*Welcome to "Committee Meetings," the running back portion of our weekly Targets/Touches column! Every Monday we'll recap the week that was among running backs and preview the outlook for the upcoming slate. *
With Week 13 nearly in the books, it's time to dive into some backfield breakdowns. We saw some familiar names among the top running back performers including Devonta Freeman and Ezekiel Elliott while guys like Terrance West and Jerick McKinnon surprisingly cracked the top 15 for the week. Some of the bigger disappointments of the week include Jeremy Hill (yes, again) and Rashad Jennings, and below we'll try to figure out how to value these running backs going forward. That's enough small talk for now ... more on those backs and every other team's backfield below.
Note: The Opportunity Report is a living document and will be updated with the results of every game until after the Monday night game concludes. If you're looking for backfield touches data on a team and they aren't here yet, check back later.
Arizona Cardinals
With 175 scrimmage yards and two total touchdowns on Sunday David Johnson finished as fantasy's RB2 behind only Jordan Howard. It was Johnson's fifth 150-plus scrimmage yard performance of the season, which ties him with Ezekiel Elliott. It was also his sixth game with two-plus touchdowns in a game, most in the NFL this year. He's posted 100-plus scrimmage yards in every game in 2016 and has 15 total touchdowns through 13 weeks. Sunday also marked Johnson's third-straight game with double-digit targets. He will look to eat again next week against the Dolphins.
Atlanta Falcons
Devonta Freeman has been rolling of late, and he scored two more touchdowns against the Chiefs on Sunday. That's four scores in the span of two games for the Atlanta running back, who has quietly put together a top-10 performance at his position this season. Tevin Coleman was more involved in his second game back from a hamstring injury, but Freeman was the lead dog with a 60 percent share of the team's offensive snaps. Freeman will be a high-end RB2 next week against the Rams while Coleman will be a low-end flex play.
Baltimore Ravens
Kenneth Dixon led the Ravens in rushing yards with 56 but Terrance West led the Ravens running backs in fantasy points with two total touchdowns and 68 total yards. West also led the team with a mere 10 rush attempts, which was odd considering the huge lead the Ravens built for themselves in the first half. Baltimore only rushed the ball 20 times, while Flacco attempted a head-scratching 47 passes in a 32-point win. Going forward, West remains the back to own in fantasy but you'd have to be hard-pressed to start him against the Patriots next week given the lack of volume he's seen of late (fewer than 14 rush attempts in each of the last three games).
Buffalo Bills
LeSean McCoy did everything for the Bills on Sunday, except score a touchdown. He finished the game against Oakland with 191 total yards and a ridiculous 7.6 yards per carry average. In similar fashion to a week ago, McCoy kicked off the second half with a 54-yard run and was tackled at the 12-yard line (last week he started the second half with a 75-yard touchdown run). He also led the Bills in receiving, hauling in all seven of his targets for 61 yards, 40 of which came in late fourth-quarter garbage time. Unfortunately, Buffalo didn't use Shady in goal-line situations, instead opting to utilize Mike Gillislee who scored twice. Anyone who owns McCoy must add Gillislee as a handcuff for the fantasy playoffs. McCoy remains an elite RB1 going forward, including next week when Buffalo faces the Steelers.
Carolina Panthers
Continuing his run of zero 100-yard rushing games this season, Jonathan Stewart was a bust on Sunday night with just 50 yards on 11 carries. He also lost a fumble. The game got out of hand quickly for the Panthers resulting in a mere five touches for Stewart in the second half. He's been a boom-or-bust proposition in fantasy of late with two 20-plus point outings and four single-digit totals over his last six games. Stewart will be a flex play next week when the Panthers host San Diego.
Chicago Bears
The Bears went with a run-heavy game plan in a snowstorm in Chicago and put the ball in rookie Jordan Howard's hands a ridiculous 32 times. He scored three touchdowns in the game, ran for 117 yards and finished Sunday as the highest-scoring running back in fantasy for Week 13. Howard played on 85 percent of Chicago's offensive snaps, so if there had been any concerns about a committee with Jeremy Langford back, they were officially put to rest. The rookie is on a streak of five straight games now with at least 99 yards from scrimmage and has been a late-season fantasy savior for many in need of a solid running back down the stretch. It's clear that with the extensive injuries to the Bears skill players and Matt Barkley under center, the coaching staff has confidence that their rookie running back can be the engine that moves the offense. Chicago takes on Detroit next week inside the controlled confines of Ford Field where Howard will yet again have RB1 upside.
Cincinnati Bengals
Jeremy Hill delivered another horrible performance in terms of rushing efficiency on Sunday as he rushed for a mere 38 yards on 23 carries. He now has a combined 51 rush yards on 35 attempts over his last two games. He did score against the Eagles to save some face, but it was an all-around disappointing game for the Bengals' lead back given his volume. In other news, Rex Burkhead got some additional looks both as a rusher and receiver totaling 66 yards on 12 touches. If Burkhead is available on waivers, he's worth a deep-league stash in case his role continues to grow with Hill struggling. The Bengals have a cake matchup against the Browns next week.
Dallas Cowboys
Once again, Ezekiel Elliott came through for fantasy owners even in one of the toughest on-paper matchups in fantasy football. Against a Minnesota defense on the road, Zeke managed 16.5 standard fantasy points on Thursday night. If it wasn't for long Dez Bryant reception coming just short of the goal line in the first half though, it might have been a different result for Elliott. But the fantasy gods were kind to Zeke's owners and he kept rolling as an RB1. The Cowboys are the only team in the NFL with a rushing percentage that closely matches their passing percentage, which means nothing but more work for Zeke. You don't need us to tell you to leave him in your lineup next week against the Giants.
Denver Broncos
Devontae Booker put another underwhelming performance on his record Sunday against the Jaguars with just 35 rush yards on 18 carries. Fortunately for his fantasy owners he did manage to find the paint, dragging a pile of defenders with him across the goal line. Kapri Bibbs, who only had five carries, ended up out-rushing Booker thanks to a 24-yard scamper, and totaled 49 rush yards in the game. Neither back had a single reception. Booker remains the primary back for Denver as he played 67 percent of offensive snaps compared to Bibbs' 20 percent. We may see that snap count change next week when Denver heads to Tennessee.
Detroit Lions
Anyone who started Theo Riddick against the Saints was likely on full tilt Sunday afternoon. Riddick finished with a mere 17 total yards on the day, while Dwayne Washington (who left the game with an injury) and Zach Zenner got looks out of the backfield. It was an odd day for the Lions' running backs to say the least, but it was surprising to see Riddick so under-utilized against a team that's been soft on the position this season. Fortunately, he did score a receiving touchdown which padded his final fantasy line. Hopefully, Riddick will be able to do more next week against the Bears.
Green Bay Packers
James Starks earned one total yard for his fantasy owners in Week 13, so there's that. The real story of the Packers' backfield, other than it being a complete mess, is that Christine Michael led the team with nine rush attempts. He's spent the last three weeks learning the playbook and was finally more involved against Houston. He looked good running the ball north-south, the same way he did earlier in the season in Seattle with a "shot out of a cannon" mentality. Fullback Aaron Ripkowski, who played on 42 percent of the Packers' offensive snaps, was the only back to score for Green Bay, marking his second-straight game with a touchdown. Ty Montgomery led the team with 40 rushing yards, and it seems like his role out of the backfield will remain unpredictable. Next week, we're strapping in for a #revenge game for C-Mike when his former team who cut him a month ago, the Seahawks, travel to Lambeau Field.
Continuing the theme of ugly backfields in Week 13, the Texans ranked right up there with the worst of them. Lamar Miller's 22 yards on 14 carries was absolutely atrocious to watch. Making matters worse, Miller was tagged with minus-11 receiving yards on the final play, a string of sad laterals. His longest run of the game was five yards. When Miller was sidelined in the first quarter with a rib injury, Alfred Blue served as his handcuff, and even Jonathan Grimes got involved on some third-down draws. If you're going to handcuff Miller, prioritize Blue. Miller gets a nice matchup against the Colts next week.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Chris Ivory was ruled out of this game leaving T.J. Yeldon and Denard Robinson to share the workload. And they split it pretty much down the middle with an extremely underwhelming result. Yeldon's total yardage was respectable thanks to an additional 27 receiving yards, while Robinson's 3.1 yards per carry doesn't exactly have us sprinting to the waiver wire to add him. It's probably a wise move to avoid the Jaguars backfield altogether next week when they take on the Vikings.
Kansas City Chiefs
There was nothing pretty about Spencer Ware's performance on Sunday ... except for the fact that he scored two touchdowns, one rushing and one receiving. Ironically, he was out-rushed by wideout Albert Wilson on 55-yard fake punt run, which he took to the house. Ware's 52 yards from scrimmage was his lowest total of the season in games that he has finished. Fantasy owners won't care because of the two scores though, and will hope for more on a short week as the Chiefs take on the Raiders at Arrowhead on Thursday night.
Los Angeles Rams
Todd Gurley did nothing to help his fantasy owners in Week 13, which comes as no real surprise. He's now posted fewer than 77 rushing yards in his last nine games and his 38 against the Patriots was his lowest since Week 4. There's no realistic way you can start Gurley in fantasy going forward.
Miami Dolphins
The game script fell out of Ajayi's favor early in this game as the Ravens got out to a big lead and never looked back. Ajayi, who had just 12 carries -- his lowest total since September 29th -- averaged an impressive 5.1 yards per carry. But he simply didn't get the volume needed to have a big day for fantasy owners against a tough Ravens run defense which you were probably tempering expectations for anyway. Ajayi was second on the Dolphins in targets with seven and hauled in six of them to pad his yardage total and save some face for PPR owners. Ajayi will have another tough matchup next week against the Cardinals, but based on volume upside, he should be started across the board.
Minnesota Vikings
Nobody in the Vikings backfield did anything on the ground to change our perception on them in terms of fantasy value. But Jerick McKinnon did score a receiving touchdown despite collecting just 41 rushing yards, so there's that. Matt Asiata didn't find the end zone so he was basically worthless, as has been the story with him all season. One of the worst rushing attacks in the league, none of the Vikings running backs are suggested plays in fantasy next week when Minnesota heads to Jacksonville.
New England Patriots
The Patriots fed the hot hand of LeGarrette Blount against the Rams and he was hot out of the gate ripping off a 43-yard touchdown run on a fourth-and-1-yard play in the first quarter. Blount's touchdown was this 13th of the season and he finished the game with a 4.9 yards per carry average on 18 attempts. Dion Lewis and James White each had four receptions in the game too, but took a backseat to Blount as rushers, and rightly so. The Patriots' backfield faces an uphill battle against the Ravens top run-stopping unit next week on Monday Night Football.
New Orleans Saints
The Saints totaled 50 yards on the ground on Sunday against the Lions. Mark Ingram, injured toe and all, had 37 of those yards himself on just seven rush attempts to lead the team. Travaris Cadet absorbed most of the passing-down work and since New Orleans was trailing the entire game, Cadet actually out-snapped both Ingram and Tim Hightower. The latter of whom was basically a ghost with just three touches for nine total yards. Of course, John Kuhn played the role of goal-line vulture, scoring the team's only touchdown of the day. Ingram's fantasy owners will have to hope he can get healthier with some rest this week ahead of a road trip to Tampa Bay.
New York Giants
Last week, everyone was on Rashad Jennings against the Browns and he failed to live up to expectations. So it makes perfect sense that Jennings would have a decent game against the Steelers. Despite a low-volume workload he found the end zone for his first receiving touchdown since Week 4 of the 2015 season. Jennings had just six carries in the game for 19 rushing yards but collected 34 yards on six receptions, including the score. It marked the first time that Jennings did not lead the Giants in rushing attempts (Paul Perkins had seven) in a game that he played in since Week 2. Jennings did out-snap Perkins by a count of 28 to 21, but remains too inconsistent to confidently start in fantasy, especially now that it's playoff time. Jennings and the Giants have a tough game upcoming against the Cowboys in Week 14.
Oakland Raiders
Latavius Murray was heavily utilized again on Sunday and it paid off for his fantasy owners. Two of his 20 carries ended up in the paint and he eclipsed the 100-yard mark thanks to his 23 receiving yards. Rookie DeAndre Washington was a healthy scratch for the second-straight week, and his absence has seemed to lead to more playing time for Murray who was on the field for a season-high 71 percent of Oakland's offensive snaps this week, up from 65 percent last week and 55 percent in Week 11 (when Washington was last active). Murray now has 11 rushing touchdowns on the season and has scored at least once in seven of his 10 games this year. He'll look to stay hot on a short week against Kansas City on Thursday night.
Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles backfield remains a situation to avoid for fantasy purposes until Ryan Mathews can get back to full health. For the second-straight game, rookie Wendell Smallwood was the "lead" back and finished with a team-high 19 rushing yards. The game quickly fell out of a running script for Philadelphia, and Darren Sproles ended up out-snapping his rookie teammate, 44 to 24, as was the case last week. Sproles scored his first rushing touchdown of the year and collected 35 yards as a receiver. He finished with 10.90 standard fantasy points, so for anyone who started him he at least saved some face with the score. Again, this is a situation to avoid for fantasy purposes until Mathews returns. The Eagles face the Redskins in Philadelphia in Week 14.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Sadly, Le'Veon Bell's streak of three-straight games with a touchdown came to an end against the Giants. It's cool though, because his streak of 100-yard rushing games continued, with his third in a row, the longest such streak of his career. Bell's 182 yards from scrimmage was only marred by a lost fumble, his first since Week 16 of his rookie season in 2013. He remains an elite RB1 going forward.
San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers took on the Bears in a blizzard in Chicago, and because of the rough weather conditions, they decided to go with a run-heavy game plan. That led to Carlos Hyde toting the ball 20 times for 92 yards, adding one catch for six yards. He didn't manage to score, nor did anyone on the San Francisco offense, so given the conditions, Hyde's fantasy owners have to take this one with a grain of salt. In three-plus quarters of play, Colin Kaepernick attempted just five passes and completed only one. Nobody else on this team is really worth starting in fantasy save for Hyde, who will have low-end RB2 value next week against the Jets.
San Diego Chargers
Coming off a slow-ish game by Melvin Gordon standards in Week 12 (8.9 fantasy points), the second-year back put up 138 scrimmage yards and his 10th rushing touchdown of the season against Tampa Bay. He actually led San Diego in receiving with 54 yards too, all of which came in the first half. Gordon remains one of the best running backs to own in fantasy football and is averaging 24.3 touches per game to go along with 117.6 scrimmage yards per game. He gets an unfavorable matchup against the Panthers next week, although Carolina did just get trampled by Thomas Rawls.
Seattle Seahawks
It didn't matter that Thomas Rawls only touched the ball four times in the second half, he did the majority of his damage in the first. Rawls collected 106 rushing yards, a huge chunk of which came on a 45-yard touchdown sprint in the second quarter. He sandwiched that run with scampers of 12 and 13 yards and truly looked like his old self. Rawls' rushed for two touchdowns for the first time in his career. With no other legitimate options out of the backfield, it seems the Seahawks are going to lean on Rawls the rest of the way, making him a legitimate RB1 for the fantasy playoff stretch. Seattle faces the Packers next week.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Doug Martin has not blown the doors off since his return from a hamstring injury, but he did manage to score for the first time in three games against the Chargers on Sunday. His yardage totals have been mediocre at best since his return, and he has averaged fewer than 4.0 yards per carry in every game this year. He gets a favorable matchup against the Saints next week and based on volume upside he can be safely started as an RB2 in that game.
Washington Redskins
Rob Kelley was not an ideal option in Week 13 against the Cardinals tough run defense, and for the most part the unfavorable matchup played out. Still, Kelley finished with more fantasy points than players like Lamar Miller and Mark Ingram who had more favorable on-paper matchups. Kelly averaged a respectable 4.5 yards per carry on his 14 totes for 63 yards and displayed good patience and balance on his runs. Kelley collected runs of 10, 13 and 19 yards on the day. He also had a few goal-line looks but came up short on a couple runs and dropped a target he should have caught in the end zone. He had just three touches in the fourth quarter with the Redskins trailing, which is the biggest concern with the rookie's workload since he's not a factor as a pass-catcher. It was still another promising outing for Kelley who is averaging 84.2 rush yards per game since Week 8, fifth in the NFL. He'll have another tough matchup against the Eagles next week but if Washington can get ahead early, he could be in for a big workload.
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Matt Franciscovich is an associate fantasy writer/editor for NFL.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattFranchise
