TOP 4 RUSHING MATCHUPS WEEK 19
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Top 4 Passing Matchups Week 19
Bottom 4 Passing Matchups Week 19
Top 4 Rushing Matchups Week 19
Bottom 4 Rushing Matchups Week 19
Rushing Matchup Chart Week 19
Passing Matchup Chart Week 19
Cleveland at Kansas City
The Browns rushing attack continues to be one of the elite units in football. This is a team that is built to run the ball through and through as evidenced by being third in the NFL in rushing yards on the season. The Browns faced what had been a strong run-stopping unit last week in Pittsburgh, and ran for4.8 yards-per-carry in a game script that led to Pittsburgh knowing the Browns were going to run and could not stop it which led to T.J. Watt being highly ineffective even with a patchwork offensive line as Jack Conklin and Joel Bitonio were both out. The big question for the Browns headed into this week is the health of the offensive line. While they should get Bitonio back this week from the Covid list, Jack Conklin did not practice, and All-Pro Wyatt Teller and center J.C. Tretter both were limited on Wednesday. If multiple players miss this game, especially Tretter and Teller it could limit the Browns on the inside rushing attack this week.
The Chiefs rushing defense is one that has been a weak spot for the team for most of the season. Allowing 4.6 yards-per-carry and over 100 yards per game, Cleveland’s game plan will be simple, which is to keep the ball on the ground and away from Patrick Mahomes II. While the Chiefs have struggled for most of the year, the one thing that they have done well is preventing massive games for running backs, as only two running backs on the year have topped 100 yards (Melvin Gordon and Damien Harris). This is a defense that is set up to stop the pass due to their ability to lead the game from the start, so they have designed the defense around pass rushing with Frank Clark and Chris Jones on the defensive line instead of big defensive ends and tackles to eat up space to prevent holes.
Baltimore at Buffalo
The league’s top rushing offense did not stop at the end of the regular season as the Ravens dropped 236 rushing yards in their win over the Titans last week. The bulk of those yards came from quarterback Lamar Jackson, who posted a season-high 136 rushing yards and a touchdown--marking the third straight game in which Jackson has rushed for 80 or more yards. Jackson was the lead rusher with over 1,000 yards during the regular season, and his spectacular playmaking ability will be something the Ravens continue to rely on this week. At running back. J.K. Dobbins has been the lead back and continued those duties last week. Dobbins now has a seven-game touchdown streak going, scoring at least once in each game he has played dating back to Week 11. Gus Edwards remains marginally involved on the ground as well, albeit with far fewer red zone opportunities than Dobbins. At the offensive line, the Ravens appear to be at full strength as both D.J. Fluker and Patrick Mekari suited up last week with no visible setbacks.
The rushing defense in Buffalo has been up and down throughout the season, and they notably struggled last week against the Colts as they coughed up 163 rushing yards and a touchdown, allowing Indianapolis to average 5.4 yards per rush attempt. Despite facing a relatively easy regular-season schedule, Buffalo still allowed an above-average 4.6 yards per carry and the sixth-most rushing touchdowns (21). This defensive line lacks size on the interior to sufficiently plug holes on those inside runs. This defense also lacks playmaking linebackers as they rely on their top-tier safeties Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer to support them far too often. None of these linebackers can keep up with Lamar Jackson, and this defense gave up a whopping seven rushing touchdowns to quarterbacks during the regular season--including two 50+ yard rushing performances. Look for Baltimore rushing offense to have the edge both in the trenches and in the open field against this defense.
Buffalo vs Baltimore
The Bills rushing offense took a hit after last week as rookie running back Zach Moss went down with an ankle injury that will sideline him for the remainder of the postseason. This leaves Devin Singletary as the lead running back in what has been a low volume, low excitement backfield in Buffalo. Singletary was the leading rusher during the regular season, but he was starting to cede more snaps to Moss as the season came to a close. He found the end zone only twice in the regular season and rushed only three times in each of the last two games. Singletary has some talent, but he simply hasn’t been explosive nor has he been afforded much of an opportunity in what has been a pass-first offense all season long. Running back Antonio Williams could see the field if called up this week, but don’t expect much from him. Josh Allen also remains a viable running threat, as he rushed for 52 yards and another touchdown in his last game. Allen actually finished the regular season with the same number of rushing touchdowns (8) as the entire Bills backfield combined as he has been a handful for defenses to look after.
Baltimore’s run defense has been a bend-not-break unit throughout the season. They finished the regular season allowing the eighth-fewest rushing yards while allowing the seventh-most yards per carry as they struggled with consistency throughout. Last week’s performance against the Titans, however, certainly leaves a lofty impression of what this unit can do as they held the league’s top rusher, Derrick Henry, to only 40 yards on 18 carries. This Ravens defensive line has some run-stopping talent, especially in former All-Pro veteran defensive tackle Calais Campbell. He had an injury-laden regular season, but Campbell has been healthy to close the year and looked great last week. Big nose tackle Brandon Williams and left end Brandon Wolfe help close out an interior defensive line that should have an advantage over the weaker Bills interior offensive line--as their strength lies more at tackle than guard. The Ravens do have weaknesses at the second level, however--most notably at linebacker as Patrick Queen has been terrible against the run. This is where Josh Allen could be dangerous, as this defense gave up five rushing touchdowns to quarterbacks in the regular season and could certainly allow the likes of Allen to find paydirt with his legs this week.
LA Rams at Green Bay
The Rams offense will once again flow through Cam Akers as the first-round running back has 49 carries over his last two games. Akers was a big reason that the Rams won last week as he had 131 yards against a good Seahawks run defense. Malcolm Brown will still compliment Akers as he has averaged six carries over his last two games and is the bigger of the two backs. The offensive line play is the main question for the Rams as it is not the elite unit it was back in their Super Bowl season and remains the biggest question mark heading into this game as outside of tackles Andrew Whitworth and Rob Havenstein, there are major questions with Joe Noteboom, Austin Corbett, and Austin Blythe struggling for the Rams.
The Packers run defense has largely been a problem for most of the season as they have allowed the sixth-most fantasy points to opposing running backs on the season. The good news for the Packers is that they have been significantly better since Week 10 when Christian Kirksey returned from injury as they have allowed the eighth-fewest fantasy points to opposing running backs since Kirksey has returned allowing just 87 yards per game (4.1 yards per carry). This is by no means a perfect unit, as the Packers have allowed four running backs to have 90 yards or more since Week 10 (James Robinson, David Montgomery, Derrick Henry, and Jonathan Taylor) and six on the season. The biggest issue for the Packers is the defensive line as Kenny Clark has struggled while Krys Barnes has also struggled at the middle linebacker position. This is a unit that is improving but still has gaping holes that the Rams will look to exploit this week.
