BOTTOM 5 RUSHING MATCHUPS WEEK 9
To view all of our Week 9 Matchup content, please see the links below:
Top 5 Passing Matchups Week 9
Bottom 5 Passing Matchups Week 9
Top 5 Rushing Matchups Week 9
Bottom 5 Rushing Matchups Week 9
Rushing Matchup Chart Week 9
Passing Matchup Chart Week 9
NEW ORLEANS AT TAMPA BAY
The Saints continue to boast one of football’s most efficient ground games, and it’s not hard to see why. The electric Alvin Kamara (5.0 yards per rush) leads the charge behind a powerful front line, which consistently ranks top-5 in Matt Bitonti’s rankings. When let into space, Kamara is as dangerous as any back in recent memory. Here in 2020, only three running backs have registered breakaway runs (15+ yards). Latavius Murray doesn’t offer much sizzle, but he’s valuable to the Saints as a steady banger inside the tackles. Kamara is the dominant hand here, and it tends to take a truly stout front seven to knock him off-balance and slow his efficiency. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what he’ll face in a hellish Week 9 road battle.
The Buccaneers remain an absolute brick wall on run defense, stifling any and all comers. Their run of sheer dominance dates back to last season: over this 23-game span, running backs are posting just 2.9 yards per rush, and only a single one (Chris Carson 11 months ago) has topped 75 on the day. It’s been a remarkable stretch, and it’s taken on a new dimension over the team’s last two outings. This unit comes fresh off erasing Aaron Jones (10 carries, 15 yards) and Josh Jacobs (10 for 17) even with backbone tackle Vita Vea shelved by a broken leg. They’ve shrewdly added veteran run-stuffing nose Steve McLendon and have yet to miss a beat. With McLendon absorbing blocks in the middle, athletic linebackers Lavonte David and Devin White are free to flow to the gap and make quick stops at the line. It’s a familiar and unwelcome task for Kamara: he turned 12 carries into just 16 yards when these teams met on Opening Day.
GREEN BAY VS SAN FRANCISCO
The Packers have been decimated at the running back position as there is pessimism that Aaron Jones will return this week with a calf injury. To make matters worse, AJ Dillon tested positive for Covid-19 and that will also keep Jamaal Williams out this week due to contact tracing. This will force the Packers into a terrible position in which they will have to rely on Tyler Ervin and Dexter Williams as their starting running backs this week. Both career special teams players, Williams has never had a carry in the NFL, and Ervin has just 10 in his career which will not bode well for the Packers rushing attack this week.
For as many injuries as the 49ers have had this season, there is one consistent which is that the rushing defense has remained an elite unit. Allowing just 65 yards per game and just 3.4 yards per carry, this is a defense that even without Nick Bosa and the offseason departure of DeForest Buckner remains an elite unit. Arik Armstead and Fred Warner lead each of the levels on this defense and it is just a solid well-coached unit by Robert Salah the defensive coordinator. There likely is some regression coming at some point as the schedule that the 49ers have faced has likely been the easiest running back schedule in football (Kenyan Drake, Frank Gore, NY Giants game after Barkley injury, Miles Sanders, Myles Gaskin, Darrell Henderson, Damien Harris, and Deejay Dallas), but the running backs that they face this week will be even worse than most of those running backs on that list.
BALTIMORE AT INDIANAPOLIS
Baltimore’s rushing attack may have found some identity last week as J.K. Dobbins the second-round draft pick for the Ravens had his breakout game of the season rushing for 113 yards on 15 carries against a very good Steelers defense. Prior to last week, Dobbins had just 25 carries on the season as he was stuck in a backfield timeshare with Gus Edwards and Mark Ingram II. Finding an identity is going to be critical for the Ravens if they have Super Bowl aspirations to help Lamar Jackson as his passing woes have caused the offense to struggle at times particularly when they fall behind.
The Colts rushing defense has been one of the biggest surprises in the NFL. Over the offseason, the team completely rebuilt their defense adding Deforest Buckner and Justin Houston to pair with elite linebackers Anthony Walker and Darius Leonard. The good news for the Colts is Leonard returned last week after missing the prior two games and looked strong with 9 tackles. This is a defense that held the Lions last week to just 8 rushing yards as they largely abandoned the tactic. With having only allowed one running back to top 60 yards and no running back to top 75 yards while facing elite competition (Dalvin Cook, Kareem Hunt, Joe Mixon, James Robinson), this a defense that is as good as they come.
INDIANAPOLIS VS BALTIMORE
The Colts rushing attack has not panned out as they had hoped. Rookie Jonathan Taylor is averaging just 3.9 yards per attempt and to make matters worse is dealing with an ankle injury as is Jordan Wilkins as they are both questionable this week. The good news for the Colts is that their offensive line remains a strong point led by Quenton Nelson and Ryan Kelly that if they can get consistency out of the running back position, this unit still has the potential to turn it around. It will be interesting to see how the split shakes out in future weeks as last week Jordan Wilkins had 20 carries compared to Taylor’s 11.
Baltimore continues to be a difficult defense that is strong against the run this season as they are allowing just 77 rushing yards per game. This is a defense that is incredibly strong at shutting down running backs for a majority of the time, but if there is a weakness it would be that they have allowed a few big runs on the season as evidenced by Miles Sanders 118 yards on just 9 carries back in Week 6. This is a unit that the strength is the defensive line who is led by Calais Campbell, newly acquired Yannick Ngakoue , and Derek Wolfe. It should be a tremendous test for the Colts offensive line as it will be strength against strength this week.
TAMPA BAY VS NEW ORLEANS
Tampa Bay has been playing the hot hand this season at the running back positions and it appears that Leonard Fournette has a slight edge at the moment compared to Ronald Jones II II over the last two games. This is a unit that should see some additional space in the box this week as they will add Antonio Brown to the mix and potentially Chris Godwin which should open up plenty of opportunity for the rushing attack. The good news for the Buccaneers is that the offensive line continues to be a strength as they are rated as a top 5 unit by Footballguys expert Matt Bitonti.
The Saints have largely been a lockdown unit when it comes to stopping the run for really the past few seasons. This year is no different as they are allowing just 3.6 yards per carry led by strong play from the defensive lineman Cameron Jordan and linebacker Demario Davis while Malcolm Jenkins is there to clean up any big plays. The Saints have not allowed a 100-yard rusher since Samaje Perine did this in Week 11 of the 2017 season. This is a well-coached unit that has played together with strong cohesion that should cause major issues for the Buccaneers this week.
