RADIO
The three running backs below all head into a favorable matchup Saturday and Sunday, and look to take advantage of defensive openings and injuries.
Chris Ivory and the New York Jets head to Dallas on Saturday night, in another must-win. The Cowboys have pretty much tapped out, weeks ago, but still field one of the best secondary's in the league, relinquishing only 237.2 receiving yards a contest, fourth fewest in the NFL. Despite the way Ryan Fitzpatrick has been playing, the Jets could rely heavily on the run and exploit one of Dallas' many weaknesses.
According to ESPN.com, the Cowboys allow 113.8 rushing yards a game, and surrender 4.1 yards a carry. Ivory has been the Jets workhorse all season, and despite not finding the end zone in the past two weeks, will see plenty of touches. He's coming off his first 100-yard performance in almost two months and will look to stay hot against a leaky defense. Ivory is an RB1.
Denard Robinson is filling in for the injured T.J. Yeldon, and has been one of the hottest waiver wire pickups this week. Especially because of the team he is facing. According to Yahoo! Sports, the Atlanta Falcons allow the most fantasy points to running backs this season, largely in part to the 17 rushing touchdowns they've allowed, second most in the league.
After Yeldon exited last week's game in the middle of the third quarter, Robinson inherited the bulk of carries; 14 for 75 yards and one score. He also received carries at the goal line, which will also benefit his case for fantasy-starter against a shoddy Falcons red zone defense. There should be no hesitation in starting Robinson, as he is slated to be Jacksonville's every-down back. He is an RB2, until Yeldon returns from injury.
When I'm talking about Giovani Bernard, I'm really talking about Giovani Bernard and Jeremy Hill. The two form an impressive committee, one that'll likely benefit from their matchup versus the San Fransisco 49ers and the injury to Andy Dalton.
Now with Dalton set several weeks, the Bengals could lean heavily on their running back tandem. Normally a situation like this, two backs splitting carries, would be worrisome, but facing the lowly 49ers, Cincinnati should find themselves ahead early, alleviating the pressure and workload of backup quarterback AJ McCarron. According to ESPN.com, the 49ers let up 133.2 rushing yards a game, second most, and have given up 16 touchdowns on the ground, third most. Bernard and Hill are both RB2's, but Bernard should be started over Hill in PPR formats.
