Backfield Breakdowns: Week 10

Week 9 was rough for running back production. Jonathan Taylor, Jahmyr Gibbs, and Javonte Williams had some of their worst fantasy games of the season. Kimani Vidal laid an egg in a smash matchup. Alvin Kamara one-upped them all, with one of the worst games of his career. Running back production has been excellent in 2025, and this should just be a blip on the radar. How did the league as a whole stack up?

Backfields Worth Noting

Some backfields saw noteworthy movement in Week 9:

• Carolina: It is officially Rico Dowdle season. Coach Dave Canales' comments on the backfield rang true; Dowdle took the main role and led the Panthers to an upset win over Green Bay.
• Cincinnati: In Week 8, it appeared that Cincinnati's backfield had shifted to a true committee. Samaje Perine was injured early on a kick return in Week 9, shifting the usage back to Chase Brown as the Bellcow.
• Las Vegas: Coming out of the bye in Week 8, the Raiders shifted Ashton Jeanty into a heavy-volume role, relegating Raheem Mostert. Jeanty had a brutal game against Kansas City in Week 7; excluding that game, he is RB3 at 19.73 PPG since his Week 4 breakout.
• Minnesota: Aaron Jones Sr. was the only significant backfield injury as of this posting. A shoulder kept him out of the second half, though coach Kevin O'Connell was optimistic that Jones avoided significant injury.
• Kansas City: Kareem Hunt, Bellcow, was one of the larger surprises of the week. Without Isiah Pacheco, the veteran Hunt took the bulk of the work, with rookie Brashard Smith's role barely shifting.

Bellcow Backfields

• Robinson was RB3 through the first six weeks at 22.5 half PPR PPG. He is RB20 over the last three weeks. The Falcons have looked like eight different football teams offensively in each of their eight games. Robinson will be fine; he is much too talented. Zac Robinson, however, may not be. Allgeier was on pace for 636 yards and 10 touchdowns through the first five games. Over the last three, his 17-game pace is 147 yards and 5.7 touchdowns. One touchdown in three games has that effect, but it's not always sustainable. The Colts could be a game planning issue for the Falcons' run game, especially if the Colts are allowed to jump in front. Robinson could be spurred by the opportunity to go head-to-head with Taylor. The Colts have been a top-10 unit, consistently in the top half of both run and pass defense EPA, per SumerSports.

• Cook is second in the NFL with 867 rushing yards. The total is the third most by a Bills running back through the first eight games of a season, trailing O.J. Simpson's 1973 and 1975 seasons. Johnson was less involved than in past weeks, primarily because the Bills held a large lead for much of the second half. Davis is Cook's handcuff. The Bills' next face a Dolphins defense that has played better against running backs in recent weeks but still allows the sixth-most points to the position. 

• Carolina put the game on Dowdle's shoulders, and he delivered against a difficult defense. The Panthers are 4-1 since Dowdle first emerged against Miami. Dowdle has 652 yards in that stretch. The current NFL rushing leaderboard: Jonathan Taylor (895 yards), James Cook (867), JK Dobbins (695), Dowdle in the last five weeks (652). Dowdle has 735 for the year, the fourth most through the first nine games in Panthers history. The Panthers' next opponent, New Orleans, has a league-average run defense. Dowdle should be considered as a Top 10 play, while Hubbard needs to be on fantasy benches. 

• Monangai's 176 rushing yards were the second most by a Bears rookie, trailing Anthony Thomas's 188 in 2001. That game was also against Cincinnati.  D'Andre Swift's absence is not expected to linger, and Roschon Johnson will also be back. Worth noting for future reference, the Bears called up Brown and utilized him as the backup, keeping Travis Homer in his special teams role. There is little reason to have Homer on any roster. The Bears have a Giants defense that has surrendered the second-most fantasy points to running backs. 

• In Week 8, the Bengals' backfield looked like a dead-even split between Chase Brown and Samaje Perine. In Week 9, it was back to Brown as the only back involved. Perine was injured on a kick return early in the game. Brooks could step in as a valuable backup on an offense that is clicking. He is a priority add where available. Cincinnati is on bye in Week 10, giving Perine an extra week to recover. 

• Williams was effective against the Cardinals and dominated the backfield, but falling behind forced the Cowboys to abandon the run game. He is on pace for 1,350 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns. He has fallen out of the pass game —the larger concern. In the first four weeks, he topped 10 receiving yards every game. He has not hit that mark since Week 4. Blue returning to healthy scratch status in favor of Davis is the biggest news item in Dallas. It seems clear that Blue does not have the coaching staff's trust. Phil Mafah is another rookie who was placed on IR with a shoulder injury at the final roster cutdown this summer. The talk was that the injury was not season-ending, but Mafah has not been working with the rehab group in a helmet, suggesting any return is still far off. Dallas has a Week 10 bye.

• Taylor had his worst game of the year. With 895 yards, he still leads the league, but Cook has closed the gap. Goodson was at his healthiest so far in 2025 and played as the clear second back, rotating in with Jonathan Taylor in passing-down situations. If Taylor were knocked out of the lineup, a messy committee would likely ensue between Goodson, Ameer Abdullah, and DJ Giddens. Goodson could own the passing downs and would likely be the cheapest to acquire. Giddens was a healthy scratch. The Colts see Atlanta, tenth in running back points allowed,  in Week 10 in a star running back shootout between Taylor and Robinson.

• Hunt served in a bellcow role with Isiah Pacheco out for Week 9. It is noteworthy that rookie Smith's role hardly changed with Isiah Pacheco out of the lineup. Edwards-Helaire was in for two snaps late. Hunt has a low ceiling, but he has topped 40 yards with a touchdown in three of the last five games. The Chiefs have a bye in Week 10, allowing Pacheco an additional week to recover. Smith could be in for the classic post-bye-week rookie bump, but the hive mind will likely factor that into his value. 

• Jeanty has been above 86 scrimmage yards in four of his last five, with the Week 7 Chiefs mess the only game he fell short. Jeanty is RB16 on the season, at 13.3 PPG. Excluding that Chiefs game, he is RB3, averaging 19.75 PPG since Week 4. We should forgive anyone who wants to ignore the Raiders this year, but I do not believe perception around Jeanty has matched production. Jeanty played 

• Vidal is the latest running back that everyone in fantasy football is on, with a great matchup, who falls flat on his face. Vidal still dominated snaps, but Jarett Patterson equaled him in touches. The Chargers offense as a whole struggled, and the Titans scored on a pick-six and a punt return, preventing the runaway game script many expected. Wonk games happen, especially with a West Coast team coming east for a 1 pm kick. Hassan Haskins landed on IR, so while Patterson is the handcuff we want, Vidal is still the play. The Chargers face a Steelers defense that shut down Taylor and the Colts' run game in Week 9, potentially shelving their rushing attack. 

• Achane has topped 90 scrimmage yards in six of his last seven games. He is on pace for 1,100 rushing yards and 517 receiving yards. Gordon suffered a sprained ankle against the Ravens, and Wright was a healthy scratch, leaving Achane as the only available back for much of the lopsided loss. Gordon was seen walking without crutches, and the Dolphins have the long week after Thursday. If he is out, Wright should be the complement, though Gordon was establishing a weekly role that Wright is unlikely to replicate. Achane faces a Bills defense that held him in check in their first matchup.

• McCaffrey hit 100+ yards, 1+ rushing touchdowns, 5+ receptions, 50+ yards, and 1+ receiving touchdowns for the fifth game in his career. That broke a tie with Priest Holmes for the most games above those thresholds in history. He needs 17 yards for 7,000 in his career. Robinson has played a minimal role over the past month, but with a lead and already relying heavily on McCaffrey, he received some run. The 49ers have the Rams in Week 10. McCaffrey hit them for 139 scrimmage yards and a touchdown in Week 5. 

Committees With a Lead Back