There's no doubt that the most successful rushing committee of Week 10 was the Seattle Seahawks. Note how I said rushing committee and not running back committee. That's because Marshawn Lynch and Russell Wilson combined for five rushing touchdowns and 247 rushing yards against the Giants. Holy Beast Mode. Lynch finished with 40.30 fantasy points which is the highest total this season for a non-quarterback. If you started Lynch, then I'm willing to bet that you're smiling your way through Monday. And if he was started against you well then you probably feel pretty crummy and want to destroy all of the electronics that you own in a fashion similar to this. Toss in 71 yards for Christine Michael and 32 yards for Robert Turbin and you get 350 total rushing yards for Seattle on the day.
A few other running backs that did well in Week 10 include Justin Forsett who put up 112 yards and two touchdowns against the Titans, Mark Ingram who netted 139 total yards against a tough 49ers run defense and of course Jamaal Charles who totaled 118 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown against the Bills.
And now for the all of the frustrating goodness of this week's Committee Meetings.
Broncos:
After seeing usage as the Broncos productive feature back for the last four weeks, Ronnie Hillman was a huge disappointment for fantasy owners in Week 11. He finished with just eight total touches for 22 yards netting him just 2.20 fantasy points. Hillman was wide open near the end zone in the first quarter but Peyton Manning just missed him leaving both players (and fantasy owners) visibly frustrated. There were reports after the game that he was dealing with an ankle injury so Hillman's owners should monitor that situation closely as Week 12 approaches.
The running back who surprised us all for Denver was C.J. Anderson who finished as Week 10's third highest scoring fantasy player at his position (pending the MNF game) with 22.30 points. Anderson totaled 163 yards from scrimmage which included a short dump off reception behind the line of scrimmage that he took for a ridiculous 51-yard touchdown sprint during which he broke three tackles and made almost every Raiders defender miss him as he reversed field. The video is on the right in case you didn't see it.
There's no doubt that Anderson will be a hot waiver wire pickup this week after his breakout performance but with Montee Ball on the mend and Hillman still a part of the picture, the Broncos backfield situation is more clouded than it's been all season.
Buccaneers:
This was supposed to be a juicy matchup for Bobby Rainey against an Atlanta defense that's allowing the most fantasy points to running backs this season. So what the heck happened? Well for starters he's on the Bucs and #ThatHelpsNoOne. On a more serious note the Falcons did a good job of bottling Rainey up on the ground as he netted a dismal 14 yards on six carries. He was more effective on passing plays with four receptions for 42 yards but that was it. He finished with just 5.60 fantasy points leaving fantasy owners scratching their heads.
Before kickoff there was a ton of chatter on Twitter about third-round rookie Charles Sims who was poised to make his NFL debut against the Falcons, but it was a mystery as to how much usage he would actually get. He ended up touching the ball just as many times as Rainey (10) but was just as ineffective on the ground as his teammate, taking his eight carries just 23 yards. He also lost an ugly fumble in the third quarter trying to explode through a hole (or lack thereof) at the line.
Surprisingly, Mike James was the most effective Bucs running back as he averaged 4.0 yards per carry on his four attempts for 16 yards. But James is nothing more than a low-volume change-of-pace guy behind both Rainey and Sims on the depth chart and shouldn't be owned. And honestly, it's worth questioning if you can feel good about starting any Tampa Bay running back in fantasy anymore.
49ers:
Of course this was the week where Frank Gore owners probably had enough of him and relegated the veteran to their fantasy bench. And of course he gets 23 carries for 81 yards and a touchdown for 14.30 fantasy points. After six straight games without a touchdown and three straight games with single-digit fantasy totals Gore was heavily used in the first half and scored just two minutes into the game.
Gore would have had an even bigger day if the 49ers didn't put rookie Carlos Hyde in the game later in the first quarter inside the 10-yard line. Hyde's first touch of Week 10 ended up being a 9-yard touchdown run. The rookie put up 36 yards on just four carries plus the score giving him 9.60 fantasy points.
Neither Hyde nor Gore had scored a touchdown since Weeks 3 and 4, respectively, so their fantasy production has been inconsistent to say the least. On the bright side, San Francisco has a cushy matchup next week against the Giants who just let Seattle post 352 rushing yards against them on Sunday so Gore and Hyde could be nice options again for fantasy owners.
Additional Yardage:
For the Rams, Tre Mason looks like he has a hold on the lead role as he collected 18 touches for 81 total yards and is averaging a nice 5.2 yards per carry in his first three games. Unfortunately for Mason owners, Benny Cunningham was the St. Louis back who got into the end zone but had just 28 total yards on the day -- a true committee vulture situation. Zac Stacy is an afterthought for the Rams and didn't play on a single offensive snap.
Fred Jackson made a surprisingly early (but unspectacular) return to the field for the Bills after suffering a groin injury in Week 7. It's great news that he's healthy enough to play but it may be another week or two before you can confidently start him in fantasy. Once he's 100 percent healthy he will lead Buffalo's backfield committee which also includes Bryce Brown and Anthony Dixon, who each saw some work Sunday. But the Chiefs' defense has been tough all year against running backs and continued a streak of zero touchdowns to opposing runners this season.
The big story this week for the Lions was the return of Calvin Johnson who was impressive to say the least. But Detroit's backfield committee reared its ugly head once again as Reggie Bush did next to nothing on offense. Ankle injury or not Bush is drop-worthy in standard leagues. Joique Bell posted 81 yards from scrimmage and is the only Lions back worth starting in fantasy.
Matt Franciscovich is an associate fantasy editor at NFL.com. Follow him on Twitter _**@mfranciscovich**_.He's making it a point to use the word "crummy" more in everyday conversation and in his writing. Deal with it.
