As we near the conclusion of the fantasy football regular season, the running back pool has run thin amid a flurry of injuries and committees. Those of you wise and fortunate enough to have brandished top waiver wire priorities will have a shot to grab meaningful RB pieces to help propel your team over the final weeks, including the likes of David Johnson, Spencer Ware and Shaun Draughn. Those of you without such a luxury who are the unfortunate owners of veterans like Chris Johnson or Frank Gore will have to scramble to compete. Honestly, were any of us expecting those guys to stay healthy over the course of an entire season at their age?

The good news is that some previously volatile situations have solidified over recent weeks and some true starting running backs have emerged. Guys like Alfred Blue and Alfred Morris have finally grasped control over the backfield situations on their respective squads and shed the plague of the RBBC, every fantasy owner's nightmare. Let's take a look at these situations, and many more, and find a way to capitalize on these half backs and gain a competitive edge in preparation for the playoffs.

AFC EAST: Fantasy Football Running Backs (RB)

The Patriots showed absolutely no semblance of a ground attack against the Broncos on a blustery, snowy Sunday night in Denver. Incidentally, the Broncos handed the Pats their first loss of the season in this game, which is something that spitefully makes me happy. LeGarrette Blount is no more. He hasn't averaged more than 3.5 YPA since Week 9. Sunday night was no different, as Blount reached just 27 yards on nine carries and seemed to just run head-first into the line and fall on his back on every play. James White looked pretty horrible as well, gaining a pathetic six yards on five touches. It was a sad sign for White, as the rookie was poised for big numbers in the wake of the Dion Lewis injury. Intriguingly enough, Brandon Bolden found himself among the top-10 fantasy RBs of the week with 95 yards on eight touches and a score. Almost all of that came on an 80-yard touchdown catch-and-run that appeared to seal the deal for New England. Week 12 was such a low scoring week for running backs that one explosive run is enough to catapult a back into the top tier. Knowing the Patriots, it would not be surprising to see one of these guys explode for huge numbers next week, especially when the team hosts the Eagles decimated run defense. For the long term, none of these guys are viable options.

Chris Ivory was a solid contributor to the Jets blowout victory against Miami on Sunday afternoon, posting an impressive 21-87-1 line with two receptions for 15 yards. Ivory didn't have much fun running up the gut of the Dolphins defense as he ran straight into Ndamukong Suh and company. Near the end of the game, Ivory had some luck on the edges of the defense, culminating in a 31-yard score to seal the deal in the fourth quarter. Ivory has been regaining some of his authority from earlier this season and is one of the more reliable, high-ceiling options moving forward. He is the fourth-leading fantasy RB this season. Bilal Powell fulfilled his usual role, touching the ball eight times for a total of 35 yards.

The long wait for upside from Karlos Williams seems to be over, as the rookie RB left the Bills game in Kansas City with a shoulder injury after just two rushing attempts for five yards. The injury does not appear too serious, but his status for Week 13 is questionable and the fantasy regular season is quickly coming to an end. The good news is that LeSean McCoy has been rolling as of late and will get even more touches in the absence of Williams as a handcuff. On Sunday, McCoy rushed for 70 yards on 19 carries and caught three-of-five targets for 31 yards and a score. He did lose a fumble in the first quarter in Chiefs territory, which proved costly in the end despite the fact that it led to no direct points for Kansas City. This was Shady's fifth consecutive 100-yard-from-scrimmage performance and good for a top-10 fantasy spot for Week 12. Boobie Dixon will fill in as the backup if Williams can't play. The Bills will have an interesting matchup against the Texans next week and a rush defense that is top-3 in YPG over the past three weeks.

Joe Philbin's Dolphins returned to action in New York on Sunday, as the whole backfield combined for 12 yards on nine carries on the afternoon. In all fairness, Miami never had a chance to get the run game going, as they were playing from behind the entire game. Jay Ajayi was the most productive member of the backfield with three carries for six yards and four receptions for 52 yards. The outing was very promising for Ajayi, who seems to be eating into Lamar Miller's workload more and more each week. Miller only managed 13 yards on eight touches, making him the most high-ceiling, low-floor player in fantasy football. The Dolphins get a top-10 Ravens run defense in Week 13. Ajayi is well-deserving of a look on the waiver wire.

AFC WEST: Fantasy Football Running Backs (RB)

C.J. Anderson was a monster and a hero against the Patriots on Sunday night. On of the league's most hyped RBs at the beginning of the year finally capitalized on his potential with a 150-113-2 line, by far his best output of the season. Most of Anderson's production came late in the game, with a 15-yard scamper to the right side in the fourth quarter and the game-winning 48-yard run to the left side in overtime. It was beautiful - Anderson showed no issue running through the wet snow and slipping into the end zone with ease. Ronnie Hillman had a pretty nice game as well, going 15-49-1 on the evening. Anderson reeled in all four of his targets for 40 yards, good for the second best fantasy RB performance of the week. The run blocking looked superb from Denver's O-line in the contest and should provide a good situation for Hillman and Anderson for the rest of the season. Both guys should be started against a horrendous Chargers run defense in Week 13, though it appears that Anderson is now the de facto starter.

Spencer Ware filled in admirably for an injured Charcandrick West (hamstring), posting a dominant 19-114-1 line while catching all three of his targets, albeit for just one total yard. The Chiefs have shown that they can move the ball on the ground, regardless of which man is holding it. For at least one day, that man was Ware. He handled almost all of the work from the backfield, ceding just one carry to Knile Davis, who appears to be no threat to take away touches. If West's hamstring injury lingers, Ware will be set for another big game against an Oakland defense that is bottom-5 over the past three weeks.

Latavius Murray was not at his best in Tennessee, moving the ball just 59 yards on 22 carries. He added a 23-yard catch-and-run, but still finished with a meager 2.7 YPC. The Raiders are going to continue to hand the ball off to Murray, who is the only reputable player in Oakland's backfield. Unfortunately, Murray can't seem to find the end zone anymore, as he's only scored one touchdown since Week 7. It won't be easy against the Chiefs in Week 13. Taiwan Jones (knee) remains sidelined for the time being.

The Chargers backfield remained lackluster in a shootout win over the Jaguars on Sunday. Melvin Gordon led the backfield in carries - that's a sentence that becomes more and more shocking every week I write it - and produced a not-horrible 60 yards on 14 carries. Impressively, he reeled in five-of-five targets for an additional 20 yards. Gordon is still without a touchdown in his short NFL career. Danny Woodhead was even less productive, tacking on 47 yards on ten touches. The Chargers are aware that their only chance of moving the ball stems from the hands of Philip Rivers. Gordon is irrelevant from fantasy purposes. After an impressive start to the season, Woodhead has fallen from a top-5 fantasy RB to outside the top-30. Stay away at all costs.

AFC NORTH: Fantasy Football Running Backs (RB)

The Ravens offense is nearly void of recognizable names, save for Matt Schaub who is more infamous than famous. Javorius 'Buck' Allen led the backfield in a marquee Monday night matchup against the Browns in the battle for a top draft pick. Allen filled in admirably, going 55 yards on 12 carries and four receptions for 29 yards and a score, a top-10 performance in Week 12. Terrence West saw some quality touches as well, as the Cleveland transplant added 37 yards on seven attempts. Baltimore's season may be in shambles, but Buck Allen could be a value asset over the last few weeks of the 2015 fantasy football season.

DeAngelo Williams went to work against the Seahawks stout defense on Sunday, piling on 117 yards and a receiving touchdown on 15 touches. How was this guy ever a backup RB in the NFL? Despite starting only five games this year, Williams is the ninth-leading fantasy scoring running back in the league. His numbers this week were good for a top-5 output. Williams may have the highest ceiling of the remaining healthy backs out there, aside from Peterson perhaps. If Ben Roethlisberger is sidelined this week against the Colts, the Steelers will likely rely heavily on their new star half back.

It seems like both Giovani Bernard and Jeremy Hill are simply incapable of having an individual good day without bringing the other guy with him. Finally, we got some differentiation between Bernard and Hill in the running game. Hill had a pretty nice day, posting 86 yards on 16 carries, good for 5.4 YPA. Bernard could not getting it done on the ground at all, tacking on just 16 yards on 10 attempts. He saved his day somewhat with a 45-yard reception, but certainly paled in comparison to Hill, who also added a 14-yard catch. A couple notes here - Bernard lost a fumble on that long play (though it was recovered by Tyler Eifert) and Hill left the game with a nagging ankle injury. Both should be good to go against the bottom of the barrel Browns defense in Week 13.

There simply is no running game in Cleveland. Fun fact: I haven't changed that opening sentence for five straight weeks now. Duke Johnson was the only RB of note in the backfield, going 27 yards on seven carries and 23 yards on five receptions. Hey, 50 yards from scrimmage is trophy-worthy in Cleveland. Isaiah Crowell continued to look like he's playing the wrong sport, adding seven yards on seven carries. Don't even bother with these guys.

AFC SOUTH: Fantasy Football Running Backs (RB)

All of the sudden, the Colts had no running backs left. Ahmad Bradshaw fractured his wrist in the fourth quarter of the Colts win over Buffalo and will not play another snap this season. Concurrently, Frank Gore is "beat to crap" in the words of head coach Chuck Pagano and does indeed look completely worn down. The team has added two new backs in recent weeks in ex-Colt Dan 'Boom' Herron and space alien Zurlon Tipton. If Gore struggles with health and/or production in the Colts crucial stretch run, both of these guys may see quality touches. Herron is first in line. It's hard to imagine a 32 year-old Gore, given his current condition, staying healthy over the next few weeks. Boom should be scooped up from the waiver wire.

Hey, Alfred Blue had a good game again. For the first time since the injury to Arian Foster, the Texans backfield situation has solidified as Blue has emerged as a true starter. Blue totaled 81 yards and a score on 17 touches (16 runs, one reception) and broke into the top-10 for the week. Still, Blue did see some carries divided among the other personnel in the Texans backfield, including the likes of Chris Polk, Jonathan Grimes, Akeem Hunt and Cecil Shorts. No one in the group totaled more than six carries or 30 yards aside from Blue. Blue was limited in Wednesday's practice with a back injury, but seems ready to roll for a Week 13 matchup in Buffalo.

May the lord help the Titans backfield. no half back in Tennessee averaged 3.0 YPA or better against a tough raiders defense on Sunday. Antonio Andrews led the motley crew with 11 carries for 32 yards with a 14-yard catch. Dexter McCluster is still recovering from an MCL sprain and was inactive for Week 12. David Cobb came in as the change-of-pace guy, but was limited to eight yards on three carries. Bishop Sankey was active, but didn't do a damn thing. Everyone in this situation is irrelevant for fantasy purposes aside from Andrews, who is pretty useless himself. Things aren't likely to get better against a surprisingly tough Jaguars defense in Week 13.

T.J. Yeldon was as decent as ever against the Chargers on Sunday with 82 yards on 13 carries, his second consecutive 82-yard week. Yeldon must be the most middling, average back in the league this year. In fact, all running backs should be measured on the Yeldon scale to determine their worth.  If you're better than Yeldon, you're good - if you're worse, you stink. It seems that Yeldon will fall between 60-110 yards each week. In fact, he's only landed outside of that range twice this year - falling short once and surpassing it once. Of course, he has been playing through a foot injury the past few weeks. His heavy workload alone will keep him in the every-week start range. Denard Robinson tacked on 23 yards on three carries.

NFC EAST: Fantasy Football Running Backs (RB)

The fantasy nightmare continues in New York. Of the four available runners in the Giants backfield, none exceeded 15 yards rushing on the afternoon. Shane Vereen was somewhat active in the passing game, but still only managed 36 yards on six touches. Rashad Jennings, Orleans Darkwa and Andre Williams remained as useless as ever. Jennings is technically still the lead guy here, but doesn't receive enough work to merit owning in most league formats.

In a game that was generally ugly for the Philadelphia Eagles, DeMarco Murray was uglier, going just 30 yards on 14 carries. Still think he's worth $42 million, Chip? Kenjon Barner actually had a nice few runs and recorded the same yardage as Murray with exactly half the carries. Darren Sproles was the third leading receiver on the team with 21 yards on four receptions. The Eagles will be playing from behind in most of their contests for the rest of the year, or so it appears as of now. Ryan Mathews (concussion) is still going through the league's protocol and has yet to see the practice field. Again, Barner might be worth a look on the wire, but with a pretty low ceiling.

Darren McFadden (groin) was absolutely stuffed by the Panthers defense on Thanksgiving day, moving the ball a meager 11 yards on 10 carries. Still, McFadden ended up being the team's leading receiver with 4 receptions for 45 yards. Look, the Cowboys season is over. They should be going for a good draft pick at this point with the repeat injury to Romo's collarbone taking the star QB out of the picture. McFadden had been one of the bright spots for the Cowboys in Romo's absence until he met the Panthers front seven. Over the past three weeks, the Panthers have allowed a league-leading 36.3 rush YPG. Without any significant threat from his backups, McFadden will continue to be a workhorse for Dallas until he gets injured himself, which he technically already is. Ride out Run-DMC until the bitter end, especially against a poor Washington defense in Week 13. Robert Turbin added another 11 yards on two carries.

Everything has come full circle in Washington, as it appears that Alfred Morris has reclaimed the backfield in the light of the resurgence of fumbles from Matt Jones. Morris played 42-of-71 offensive snaps and handled 23-of-33 handoffs for a decent 78 yards. Matt Jones followed behind, managing just 19 yards on eight carries, though he did explode for a 45-yard reception. Chris Thompson has been less and less active every week. He was bothered by a shoulder injury in the contest, but played through it to the tune of 16 yards on three touches. The only rushing touchdown was claimed by Kirk Cousins on a one-yard sneak. Now that Morris is back in charge, he has a good chance to pop off against a deflated Cowboys defense in week 13.

NFC WEST: Fantasy Football Running Backs (RB)

Shaun Draughn did some pretty good stuff against the Cardinals tough run defense, especially for a guy who was destined to never start an NFL game as the fourth string RB on the Browns. Draughn went 51 yards on 15 carries and hauled in all five of his targets for 35 yards. Not bad. Even more impressive is the fact that Draughn was the only guy to handle carries from the 49ers backfield, playing all 56 offensive snaps. So much for hearing from Kendall Gaskins and Travaris Cadet. We still have no better idea of when Carlos Hyde (foot) will be back in action. He hasn't practiced since the injury and remains without a timetable. Until that injured foot touches the field, Draughn must be owned and started across all formats.

Marshawn Lynch is now expected to miss a month after undergoing sports hernia surgery, paving the way for Thomas Rawls to be a fantasy hero for the rest of the fantasy season. Rawls posted a solid 21-81-1 line, securing his spot in the top-5 for all fantasy running backs over the past four weeks. There's virtually no reason to doubt the undrafted rookie moving forward. He'll face a tough test against the Vikings in Week 13. Fred Jackson added 11 yards on three touches.

All hands on deck! Similar to what happened to San Francisco's backfield a few weeks back, it seems that the Cardinals suddenly lost all of their half backs instantaneously. Chris Johnson, a leading candidate for Comeback Player of the Year, went down with a broken leg, effectively ending his surprise season. Andre Ellington, the primary backup, will be out for a bit with a nasty case of turf toe. That leaves rookie David Johnson with his first real window to prove himself. Many believed that D. Johnson would claim the starter job at the beginning of the season before everyone realized that C. Johnson still had some steam left in him. Stepfan Taylor and the recently promoted Kerwynn Williams will be right behind D. Johnson in his first start of the season against the Rams. He is a must add in all formats in the Cardinals league-leading offense.

With the Rams season in shambles, Todd Gurley's value is going down, down, down. Gurley's fantasy output has dropped lower and lower each week since a breakout performance five weeks ago (28.30 points against the Browns in Week 7). Much of this can be attributed to the woeful production from the quarterback in St. Louis, where Nick Foles continues to run the team into the ground. Also, the offensive line gave Gurley no chance to get things going as the rookie was repeatedly swallowed up in the backfield before taking two steps. The Rams playoff hopes are over, but there's still hope for Gurley. We've all seen what he's capable of, even behind this despondent offensive line. Give Gurley another chance against Arizona in Week 13.

NFC NORTH: Fantasy Football Running Backs (RB)

Eddie Lacy is back. The rotund running back recorded his second consecutive 100-yard rushing game against the Bears on Thanksgiving and pounded through the defense in the first half. Lacy finished the day with 17 carries for 105 yards and another 34 yards and a score on four receptions, good for a top-3 performance of the week. Unfortunately, Lacy lost a fumble in the blustery conditions in Green Bay that proved rather costly by the end of the contest. James Starks made the most of his touches as well, running for 39 yards on seven carries and 41 yards on four receptions. Lacy has reclaimed the de facto starter role, but Starks still poses a legitimate threat to his touches, especially if Lacy continues to fumble the ball. The Packers play tonight in Detroit and a defense that has gotten its act together over the past few weeks.

Even as the Detroit Lions dominated the Eagles embarrassing defense on Thanksgiving, the run game was a bit short of spectacular in the victory. Ameer Abdullah handled 16-of-28 carries from the backfield, going for 63 yards and adding a 12-yard reception. Joique Bell was the best fantasy performer, posting a 7-25-1 line with 57 yards on two catches. Theo Riddick, always active in the passing game, did not disappoint as he reeled in all five of his targets for 62 yards and a score. Here's the breakdown of how each back placed in the fantasy RB scoring for the week: Bell - 9th, Riddick - 13th, Abdullah - 29th. This was the best output for Lions run game all season, but failed to yield any promising prospects for the next few weeks. Riddick is probably the only trustworthy back against a Packers defense that has been good against the rush as of late.

Jeremy Langford was largely held in check by the Packers defense on  Thanksgiving in Matt Forte's first game back, posting a respectable 12-48-1 line. Forte (knee) was even less productive, gaining 44 yards on 15 carries with a nine-yard catch. This is an interesting situation, as it's not clear whether or not the Bears are easing Forte back into action or if Langford's success has earned him a share of the committee alongside Forte. Over the past four weeks, Langford is second in fantasy RB scoring behind Adrian Peterson with 419 yards from scrimmage and five touchdowns. The coaching staff will be hard-pressed to take him off the field, unless Forte returns to his former prominence of course.

Watch Adrian Peterson embarrass the Falcons despairing defense on Sunday at 1:00 PM, exclusively on FOX -- I ended my Peterson column last week with this sentence and AP pulled through for me. Peterson led all running backs in standard fantasy scoring in Week 12 with a 29-158-2 dominating performance, adding two catches for 29 yards. He's the best running back in the league and almost nobody can stop him. Let's put that to the test again when Peterson gets a shot at the Legion of Boom in Week 13. Matt Asiata added 20 yards on four touches while Jerrick McKinnon rushed five times for 33 yards.

NFC SOUTH: Fantasy Football Running Backs (RB)

Mark Ingram fell just short of 100 yards from scrimmage with a solid 97 yards on just 15 touches. That total is impressive considering the Saints only ran the ball 10 times as they played catch-up behind the Texans for most of the afternoon. Nobody is denying that Ingram is a great running back in 2015 - he still ranks in the top-5 for fantasy purposes. However, in the past four weeks, Ingram falls outside the top-25 fantasy performers due to the fact that the Saints refuse to give him consistent carries despite the fact that his 4.62 YPC are top-10 among qualified running backs. Things are not likely to improve in Week 13 against an intimidating Panthers defense, which has been destroying running backs recently. This might be a good week to keep Ingram on the bench. C.J. Spiller finished with six yards on three touches.

Tevin Coleman filled in admirably for an injured Devonta Freeman on Sunday, amassing 110 yards on 18 carries, good for 6.1 YPA. Unfortunately for fantasy owners, Coleman fumbled at the end of a long run and had a touchdown taken away due to penalty. The performance did not compare to the Falcons incumbent starter, who still leads the league in fantasy scoring despite missing Week 12 with a concussion. Terron Ward saw some quality touches as well, as he got the ball six times and went 15 yards. None of this matters, as Freeman is back in practice this week and fully expected to play next week against the Buccaneers. Thus, Ward and Coleman can be dropped and Freeman must be started. End of story.

Jonathan Stewart couldn't get much going against the Cowboys on Thanksgiving, accounting for 68 yards on 21 carries and adding three receptions for nine yards. Although he got his usual workload, the bruising RB couldn't find the big run against a strong Cowboys front-seven. The Panthers have expressed a desire to give Stewart some rest on their stretch run into the playoffs, which is obviously concerning for fantasy owners. Here's the thing - the Panthers are still undefeated and will certainly be looking to continue that feat, which means sticking with Stewart. Also, there's basically nobody credible besides Stewart in the backfield save for Mike Tolbert, and it seems doubtful that Cam Newton will be taking on the extra workload in an attempt to rest Stewart. The production will be spotty, but the workload shouldn't decrease too significantly.

Make way for the Dougernaut. The artist previously known as Muscle Hamster fell just short of 100 yards against the Colts on Sunday with 98 yards on 15 touches. Most of that yardage came on one run in the third quarter as Martin bursted through the line for a 56-yard gain. Though he has slowed down just a tad as of late, Martin has been one of the most consistent backs in fantasy this year as his Week 12 performance put him above the 1,000 yard line for the season. Charles Sims entered the game during garbage time and tacked on 39 yards on seven carries. His potential has all but vanished as the season wanes and Martin flourishes. The Dougernaut is a top-3 fantasy RB in 2015 and may wind up in the top-2 if Devonta Freeman stays sidelined.

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