Top 5 Rushing Matchups
Detroit at Cincinnati
Detroit's rushing attack remains one of the most dynamic in the NFL. Averaging 139 yards per game, which ranks sixth through four games, the Lions are leveraging their tandem of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery flawlessly despite the departure of Ben Johnson this offseason. Last week, despite a difficult matchup against Cleveland, the Lions were able to find success with Gibbs, who had 91 yards and a touchdown, while Montgomery struggled against the Browns' interior defensive line. The Lions' offensive line is not what it has been in prior years. While the tackles are still very good, led by All-Pro Penei Sewell, there are some challenges on the interior. Center Graham Glasgow, at age 33, is no longer the player he once was. Meanwhile, both guard positions are inexperienced, as rookie right guard Tate Ratledge and second-year left guard Christian Mahogany are still works in progress. With that being said, it's likely that of the two running backs, Gibbs will have more week-to-week consistency, as Montgomery could struggle against some of the better defensive lines, given that more of his runs are between the tackles, relying on the interior of the offensive line.
Cincinnati's defense is a mess at the moment under new defensive coordinator Al Golden, who is struggling to adapt to the NFL game as a defensive playcaller. Cincinnati has allowed 100+ yard games to opposing running backs in each of its last two weeks, as J.K. Dobbins and Jordan Mason were both able to eclipse the 100-yard milestone. RJ Harvey also added 58 yards on 14 carries as Denver ran all over this Bengals defense. The issue will be complicated by negative game scripts that the Bengals will routinely find themselves in, given the ineptitude of their offense, which has a poor offensive line and will be without Joe Burrow for a significant portion of this season. Following a strong 2024 season, linebacker Logan Wilson has not played as well this year. Meanwhile, second-round rookie linebacker Demetrius Knight Jr. looks completely lost stopping the run. The issue for the Bengals is that while linebacker Oren Burks would be the solution, as he's an excellent run-stopper, he is a liability in pass coverage, which severely limits his playing time to only obvious rushing plays.
New Orleans vs NY Giants
Despite the 0-4 start for the Saints, Alvin Kamara continues to produce as a runner. While his upside is capped due to the team's inability to throw the ball effectively with Spencer Rattler as their quarterback, Kamara is likely to be a player who averages around 4.0 yards per carry, as he has done in each of the last five seasons. Where his value is absolutely crushed at the moment is as a receiver. Kamara is averaging just 3.8 yards per catch, which is significantly below his career average of 8.2 yards per catch. He's also seeing his receptions per game decrease in each of the last two seasons, as they went from 5.8 in 2023 to 4.9 in 2024, and through four games, he's only at 3.3 in 2025. The Saints' offensive line has major issues. They got left guard Trevor Penning back for Week 4, but he was injured again, which could force Torricelli Simpkins to play once again. Simpkins is an undrafted rookie who has not yet shown himself capable of consistently starting. With Cesar Ruiz already out at left guard, this is a mess of an interior offensive line.
The Giants are designed to rush the passer, as they consistently play three pass rushers for most of the game: Abdul Carter, Kayvon Thibodeaux, and Brian Burns. This has put a significant burden on 330-pound Dexter Lawrence II to be the only player consistently playing above 270 pounds. This can work, but you need your linebackers and safeties to excel in the run game, which has been a weak link for the Giants over the last several seasons. Neither Darius Muasau nor Bobby Okereke is a consistent playmaker. This has culminated in a situation in which the Giants are allowing 6.1 yards per carry to opposing running backs as they're allowing 119 yards on 19 carries per game. With Jackson Dart now starting for the Giants, it could go either way. Dart wasn't asked to do much in their 21-18 victory against the Chargers last week, as he threw for just 111 yards and averaged 5.6 yards per attempt. Obviously, this is a problem if the Giants' passing game at 5.6 yards per attempt is lower than their rushing yards allowed per attempt of 6.1. With no Malik Nabers, this could force the Giants into more negative game scripts throughout the season.
Houston at Baltimore
Woody Marks showed enough that he might be starting to take over in Houston. Marks had 17 carries for 69 yards while also adding 50 yards as a receiver. He has seen his snap count go up from 11% to 27% to 48% to 56% in Week 4, as the team slowly acclimates him into this offense while phasing out Nick Chubb. Through four weeks, Chubb has not shown the pre-injury burst that he had in Cleveland, which was a big reason Cleveland moved on from the fan favorite running back. He has just one run longer than 13 yards this season, which was a 27-yard carry at the end of the Tampa Bay game, which most likely was Tampa Bay allowing him to score to get the ball back. Ultimately, the strategy was successful as it gave Baker Mayfield enough time to drive down the field for the game-winning drive. The Houston offensive line continues to be a challenge. Rookie left tackle Aireontae Ersery has struggled while the team traded away backup Cam Robinson to Cleveland this past week. Next to Ersery is 33-year-old Laken Tomlinson at left guard, who has been declining for the last several seasons. Committing to a running back who has more burst at this point is a necessity for Houston.
The Ravens have been the most surprising defense in 2025, and not in a good way. This defense was projected to be a strength heading into the year, but due to injuries and poor play, they've fallen off significantly. Baltimore lost defensive ends Broderick Washington Jr. and Nnamdi Madubuike last week as both players were placed on IR. While losing two starting defensive linemen, both of whom are 300 pounds, will hurt any rushing defense, it gets worse from there. They're likely going to be without 360-pound run-stopper Travis Jones, three-time First-Team All-Pro Roquan Smith, and Kyle Van Noy. While the numbers didn't reflect the issues last week against the Chiefs, this was mostly due to the Ravens having equally as many injuries in the secondary, which allowed the Chiefs to move the ball through the air. In Week 3, we saw what the Lions were able to do against this defense as they ran for 218 yards and four touchdowns between Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery. Jones seems the most likely to return, which will help, but there could be opportunities for big plays this week against the Ravens.
Miami at Carolina