Top 5 Rushing Matchups
Atlanta at Carolina
Through two games, Bijan Robinson has just looked the part that caused fantasy managers to take him as high as number one overall this preseason. The tenacity and burst that he has are different than other running backs. Against Minnesota in Week 2, Robinson had 22 carries, which, over the last six games of last season, he averaged 22.8 carries per game. If he's able to sustain that volume, Robinson has a chance to emerge this season as the undisputed number one running back in the NFL. Along the offensive line, right guard Chris Lindstrom is a big piece to this offense, as the three-time All-Pro continues to be one of the NFL's elite run-blockers. Fourth-year undrafted center Ryan Neuzil has started the year strong. The one concern is that this is not a deep offensive line, as they've already lost three players to IR, so if there are starters that get injured, this could turn into a disastrous situation in Atlanta.
Carolina's run defense responded in Week 2, holding Arizona's running backs to just 48 yards, as neither James Conner nor Trey Benson was able to get anything going against this defense. This was the first time that Carolina held opposing running backs under 50 yards since Week 3 of 2024. Arizona struggled in Week 1 against New Orleans, except for one explosive play from Trey Benson. Given Arizona's offensive line, it's likely that this will be among the league's worst rushing offenses this season. This does look like an improved unit compared to 2024's defense, but even then, that was among the worst run defenses that we had seen in years. Former 2023 Pro Bowler Derrick Brown looked to be returning to his form after suffering a Week 1 knee injury. The issue for Carolina continues to be their linebackers. The Panthers have two of the worst run-stopping linebackers in Trevin Wallace and Christian Rozeboom, and with the Panthers facing a much better offensive line this week compared to Arizona's, they should be in for a long day.
New England vs Pittsburgh
There is some frustration in New England regarding TreVeyon Henderson's usage through the first two weeks, as the second-round rookie running back has just eight carries on the year and 16 total touches. The biggest issue for Henderson to see more snaps is that, at the moment, he is an incapable pass-blocker, which is surprising given that this was a strength at Ohio State. He'll be able to pick this up at some point throughout the season, at which point he will start to see more than the 19 snaps he saw last week, but right now the game seems to just be moving too fast for the rookie, which is why Rhamondre Stevenson continues to be the lead back. Stevenson struggled in Week 1, but last week he had 54 yards on 11 carries while adding five receptions for 88 yards. Playing behind an offensive line that still has to figure itself out, given the retirement of center David Andrews, bringing first-round pick rookie left tackle Will Campbell, third-round rookie left guard Jared Wilson, and journeyman right tackle Morgan Moses, it's going to take a while for this offensive line to come together this season.
Through the first two weeks, Pittsburgh's defense is an absolute mess. They've given up back-to-back 100-yard games to Breece Hall and Ken Walker III. The rebuild of the Steelers' defense has not worked as they lost safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, run-stopping linebacker Elandon Roberts, and defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi. Making matters worse is that injuries have ravaged this defense as star safety DeShon Elliott has missed the first two games with a knee injury, while the team has already ruled out outside linebacker Alex Highsmith. This has put a lot of pressure on second-year linebacker Payton Wilson, who has struggled mightily, while backup safety Juan Thornhill has never been a run-stopper. The Steelers are incredibly thin at linebacker, so the only way that this Steelers' defense will improve is if Wilson can start playing better, as they've already lost their backup middle linebacker, Malik Harrison, who is on IR.