Bottom 5 Rushing Matchups Week 7
To view all of our Week 7 Matchup content, please see the links below:
Top 5 Passing Matchups Week 7
Bottom 5 Passing Matchups Week 7
Top 5 Rushing Matchups Week 7
Bottom 5 Rushing Matchups Week 7
Rushing Matchup Chart Week 7
Passing Matchup Chart Week 7
Las Vegas vs Tampa Bay
The Raiders have had a solid, yet inefficient rushing offense to start the season. As a team, they are averaging just over four yards per rush attempt with 121 rushing yards per game. Lead ballcarrier Josh Jacobs has rushed 3.7 yards per attempt or fewer in four of five games. Despite the inefficiency, however, Jacobs has full control over this backfield with at least 15 carries per game while exceeding 22 carries and 75 rushing yards in three of five carries. Devontae Booker has seen a few carries here and there, but he is no legitimate threat to the volume headed towards Jacobs. The offensive line for Las Vegas is stout, especially since the return of right tackle Trent Brown. They are still missing guard Richie Incognito, which is certainly a downgrade, but overall, this remains a solid front five paving the way for Jacobs.
Tampa Bay’s defense continues to excel in big ways this season, especially against the run as they have yet to allow an opposing running back to cross the 60-yard mark. The position is averaging a league-low 49 rushing yards when facing Tampa Bay, and this team has only given up two runs of 20 or more yards through six games this season. Despite losing key run-stopper Vita Vea for the season, Tampa Bay still performed well last week as Aaron Jones was limited to just 15 yards on 10 carries. Both Ndamukong Suh and William Gholston remain top-notch run-stoppers who are shouldering the load ahead of what is also a solid linebacker group when it comes to stuffing the run. This defensive line will maintain the slight advantage over an equality top-notch Raiders offensive line, but having a linebacker like Lavonte David over the top is what tilts the scales substantially in the favor of Tampa Bay here.
Carolina at New Orleans
The Panthers are eagerly awaiting the return of Christian McCaffrey, but that return very likely will not occur this week despite him being eligible to get back on the field. Barring a surprise move late in the week, this backfield will remain led by Mike Davis, who has been a solid replacement but had his worst showing of the season after last week’s 52-yard outing against the Bears in which Davis averaged just 2.9 yards per carry. Davis had handled an impressive workload with at least 16 carries in three straight weeks while scoring on the ground in two of those games, but he has yet to square off against as challenging of a defensive front as what he will see this week in New Orleans. Carolina’s middling offensive line has seen a nice boost in recent weeks with the return of left tackle Russell Okung, but they remain relatively weak at the guard position and hover just below league-average according to Matt Bitonti of Footballguys.
The Saints are having a nice year so far in run defense, limiting opposing offenses to just 3.6 yards per carry (4th-fewest) while allowing just one rusher (Josh Jacobs) to exceed 71 yards on the ground. David Onyemata and Cameron Jordan anchor a very powerful left side of this defensive line that should give Carolina’s offensive line fits here. The return of Marcus Davenport also further solidifies what was already a dominant defensive front. Davenport was eased into his season debut Week 5 with only 21 snaps, so coming off the bye, expect him to have a much bigger presence. The strength of this Saints defensive interior, in particular, will make it very tough on Carolina to run up the middle while these elite edge defenders along with very strong run-defending cornerbacks should keep the Panthers rushing offense firmly on the losing side of this matchup.
Tennessee vs Pittsburgh
It is hard not to praise this Titans rushing offense after Derrick Henry’s 212-yard outburst last week against the Texans. Henry has now rushed at least 19 times in every game this season while exceeding 115 rushing yards in three of five games with multiple rushing touchdowns in his last three appearances. This Titans offense is absolutely on fire, but their fortunes could be in for a turn this week against one of the top defenses in football. Adding to the case for regression, the Titans suffered a terrible loss on their offensive line as left tackle Taylor Lewan’s season came to a close with an ACL injury last week. There is a sharp drop-off to replacement Ty Sambrailo, leaving this as an average-at-best offensive line.
The Steelers defense has been absolutely elite, allowing a mere 55 rushing yards per game to opposing running backs and the third-fewest fantasy points per game to the position (non-PPR scoring). Their defensive line makes a strong case for being the top group in all of football as there really are no weaknesses to speak of amongst that unit. T.J. Watt is one of the best edge defenders in football while these interior defenders--Cameron Heyward, Tyson Alualu, and Stephon Tuitt--are meshing extremely well together while wreaking havoc on opposing offensive lines. Linebacker has also been a strength, but the star second-year linebacker Devin Bush suffered a season-ending injury last season, which will certainly have an impact on this defense. Replacement Robert Spillane is definitely a downgrade, but the magnificence of this defensive line and continued top-notch play from the Steelers secondary should help make up for the absence of Bush and maintain a strong advantage in favor of the Steelers for this matchup.
NY Giants at Philadelphia
Devonta Freeman continues to lead the backfield of a rather mediocre Giants offense that is averaging just 16.8 points per game--second-fewest in the league. Freeman’s rushing total has consistently climbed since taking over in this backfield, but he amassed just 60 and 61 rushing yards in his past two games while having yet to average more than 3.5 yards per rush attempt. Volume has been on his side in recent weeks though, carrying 17 and 18 times in the last two games while owning 100% of the running back rushing attempts in last week’s outing. Freeman is not the only threat on the ground for the Giants though, as their leading rusher is actually quarterback Daniel Jones, who is now averaging 34 rushing yards per game after a big 74-yard outing last week. Jones has shown a willingness to run throughout his short career, but he has taken that to a new level this season with three games of 45 or more rushing yards compared to only one such game throughout all of 2019. All in all, however, this is still a mediocre offense behind a bottom-tier offensive line with their rushing upside fairly limited.
This week will be made difficult when the Giants square off against the Eagles in Philadelphia. While the Eagles run defense may not look like much on paper with a league-leading 10 rushing touchdowns allowed and 125.5 rushing yards per game, they have some solid personnel on the defensive line to create mismatches in the trenches. Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham make the left side of this defensive line very difficult to run against. This unit held Baltimore running backs to just 69 yards on 27 carries last week, and only one running back has rushed for more than 54 yards against this defense. Yes, they did allow over 100 rushing yards to Lamar Jackson, but only so much can be done against last year’s league MVP in that offensive scheme--and Daniel Jones is nowhere near the level of Jackson. Look for the Giants to struggle at the point of attack as this Eagles defensive front wins this battle.
New England vs San Francisco
The New England backfield looked as messy as it ever has been in last week’s loss against the Broncos. Just one week after Damien Harris glowed as the top running back in this offense with 17 carries for 100 yards, his workload was slashed to only six carries for 19 yards while Rex Burkhead and James White saw five and four carries respectively. All three running backs will continue to have a role in this ground game, yet Harris should be expected to stand until the return of Sony Michel--who was recently placed on the COVID list and will miss this week at a minimum. The offensive line continues to be a patchwork unit as they have been missing center David Andrews (IR) and guard Shaq Mason (COVID), and they suffered another loss last week as tackle Jermaine Eluemunor went down with an ankle injury that may sideline him for a few weeks. Andrews is eligible to return from IR this week, so keep an eye on his status as that would certainly be an upgrade to an otherwise questionable front five.
The 49ers run defense continues to perform admirably despite the injuries that have piled up. This top-10 unit has given up 108.3 rushing yards per game with opposing running backs averaging just 3.4 yards per carry--fourth-lowest in the league. Rams running back Darrell Henderson had the best week amongst anyone so far with 88 yards last week, but prior to that, no running back had crossed the 65-yard mark against this unit. Arik Armstead continued to anchor the defensive line while linebacker Fred Warner has played as one of the best at his position to help prop this unit up. Cornerback Jason Verrett has also stood out as a key contributor stepping up in run defense with impressive play in his past four games. There is also a chance this defense will get defensive tackle Dee Ford back this week as he is eligible to return from injured reserve but keep an eye on his status.
