RADIO
The three running backs listed below head into the weekend facing three of the toughest run defenses in the NFL. All three have seen a boost in their performance and workload of late but will have a difficult time turning their boost into anything productive and consistent.
Darren McFadden and the Dallas Cowboys host the surging New York Jets Saturday night. The Jets own the best run defense in the league, allowing only 78.9 yards on the ground per game. They've also surrendered an exceptionally low two rushing touchdowns this season. Last week, the Jets held the Tennessee Titans, a team in similar shape as the Cowboys with a better offense, to only 24 rushing yards on 13 carries.
McFadden is coming off an 111 yard, on only nine carries, performance, but has scored only three times all season. He's been given the bulk of the work for a majority of the season but has fallen in the ranks of fantasy running backs. McFadden is a borderline RB2, but more so a RB3/FLEX this week.
Isaiah Crowell heads to Seattle on the legs of his best performance of the season; 145 yards on 2o carries and two touchdowns against the San Fransisco 49ers. The rest of his season has been nothing to write home about, as he hadn't scored a touchdown since Week 2. He'll likely revert back to his unproductive ways against the Seahawks Sunday.
According to Yahoo! Sports, the Seahawks relinquish the fewest fantasy points to running back this season, and allow only 83.2 rushing yards a game, second fewest in the league. This is one of those matchups that you simply have to shake your head at. Just unfair. Seattle is one of the hottest teams in football right now and the Cleveland Browns, well, are not. Crowell is an RB3/FLEX option with more downside than up.
It's never fun, or encouraging, when one of your fantasy running backs is facing an undefeated team, in week 15, nonetheless. Rashad Jennings and the New York Giants host Carolina on Sunday, and will need to attack through the air if they have any hopes of knocking off the Panthers. Carolina allows 84.6 yards on the ground per game, fourth fewest in the NFL, and less than four yards a carry.
Jennings saw a boost in carries, 22, against the Miami Dolphins last Monday night; his highest all season, by far. But even if he sees carries in the same ballpark, he'll likely have trouble producing with them. Jennings is no more than a RB3/FLEX.
