
2024 stats: 8 games | 136 att | 592 rush yds | 4.4 ypc | 2 rush TDs | 17 rec | 152 rec yds | 0 rec TDs | 0 fumbles lost
Harris punished the Giants defense all game long on Monday night to the tune of 114 yards on 19 attempts. He has come on real strong in the last three games (all Pittsburgh wins) and recorded at least 100 rush yards in each of those contests, tied for the longest active streak in the league. Harris is a big reason why the Steelers have the fourth-best rushing attack in the league right now.
2024 stats: 7 games | 101 att | 461 rush yds | 4.6 ypc | 6 rush TDs | 9 rec | 79 rec yds | 0 rec TDs | 0 fumbles lost
Robinson and the rest of the Commanders offense had a good -- not great -- day (that is until the Hail Mary) against the Bears. He rushed for 65 yards on 16 carries. After an underwhelming performance, Robinson and the Co. have a chance to rebound next week against the Giants' 27th-ranked run defense.
2024 stats: 8 games | 118 att | 593 rush yds | 5.0 ypc | 3 rush TDs | 24 rec | 108 rec yds | 1 rec TD | 1 fumble lost
The Panthers offense has sputtered through the first eight weeks of the season with few bright spots. Hubbard has been one of them. On Sunday, he rushed for 56 yards on 15 carries and hauled in both of his targets for 15 yards. He has been a reliable player for Dave Canales, but it takes more than one solid running back to earn wins in this league.
DROPPED OUT: Jordan Mason, San Francisco 49ers (previously No. 4); Aaron Jones, Minnesota Vikings (No. 12).