Rushing Matchups Week 19

Go here for this week's Passing Matchups.

Top 3 Rushing Matchups

Tampa Bay vs Washington

The Buccaneers are an interesting team heading into the playoffs this week. After the Buccaneers lost to Dallas in Week 16, Rachaad White's role has largely fallen off a cliff. While he had ten touches against Dallas, most through the passing game with seven receptions, he had just seven touches in Week 17 and zero touches in Week 18 despite being active. Offensive coordinator Liam Coen came out and said after the Cowboys game that they need to get Bucky Irving more snaps. A big reason for that likely is that White had two critical fumbles in Weeks 15 and 16, and in must-win games, the team decided to consolidate the touches to Bucky Irving. Irving has had an outstanding rookie season and has proven that he is the better back for this offense. He has averaged 5.4 yards per carry on the year, finishing with 1,122 yards, and any myth about him being unable to carry a heavy workload due to being undersized has largely been put to rest as he has 17 or more touches in each of his last four games including 24 against Carolina in Week 17.

Washington's run defense has struggled for most of the season. On the year, they're allowing the fourth-most rushing yards in the NFL, as five running backs have topped 100 yards against them this season. This is a defense that is a work in progress under first-year head coach Dan Quinn. Quinn inherited a roster that was depleted with talent as they had traded away two of their best defensive linemen mid-season last year, had the worst secondary in football, and had a linebacker unit that struggled to make tackles. While he solved the secondary and the linebackers, the defensive line has been a problem. Rookie Jer'Zhan Newton has struggled, and while the Commanders did get Jonathan Allen back in Week 17, he has been a liability in the run game since his return. Allen has always been a better pass rusher than a run-stuffer, so he's quick to get into the backfield, allowing linemen to get downfield. Bobby Wagner, at age 34, is having another All-Pro caliber season in his first year in Washington. In their first meeting this season, Bucky Irving slashed through Washington as he had 62 yards on just nine carries in his first game as a rookie back in Week 1.

Houston vs LA Chargers

After being one of the best-rushing offenses to start the season, Joe Mixon and the Texans seem to be sputtering toward the finish line while still being just good enough to take advantage of one of the NFL's weakest divisions. Mixon started the season by rushing for over 100 yards in seven of his first team games, yet over the last four games, he has failed to top 30 yards in three of his four games. There is some hope despite the recent struggles. Over the last four games, last week, the Texans only played their starters for a short period of time, while in the other three games in this recent streak, Houston faced Kansas City, Baltimore, and Miami, who have three of the best-run defenses in the NFL. As long as Houston can stay competitive in this game, they're going to lean on the run game here, and while we may not see the 25+ carries that we saw earlier this season from Mixon, he still should have a better offensive performance than in recent weeks.

While on paper, the Chargers seem to have improved their run defense over the last three weeks, don't be fooled. This is still a flawed unit that benefits from facing Denver, New England, and Las Vegas over their final three games. The Chargers have been a defense that started strong against the run in Jim Harbaugh's first season, but they've shown weaknesses as of late that date back to the loss of Asante Samuel Jr. This was a team that was built to rush the passer with Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack and trust their secondary to cover opposing receivers one-on-one to cover up their defensive line and linebackers. While Poona Ford has been great, Otito Ogbonnia and Morgan Fox have been two of the worst defensive linemen in the NFL, while linebackers Denzel Perryman and Daiyan Henley have been forced to focus more on coverage than stopping the run. The Chargers suffered a big loss at safety as they lost Elijah Molden, who had been forced to step up as Derwin James Jr. had moved to the nickel corner position with Samuel's injury. With Molden out, this creates a big hole, as he has been one of the team's best run-stoppers this season. The Chargers have allowed 4.7 yards per carry since Week 7.

Minnesota at LA Rams

In a meaningless Week 18 game, the Rams lost Blake Corum to a broken forearm, which will make their rushing attack entirely run through Kyren Williams even more than it already has this season. Outside of a four-game touchdown slump mid-season, Williams has consistently been one of the best running backs all year. Scoring a touchdown in 11 of his 12 other games, Williams finished the year with 14 rushing touchdowns and two receiving touchdowns. He's the clear target for the Rams when they get down to the red zone, as he had 79 red zone opportunities this season, while the next closest player on the Rams had just 17, which was Puka Nacua. Williams finished third in rushing attempts for the season, and while he is not a big play running back as he had just two carries over 20 yards all season, he's productive, averaging 4.1 yards per carry. With his volume, he's been able to top 60 yards in 14 of his last 15 games this season. The Rams should get Rob Havenstein back this week after he missed the last two games with a shoulder injury, which will be a significant upgrade from a leadership and productivity standpoint for the Rams against Minnesota.

The Rams are a rebuilding defense after the surprising loss of Aaron Donald this offseason. On the year, they're allowing 101 rushing yards per game to opposing running backs, which is 12th worst in the NFL, but where it is concerning is the efficiency numbers, as opposing running backs are averaging 4.7 yards per carry. This team has been forced to rely upon young players to step up, and with most rookies, the results are somewhat unpredictable. First-round pick Jared Verse has been one of the best picks in the draft so far, as the outside linebacker is the favorite to win Defensive Rookie of the Year. Meanwhile, second-round pick Braden Fiske has been the opposite. Fiske has been a complete liability along the defensive line this season. The Rams have also been forced to start undrafted free agent rookie Omar Speights after they lost Troy Reeder for the season. On most weeks, this would not qualify as a great matchup, but instead, it would be a good matchup. However, most teams that are remaining are quality defenses. The Rams are not a shutdown unit, but this young group has only been exposed three times this season as James Conner, Saquon Barkley, and Alvin Kamara all topped 100 yards against them.