There's a classic football saying, “you can't make the club from the tub." Well, in fantasy football it's hard to win the strap if your players aren't getting the snaps. This week saw some interesting changes to several backfields, including a pair in the NFC East that may have found their lead guy. But first, there was a different team within that division that caused a lot of buzz Sunday morning leading into gameday. As always, tweet me @ericmcclung with your comments and suggestions.
We start with the Eagles backfield. After playing just 14 snaps against the Patriots in Week 13, DeMarco Murray voiced his displeasure to team owner Jeffrey Lurie. After much speculation on what that would mean, there were several reports prior to Sunday's game that Darren Sproles would be “featured” against the Bills. While Sproles did lead the Eagles backfield in snaps, both Murray and Ryan Mathews were on the field for at least 20 snaps a piece. All three caught two passes a piece, yet none of them were able to top four receiving yards.
- Darren Sproles: 27 of 77 offensive snaps, seven carries for a season-high 41 yards and a touchdown. His longest run of the day was 15 yards.
- DeMarco Murray: 25 snaps, 11 carries for just 34 yards.
- Ryan Mathews: 20 snaps, a team-high 13 carries for 38 yards, long of nine yards.
Philadelphia will be hosting the Cardinals on Sunday night, a team that's been extremely good against the run. Adrian Peterson scored on them last week, but only managed 69 yards on 23 carries. The fantasy championship round of Week 16 is an Eagles home game against the Redskins. While they have struggled against the better running backs in the league, Washington had no issues containing the Eagles back in Week 4.
Backfield Battles
Jonathan Grimes vs Chris Polk vs Alfred Blue
During the Sunday night game against the Patriots, Grimes led the Texans backfield playing 43 percent of the snaps to Polk's 39 percent. Blue was indeed active, but never saw the field. None of these backs inspire much confidence, however the Colts' run defense is extremely vulnerable. After suffering his second concussion in the span of a month, quarterback Brian Hoyer could be done for the year. That puts T.J. Yates under center and perhaps an opportunity for the run game to take the pressure off him. The usage patterns for Polk and Grimes is pretty simple. Polk will see the majority of the action if Houston is playing with a lead or in a close game while Grimes is a better option in passing situations. In a dart throw situation, Polk warrants attention this week.
Against a very solid Bucs run defense, Hightower was entrusted with 28 carries and played 71 percent of the snaps. He was able to grind out 85 yards and a touchdown while Spiller only played 18 percent of the snaps. This week will see the Saints return home – where they play much better – to host a Lions run defense that just gave up 140 yards and a pair of touchdowns to Todd Gurley.
The difference was only three snaps, but for the first time since Forte returned from his MCL sprain we saw Langford see an ever-so-slight edge in playing time. Now sitting with a record of 5-8, it only makes sense for the Bears to critically evaluate Langford. Forte is a pending free agent and highly unlikely to return. In fact, he just sold his home in a suburb outside of Chicago. The Vikings run defense hasn't allowed many running backs to score, but has yielded a 90-yard rusher in four straight games.
Giovani Bernard vs Jeremy Hill
After three weeks of steady decline in his playing time, Bernard shot back up to fielding 66 percent of the snaps in Week 14. The jump was very predictable given the strong chances of a shootout against the Steelers. This week, however, the Bengals will travel to Santa Clara to face a disinterested 49ers run defense that just made Isaiah Crowell of the Browns look like Emmitt Smith.
Perhaps the Redskins backfield situation is finally settled. Jones has now played more than 60 percent of the snaps in two consecutive games, something no Washington running back had been trusted to do all year. Even though the production is lacking, Jones ran the ball 18 times in each of those two games. However, the rookie owns just one run over 12 yards and will be facing a decent Bills run defense. Receiving back Chris Thompson (shoulder) could be done for the year, and it's unlikely Pierre Thomas ends up being much of a factor. Oddly enough, Jones has made his biggest plays in the pass game, but he's only been targeted more than three times just once.
Other notables
When you have a rotation of four running backs, it probably means you don't have a running back. However, in Week 14 a fumble by Andre Williams opened the door for Rashad Jennings to play a season-high 61 percent of snaps, the highest mark for any Giants running back this season. Even if Jennings has earned himself more playing time, the Panthers' stout defense has shut the run game down on a number of occasions.
After only missing one game with a bone bruise/sprain in his knee, Rob Gronkowski played 60 percent of the offensive snaps for the Patriots and had a full practice session on Wednesday. The Titans' pass defense has been getting torched all year, but has gotten even worse over the last month.
Speaking of tight ends returning from injury, the Bucs had Austin Seferian-Jenkins play 45 percent of the snaps. That's up from the 30 percent he played in last week's return to action following an extended absence due to a shoulder injury. Tampa Bay has been very cautious with ASJ all year and will likely monitor his workload closely.