DeMarco Murray, Dallas Cowboys
The New Orleans Saints rank 31st in the NFL against the run and are giving up exactly five yards per carry this season. Murray is averaging 15 fantasy points in three games since returning from an injury that cost him nearly two months. You can connect the dots here, but let me spell it out for you. Expect the second-year running back to tally a minimum of 120 rushing yards and a score against a weak Saints' front seven.
Stevan Ridley, New England Patriots
Ridley might have struggled hanging on to the ball last week against the San Francisco 49ers, but that was more about the condition of the field and the defense he was going up against than anything else. Ridley ranks 10th among running backs in fantasy points and had lost one fumble prior to Week 15. Don't think for a minute that Bill Belichick and company are going to bench the talented young running back. After all, they need to keep a certain amount of balance on offense. Tom Brady, while great, will not win many games putting the ball up 67 times.
In addition, New England is slated to play a 32nd ranked Jacksonville Jaguars rush defense that has yielded a ridiculous 18 touchdown runs this season. Expect Ridley to regain the form that made him a solid RB1 earlier in the year.
Frank Gore, San Francisco 49ers
On the surface this isn't a good matchup for Gore. He has to line up against a stout Seattle Seahawks front seven that continues to dominate the trenches. Seattle is 10th against the run and has only given up eight touchdowns on the ground this season.
That's just on the surface.
Gore's best performance of the season came in a Week 7 win over Seattle. He tallied 182 total yards and 18 fantasy points in that matchup. In total, Gore is averaging over 130 total yards in 13 career games against the Seahawks. I don't anticipate this type of production changing Sunday night.
Vick Ballard, Indianapolis Colts
Here is someone that can help you out if you are in a crunch at running back. This rookie from Mississippi State is averaging over 11 fantasy points since gaining the No. 1 job in Indianapolis when Donald Brown went down a few weeks ago. He is going to continue handling the rock between 15 and 20 times for the remainder of the season. Ballard has gone for an average of 80 yards per outing in his last five games as well.
Indianapolis has the pleasure of lining up against a Kansas City Chiefs rush defense that ranks 27th in the league and is yielding nearly 140 yards. I expect the Colts to utilize Ballard a great deal in order to help take some pressure of its stellar young quarterback Andrew Luck.
Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings
Do I really even need to get into detail here. I understand that Peterson has to go up against a fifth ranked Houston Texans rush defense, but that doesn't matter a whole hell of a lot. He could go up against the original Steel Curtain and gain 100 yards without batting an eye. What this dude is doing right now is nothing short of amazing. In fact, Peterson has 500 less total yards than ##Mark Sanchez, who plays the quarterback position (kinda). Nothing else needed here as you already know the stats.
Knowshon Moreno, Denver Broncos
Don't look now, but Moreno is averaging over 20 fantasy points in his last two games and has stepped it up big time since Willis McGahee went down with injury. Check out my full analysis of what to expect from the former first-round pick here.
Arian Foster, Houston Texans
Foster is averaging 26 touches per game thus far this season. Whenever a top tier running back handles the rock that much on average he is destined to put up some numbers. While there are issues at they relate to wear and tear, Houston will not stray away from going to Foster with the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC hanging in the balance.
The Minnesota Vikings have yielded over 100 rushing yards in seven of their last nine games after holding opponents under that mark in four of their first five games.
Doug Martin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
There is something to say about a rookie running back slowing down at this point in the season. After all, they have never played more than 14 games in any season before entering the NFL. Martin showed signs of fatigue last week against the New Orleans Saints, going for just 35 yards on 12 rushes. That is disturbing considering that New Orleans ranked dead last against the run heading into the game.
That being said, Martin isn't your average rookie running back. He ranks third at his position in fantasy points and has tallied over 100 total yards eight times this season. Meanwhile, the St. Louis Rams are giving up an average of over 137 rushing yards in their last eight games.
DeAngelo Williams and Michael Tolbert, Carolina Panthers
Tolbert and Williams combined for 200 yards and over 35 fantasy points last week against a good San Diego Chargers rush defense. Expect them to repeat this production against the Oakland Raiders, who are among the worst defenses in the entire National Football League. Check out my write-up on Williams here.
Marshawn Lynch, Seattle Seahawks
I wouldn't normally advocate starting any running back against the San Francisco 49ers, but the way Lynch is playing there is absolutely no way that he won't put up top of the line RB1 numbers this week. Lynch is averaging over 10 yards per rush in his last two games and has tallied over 61 fantasy points in his last three outings. If those numbers are cut in half, Lynch is still a viable RB1 option this week.