RADIO
Jonathan Stewart heads into a favorable matchup against an Atlanta Falcons team that gives up the most fantasy points to running backs, according to Yahoo! Sports. Stewart has carried the ball 20 or more times in eight straight weeks and has really come into his own of late, feeding off the success in Carolina. He is 86 yards shy of 1,000 on the season and is on pace to surpass his season high in rushing yards.
Atlanta has given up 355 rushing yards in the past two contests, and has allowed 15 total rushing touchdowns, second most in the NFL. After a sizzling 5-0 start to the season, the Falcons are slowly starting to fall apart completely. Stewart is an RB1 the rest of the way, especially this week in a game that the Panthers could be leading early, where they rely on Stewart to control the clock and keep the ball out of the hands of Matt Ryan.
Whenever a running back picks up 235 rushing yards in one game, I'm going to get excited about it. Against the Philadelphia Eagles Week 11, Doug Martin surpassed the 200-mark on 27 carries, and has 427 total yards on the ground over his last three games. In a contract year, Martin is already well past 1,000 rushing yards and is the second leading rusher in the NFL. Take all that, throw him onto the field against the New Orleans Saints, and get ready to watch Martin shine.
According to Yahoo! Sports, the Saints give up the third most fantasy points to running backs this season. They also surrender a bloated, and league high, 137.8 rushing yards per game, and 4.9 yards per carry, a league high as well, according to ESPN.com. Martin is one of the top plays at running back this week.
After slowing down significantly the past two weeks, Todd Gurley will look to get back on track against the Detroit Lions. In the St. Louis Rams' last two games, Gurley as failed to find the end zone, after scoring in five straight previous. He carried the ball only nine times each game for a total of 60 yards.
Fantasy owners, don't give up on the rookie just yet, even as playoffs arrive. Yes, the Rams offense is pretty lost, but Gurley has a great chance to get back to his scoring ways against the Lions who have already surrendered 16 rushing touchdowns this season, the most in the NFL, according to ESPN.com. Gurley should see an increase in carries in a battle of two teams now fighting for pride and a high draft pick. Gurley has been downgraded to an RB2, but should still be plugged into your lineup, while monitoring his matchup for the remainder of your fantasy season.
