What rushing attack storylines are of most interest for Week 9?
- Bills huge home favorites over Washington. Gore-Singletary committee in full effect
- Derrick Henry lack of passing game involvement continues and low Vegas total at Carolina
- Miles Sanders exits Week 8 with a shoulder injury, Jordan Howard rumbles to big volume, versus Bears Week 9
- Buying David Mongomery after breakout Week 8? Now at Philadelphia
- What to make of Chiefs RBBC? Does Patrick Mahomes II possibly playing in Week 9 change your DFS outcome for the backfield vs. Minnesota?
- Dolphins backfield without Kenyan Drake? Short home underdog vs. Jets
- Lions backfield post-Kerryon Johnson: Tra Carson starts but three-headed committee plus Paul Perkins seeing snaps. High Vegas total at Oakland
- What to make of Chargers backfield heading into home matchup against Green Bay?
JUSTIN BONNEMA
- Bills huge home favorites over Washington. Gore-Singletary committee in full effect: I’m avoiding this situation, especially since Josh Allen is the best runner on the team and has the best matchup.
- Derrick Henry lack of passing game involvement continues and low Vegas total at Carolina: I have don’t have interest in the Titans offense. They won last week but it wasn’t a great performance. Henry remains touchdown-dependent despite his rushing volume. Avoid.
- Miles Sanders exits Week 8 with a shoulder injury, Jordan Howard rumbles to big volume, versus Bears Week 9: if Sanders misses, there’s no doubt that the narrative of Howard vs. his old team will cause his ownership to explode unless the subpar matchup scares the crowd off. He’s going to be a key to the slate this week and looks like a solid play due to volume alone.
- Buying David Mongomery after breakout Week 8? Now at Philadelphia: I want to buy, but the Bears’ offense is enough to keep me away from Montgomery.
- What to make of Chiefs RBBC? Does Patrick Mahomes II possibly playing in Week 9 change your DFS outcome for the backfield vs. Minnesota? This backfield hasn’t been trustworthy or usable for a while. That doesn’t change against the Vikings even if Mahomes comes back.
- Dolphins backfield without Kenyan Drake? Short home underdog vs. Jets: When lineups lock, there’s only a nonzero chance that a single offensive player from the Dolphins will be on my rosters.
- Lions backfield post-Kerryon Johnson: Tra Carson starts but three-headed committee plus Paul Perkins seeing snaps. High Vegas total at Oakland: The Lions could barely get the run game working when Johnson was healthy. I certainly don’t trust it with the personnel they have now. It’s also a poor matchup against a decent, if not solid, Raiders’ run defense.
- What to make of Chargers backfield heading into home matchup against Green Bay? Tough to get behind either running back, even if the matchup appears favorable. If I do chase this situation, I’ll go with Ekeler and his usage in the passing attack. He’s looked great all season and it’s coaching malpractice to play Gordon over him. Perhaps Ken Whisenhunt’s exit will fix things.
JAMES BRIMACOMBE
Bills huge home favorites over Washington. Gore-Singletary committee in full effect – The Bills running backs always feel like they are in a good matchup/situation but at the end of the day they never really have one that stands out and hits. Until they have one clear running back that stands out and receives a heavy dose of the workload I won’t be a buyer in this backfield.
Miles Sanders exits Week 8 with a shoulder injury, Jordan Howard rumbles to big volume, versus Bears Week 9 – All the news is that Sanders won’t miss time with the shoulder injury but that they want to ease him onto the field and limit his touches. To me, this screams play Howard in this revenge spot against the Bears. I can see coach Pederson giving Howard his biggest workload of the season as the Eagles will try to grind out a win against the Bears with the running game and sound defense controlling the clock and playing mistake-free football.
What to make of Chargers backfield heading into home matchup against Green Bay? – The Chargers have been unlucky this season but after a big road win against the Bears I think they will have some extra momentum heading into this game against the Packers. To beat the Packers their best plan of attack probably should be to try to win in a slow grind it type of game rather than try to out dual Aaron Rodgers in a high scoring game. Melvin Gordon has not looked great since ending his holdout but they continue to give him opportunities and I think they will look to a heavier dose of Gordon/Ekeler in this game right from the start.
Justin Howe
Derrick Henry is a full-on fade for me. I like my GPP plays to boast dual-threat upside. How often is it fair, after all, to project Henry for a 99-yard run that breaks open a 250-yard day? I'm much more likely to hit big on a shootout RB somewhere that gets wrapped up in game flow and catches eight or nine passes. That's a much more shrewd way to chase 5x upside.
David Montgomery deserves to be proportionately rostered, because usage. Coach Matt Nagy has talked up Montgomery as the bell cow he desires since, oh, a few minutes after the draft. Last week brought the bonanza Nagy needed to see. This DvP matchup isn't good, but that's not what DFSers need to be chasing. It's all about usage, and there are indeed game script possibilities that give Montgomery another 25+ touches.
JASON WOOD
- Miles Sanders exits Week 8 with a shoulder injury, Jordan Howard rumbles to big volume, versus Bears Week 9
Even if Sanders was healthy, Howard is a compelling option this week. A lot of players will see the Bears defense as a risk factor, and fade Howard completely. That's a mistake as the Bears can be run upon, and Howard returns to the team that made light of his value just a few months ago. More importantly, the Eagles finally found an offensive identity last week against the Bills; expect their power-running game to be the foundation of offense for the remainder of the year.
- Buying David Mongomery after breakout Week 8? Now at Philadelphia
I'm not buying Montgomery after one strong week, although it was encouraging. Unfortunately, Montgomery faces an Eagles defense that is awful against the pass but remains elite as stopping the run. The Bears only chance of winning is getting Mitchell Trubisky back on track; it won't be because Montgomery runs wild.
Photos provided by Imagn Images