Week 18 RB Motivation

Photo: Junfu Han, USA Today Sports

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Week 18 is here, and the big question on everyone’s mind is, who cares? As fans, we care, and the players participating care, but teams have different motivations and a clear picture of what can be achieved in Week 18. We looked through each game to see who has things to play for, either from a team perspective or based on statistical milestones.

A note: "Motivation" is entirely made up and subjective. The players playing will give their all, but teams will make selective choices on who plays and who sits out.

Here's a look at some players with a little extra statistical Week 18 motivation.

RB Saquon Barkley, NY Giants

• Team Motivation: 1/10
• Current Stats: 916 rushing yards, four touchdowns, 39 receptions, 229 yards, four touchdowns

Barkley needs 84 yards for his fourth 1,000-yard season. He needs 131 yards to move past Joe Morris for third on the Giants' all-time list.

RB James Cook, Buffalo

• Team Motivation: 10/10
• Current Stats: 1,086 rushing yards, two touchdowns, 41 receptions, 429 receiving yards, four touchdowns

Cook is the sixth different Bill to record 1,000 rushing yards and 400 receiving yards. If he can reach 500 receiving yards, that group shrinks to just Thurman Thomas and Joe Cribbs. He is currently third in the NFL in rushing yards, sitting 58 yards behind second-place Kyren Williams.

RB James Conner, Arizona

• Team Motivation: 1/10
• Current Stats: 890 rushing yards, six touchdowns, 23 receptions, 111 receiving yards, two touchdowns

Conner is chasing his career-high 973 yards in 2018 and his first 1,000-yard season. David Johnson’s 2016 season was the last Cardinal to hit 1,000 yards.

RB Gus Edwards, Baltimore

• Team Motivation: 0/10
• Current Stats: 762 rushing yards, 13 touchdowns, 12 receptions, 180 receiving yards

Edwards's 13 rushing touchdowns are one behind Jamal Lewis’s franchise record 14.

RB Austin Ekeler, LA Chargers

• Team Motivation: 0/10
• Current Stats:617 rushing yards, five touchdowns, 44 receptions, 398 receiving yards, one touchdown
• Contract Incentives: $100,000 at 1,125 scrimmage yards. Ekeler has 1,015.

Ekeler has fallen from his heights in 2021 and 2022, but his rushing yardage total is still the third-best of his career. With two receiving yards, he will have his sixth straight 400 receiving yard season. Ekeler is third in Chargers history in rushing yards (4,344) and rushing touchdowns (39). LaDainian Tomlinson tops the list at 12,490 - 138. Paul Lowe is second in yards with 4,972, and Chuck Muncie is second in touchdowns at 43. He is seventh on the career reception list for the franchise, trailing Lane Alworth by 60.

RB Ezekiel Elliott, New England

• Team Motivation: 3/10
• Current Stats: 588 rushing yards, three touchdowns, 46 receptions, 286 receiving yards, two touchdowns
• Contract Incentives: Elliott has incentives at 1,100 total yards and 50% of team snaps. He sits at 49% on the season but has gone above 80% in each game Rhamondre Stevenson missed. Assuming health, he should hit the mark and earn an additional $300,000.

Elliott needs 150 rushing yards to top 9,000 for his career. There are 19 players in NFL history with 9,000 career rushing yards and 350 career receptions; Elliott would become the 20th.

RB Travis Etienne, Jacksonville

• Team Motivation: 10/10
• Current Stats: 951 rushing yards, 11 touchdowns, 53 receptions, 446 receiving yards, one touchdown

Etienne is chasing back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons. He dramatically increased his passing game usage, adding 18 receptions and 130 yards. Three more scrimmage yards put him over 1,4000 in his two seasons. The team has 14 1,000-yard seasons, but a player has not gone back-to-back since Maurice Jones-Drew in 2010-2011. Etienne’s 11 touchdowns are the seventh most; one more brings him into a tie for fifth with Fred Taylor and Jones-Drew, and two more bring him to a tie for third with Jones-Drew and James Stewart. Etienne is the only player in franchise history to top 950 rushing yards, ten touchdowns, 50 receptions, 400 receiving yards line. If he can add 49 rushing yards and 54 receiving yards, pushing the yardage thresholds to 1,000 and 500, he becomes the 38th back in NFL history to hit that threshold. Christian McCaffrey is the only one to do it since the 2019 season.

RB Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit

• Team Motivation: 7/10
• Current Stats: 915 rushing yards, nine touchdowns, 52 receptions, 316 yards, one touchdown

If Montgomery hits 1,000 yards and Gibbs has 85 yards rushing, the Lions would become the eighth pair of teammates to hit 1,000 rushing yards in NFL history. Lamar Jackson and Mark Ingram were the last teammates to do it on the 2019 Ravens. Gibbs is also looking to become the fourth rookie to rush for 1,000 yards for the team. Bush and Billy Sims are the only Lions to rush for 1,000 yards and catch 50 passes. Gibbs has joined them as the only other player with 900 rushing yards and 50 receptions. In NFL history, 15 rookies have rushed for 900 yards and caught 50 passes, marks Gibbs and Bijan Robinson both hit in 2023.

RB Breece Hall, NY Jets

• Team Motivation: 0/10
• Current Stats: 816 rushing yards, four touchdowns, 74 receptions, 579 receiving yards, four touchdowns

Hall and Johnny Johnson III are the only running backs in Jets history with 800 rushing yards and 550 receiving yard seasons. If Hall can add 84 rushing yards and 21 receiving yards, he would become the 27th player in NFL history to record a 900-75-600 season. His 74 receptions are the second most by a Jets running back, trailing Richie Anderson’s 88.

RB Najee Harris, Pittsburgh

• Team Motivation: 10/10
• Current Stats: 923 rushing yards, seven touchdowns, 24 receptions, 149 receiving yards

Harris is hunting his third straight 1,000 rushing yard season. Harris would be the only running back in Steelers history to start his career with three 1,000-yard seasons.

RB Derrick Henry, Tennessee

• Team Motivation: 0/10
• Current Stats: 1,014 rushing yards, 11 touchdowns, 28 receptions, 214 receiving yards
• Contract Incentives: Henry can earn $500,000 for reaching 1,300 rushing yards. Henry has rushed for 186 yards seven times in his career but only once since the 2021 season.

Henry’s 9,349 career rushing yards is closing on Eddie George’s 10,009 as the Titans' all-time leading rusher. Henry is also a free agent following the 2023 season. He already holds the franchise record with 89 rushing touchdowns. Henry recorded his fifth 1,000-rushing-yard season; George holds the most in franchise history with seven.

RB Josh Jacobs, Las Vegas

• Team Motivation: 0/10
• Current Stats: 805 rushing yards, six rushing touchdowns, 37 receptions, 296 receiving yards

Jacobs may have already played his last game as a Raider. If that is the case, he will finish third on the team’s rushing and touchdown lists with 5,545 yards and 46 touchdowns. Marcus Allen is first in both, with 8,545 yards and 79 touchdowns. Mark van Eeghan is second in yards at 5,907, and Pete Banaszak is second in touchdowns at 47.

RB Alvin Kamara, New Orleans

• Team Motivation: 10/10
• Current Stats: 694 rushing yards, five touchdowns, 75 receptions, 466 receiving yards, one touchdown

Kamara has topped 700 rushing yards in each season of his career, needing six more to do it again. He began his career with three straight 81-catch seasons; he can reach that mark again with six receptions and tie his career high with eight catches. Kamara will be able to break the Saints' career-rushing record in 2024 and move into second place on the team’s career reception list.

RB Alexander Mattison, Minnesota

• Team Motivation: 10/10
• Current Stats: 676 rushing yards, 29 receptions, 187 receiving yards, three touchdowns
• Contract Incentive: Mattison receives a $250,000 bonus if he hits 750 rushing yards. He is 74 yards away. He has exceeded that mark thrice in 2023, but only once since Week 4. He has ceded most of the backfield work to Ty Chandler and is unlikely to hit this mark, barring injury.

Mattison’s 676 rushing yards without a touchdown put him on the fringe of a dubious distinction: most rushing yards without scoring. Currently, he sits 16th. Joe Washington holds the “record” with 956 rushing yards without a touchdown in 1978.

RB Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco

• Team Motivation: 0/10
• Current Stats: 1,459 rushing yards, 14 touchdowns, 67 receptions, 564 receiving yards, seven touchdowns

McCaffrey picked up an injury in Week 17 against the Commanders, and the team will likely use Week 18 and the bye to make sure he is fully healthy. Assuming his season ends, he is the seventh back in NFL history to record a 1,450-65-550 season. His 1,459 rushing yards are a career-high, and he looks to have secured his first league-leading rushing crown.

RB Joe Mixon, Cincinnati

• Team Motivation: 0/10
• Current Stats: 923 rushing yards, eight touchdowns, 51 receptions, 370 receiving yards, two touchdowns

Mixon needs 77 rushing yards for his first 1,000-yard season since 2021, and two touchdowns would give his second double-digit touchdown season. He has the second-best receiving season of his career. Mixon and James Brooks are the only Bengals running backs with 900 rushing yards and 50 receptions. Mixon needs 148 yards to pass Brooks for second on the team’s all-time list. His 48 rushing touchdowns are tied with Rudi Johnson for second on the all-time list.

RB David Montgomery, Detroit

• Team Motivation: 7/10
• Current Stats: 975 rushing yards, 12 touchdowns, 16 receptions, 117 yards

Montgomery is looking for his second 1,000-yard season. His 12 touchdowns are a new career high. Reggie Bush and Jamaal Williams are the only Lions to record 1,000-yard rushing seasons since 2004.

RB Raheem Mostert, Dolphins

• Team Motivation: 10/10
• Current Stats: 1,012 rushing yards, 18 touchdowns, 25 receptions, 175 receiving yards, three touchdowns
• Contract Incentives: Mostert had bonuses from yards from scrimmage in his contract. He easily cleared both thresholds.

Mostert’s 18 touchdowns are a franchise record, placing him in a tie for 15th on the NFL’s single-season list. He is the 15th player to top 1,000 yards for the Dolphins and the first since Jay Ajayi in 2016. A 127-yard performance would move him into the top five in a single Dolphins season.

RB Tony Pollard, Dallas

• Team Motivation: 10/10
• Current Stats:235 carries, 935 yards, five touchdowns, 53 receptions, 295 yards

Pollard is looking to follow up a 1,007-yard season in 2022 with his second 1,000-yard year. He must exceed his season average of 58 yards to get the 65 he needs.

RB Bijan Robinson, Atlanta

• Team Motivation: 10/10
• Current Stats: 948 rushing yards, four touchdowns, 51 receptions, 384 receiving yards, three touchdowns

Teammate Tyler Allgeier holds the team's rookie record with 1,035 rushing yards. Robinson needs 87 yards to tie. Robinson also wants to join William Andrews, Devonta Freeman, and John Settle as Falcons to record 1,000 rushing yards and 50+ receptions in a season.

RB Devin Singletary, Houston

• Team Motivation: 10/10
• Current Stats:835 rushing yards, three touchdowns, 29 receptions, 191 receiving yards
• Contract Incentive: 1,000 rushing yards would earn him $125,000. He earns an additional $125,000 for each 100-yard threshold after 1,000. He also has snap-based incentives. 50% and 55% pay him $125,000 each level. Hitting 66% would earn another $250,000. He currently sits at 53.8%. The Texans have averaged 67 snaps per game; Singletary would need to play 50 of those snaps, just over 73%, to hit the 55% mark.

Singletary took over in the second half of 2023, averaging 78.25 yards per game to post his career high. He is hunting his first 1,000-yard season and the Texans’ first since Carlos Hyde in 2019.

RB Tyjae Spears, Tennessee

• Team Motivation: 0/10
• Current Stats: 428 rushing yards, one touchdown, 49 receptions, 344 receiving yards

There has been 34 rookie running backs to gain 400 rushing yards, 49 receptions, and 300 receiving yards. Spears is the only Titan to do it. If Spears can push to a 450 - 50 - 350 line, the list drops to 26. Spears’ 49 receptions are sixth on the Titans rookie list. Three more receptions would push him into a tie with A.J. Brown for fifth.

RB D’Andre Swift, Philadelphia

• Team Motivation: 10/10
• Current Stats: 1,049 rushing yards, five rushing touchdowns, 39 receptions, 214 receiving yards, one touchdown

Swift has set his career high in rushing yards by 432 yards. He also has the lowest receiving output of his career. An additional 97 rushing yards would move him into a tie with Steve Van Buren for the 13th-highest total in team history. A more realistic target is 32 more yards to move past LeSean McCoy’s 2010 season into 15th.

RB Jaylen Warren, Pittsburgh

• Team Motivation: 10/10
• Current Stats: 751 rushing yards, four touchdowns, 56 receptions, 353 receiving yards

Warren joined Le’Veon Bell, Harris, and James Conner as the only players in Steelers history with 750 rushing yards and 50 receptions. With four more receptions and pushing the threshold up to 60 catches, Conner would fall off the list.

RB Rachaad White, Tampa Bay

• Team Motivation: 10/10
• Current Stats: 915 rushing yards, six touchdowns, 60 receptions, 531 receiving yards, three touchdowns

White is the second Buccaneers running back to record 900 rushing yards, 60 receptions, and 500 receiving yards in a season. The other is James Wilder, who posted a 1,544 - 85 - 685 season in 1984.

RB Kyren Williams, LA Rams

• Team Motivation: 3/10
• Current Stats: 1,144 rushing yards, 12 touchdowns, 32 receptions, 206 receiving yards, three touchdowns

Williams recorded the first 1,000-yard season for the Rams since Todd Gurley in 2018. He is currently second in the NFL in rushing yards. His current total is the 19th-highest in a Rams season. His 12 touchdowns are tied for the tenth-highest total.