Top 5 Rushing Matchups
Atlanta vs Miami
Bijan Robinson is coming off one of his worst games this season, as he was shut down in the 20-10 loss against San Francisco. The 49ers held him to just 40 yards on 14 carries, with his longest carry of the day being just eight yards. For a player of Robinson's caliber, there's no need to panic after one poor result. He still saw 88% of the snaps last week, as Tyler Allgeier is no threat to challenge Robinson for consistent volume as he was in years past. The ultimate issue is that the Falcons' offense is extremely inconsistent, ranking 30th in points scored, as they deal with the ups and downs of a young quarterback in Michael Penix Jr. Expect the Falcons to utilize Robinson heavily in this favorable matchup against Miami this week.
Things are going to go from bad to worse for the Miami Dolphins. It is somewhat surprising that Mike McDaniel is still the head coach of this team, as the entire team just seems checked out. Last week, in a game in which neither team could throw the ball due to the weather, the Dolphins allowed Quinshon Judkins to gain 84 yards and run for three touchdowns. Over the last three weeks, the Dolphins have allowed big games from Rico Dowdle, Kimani Vidal, and Quinshon Judkins. Now, over the next five days, they have to play two games against Bijan Robinson and Derrick Henry as the team has a Thursday game in Week 9. This is a defensive line that has been among the most disappointing in the NFL. Filled with talent of Bradley Chubb, Chop Robinson, Zach Sieler, and 2025 first-round pick Kenneth Grant, it is surprising that the team has not tried to bench these guys to get a spark on the team. Miami took Grant ninth overall in the 2025 draft, yet he's seen his snaps considerably decrease from the beginning of the season. It's just a failure on the evaluation of talent in Miami, considering their last two first-round picks have struggled this season in Robinson and Grant. Another issue for the Dolphins is that, due to injuries at slot corner, they've been forced to move Minkah Fitzpatrick to the position and put Dante Trader Jr. at safety. Trader has struggled at preventing the big rushing plays, but the options are somewhat limited at safety between Trader and Ifeatu Melifonwu, neither of who have been great this year.
NY Jets at Cincinnati
There is no other way to say it: the Jets are a complete mess of a team. Owner Woody Johnson is defending Aaron Glenn but has criticized quarterback Justin Fields, placing most of the blame on him. Even with that public statement, the Jets have not named a quarterback for this week. Reportedly, Glenn knows who the quarterback will be, but is not ready to say it. As volatile as the passing game has been, the ability to run the ball has been equally as volatile. Breece Hall's career has been extremely volatile. Hall has two games over 100 rushing yards this season, but now has four games under 40 rushing yards. Running behind an extremely young offensive line with both tackles being the team's last two first-round picks in Olu Fashanu and Armand Membou, the Jets are a team that needs their rushing attack to help their passing game, as without Garrett Wilson once again, the Jets will likely struggle to throw the ball this week, regardless of who the quarterback is.
Cincinnati is trying to find a defensive identity under first-year defensive coordinator Al Golden. The team benched veteran linebacker Logan Wilson in Week 6, only to realize that they have two rookies as their other linebackers in Demetrius Knight Jr. and Barrett Carter. Wilson played 46% of the snaps as they incorporated him back into this defense. He's going to be a critical piece going forward, given the struggles of Knight and Carter. The good news for Cincinnati is that they should get Trey Hendrickson back after the elite defensive end missed last week due to a hip injury. This season, Cincinnati is allowing the most fantasy points to opposing running backs and the second-most rushing yards per game at 123. Last week, we saw Jaylen Warren have a career day running for 127 yards on 16 carries, which was the third running back to top 100 yards as Jordan Mason and J.K. Dobbins both did it earlier this year. Up the middle, Cincinnati has struggled, as the free-agent signing of T.J. Slaton Jr. this offseason has been a disaster. The 330-pound defensive tackle has been consistently pushed around in the run game and has not made consistent plays, putting more pressure on this struggling linebacking group.
Minnesota at LA Chargers
The big question for the Vikings is the health of Aaron Jones Sr., who has been out since Week 2 with a hamstring injury. While Jones is questionable, it would seem that he is more on the doubtful side than questionable. If Jones misses, Jordan Mason will once again get the start. Mason has not shown the explosiveness he displayed in his first start against Cincinnati, when he ran for 116 yards and two touchdowns. Since then, Mason has been consistent but has been somewhat limited, running between 50 and 60 yards in each of his last three games. He's lacked the explosiveness we've seen in prior years; in his last three games, he hasn't had a carry longer than 15 yards. The Vikings seem to be slow-rolling the return of J.J. McCarthy, given how Carson Wentz has been moving the ball through the air. McCarthy likely will return at some point this season, depending on how Wentz continues to play. At 3-3, the Vikings need to play the player who gives them the best chance of winning, which, at the moment, is Wentz.
It is somewhat surprising to see a Jim Harbaugh-led team struggle this much against the run. Over the last three weeks, the Chargers have had zero answer for Jacory Croskey-Merritt, De'Von Achane, and Jonathan Taylor, as all three running backs have had over 25 fantasy points, with Achane and Croskey-Merritt running for over 100 yards against this team. While the defensive line, led by Teair Tart, who is having a potential All-Pro season, has been a strength, the big plays have killed the Chargers, as the linebackers and safeties are struggling against the run. The good news for Los Angeles is that this will be the second game back from injury for Denzel Perryman, who was injured in Week 1. Perryman is the veteran of the group, and while he's not the player he once was, the Chargers are hoping he will provide some stability to this defense. While Derwin James Jr. has led the team in tackles this season, he has not been the elite run-stopper he was in prior years and is more cleaning up tackles downfield that the linebackers may have missed. It's no coincidence that the struggles began after the loss of Alohi Gilman, who the Chargers traded the safety to Baltimore for Odafe Oweh. While this was a clear move to improve their pass rush, the Chargers have now had to give Tony Jefferson a bigger role. He is an excellent coverage safety but has struggled against the run throughout his career. This seems to be a Chargers defense that is prioritizing stopping the pass, while creating a funnel against the run, as they hope their offense will be able to put pressure on defenses to force them to throw.
Baltimore vs Chicago