Rushing Matchups Week 20

Photo: Imagn Images

Go here for this week's Passing Matchups.

Top 3 Rushing Matchups

As the playoffs go further along, the amount of great rushing matchups becomes limited. The purpose of this section is to determine the best rushing matchups for this week, but that does not mean that they are great. Please refer to the chart at the bottom for the team grades as if this was a normal week.

San Francisco vs Green Bay

Giving Christian McCaffrey two weeks to rest is going to refresh the running back, who has been dealing with a variety of injuries throughout the season. McCaffrey has solidified himself as the league's best running back, as despite the injury issues, he only missed Week 18 when the 49ers had nothing to play for. McCaffrey led the NFL in rushing yards and yards-per-attempt, was third in runs of 20+ yards, and finished second in touchdowns. Running behind the league's best left tackle, Trent Williams, who should also benefit from the two weeks off at 35 years old. This is a run-first offense that can keep defenses honest by bringing in Deebo Samuel, who is averaging 6.1 yards per carry this season.

Green Bay's run defense has been among league average all season, and it showed last week against Dallas. The Cowboys were able to gain 123 yards rushing, but 45 of that came on Dak Prescott scrambles while the Packers were playing soft coverage as they got out to a 34-10 and a 48-16 lead. Tony Pollard had a very average 15 carries for 56 yards rushing for 3.7 yards-per-carry. This is a defense that can overwhelm teams with their pure size. They have one of the league's biggest defensive lines as Kenny Clark, T.J. Slayton, and Devonte Wyatt are all over 300 pounds, and while they're big, they've struggled with dynamic running backs who have not been afraid to run right at these big bodies. The outside linebackers are among the team's best run stoppers, as Rashan Gary and Preston Smith are excellent at making plays on anything off-tackle.

Buffalo vs Kansas City

The combination of James Cook and Josh Allen makes up a dynamic run-first offense that has been a big part of the Bills turnaround this season. Cook has been dynamic, averaging 4.7 yards per carry despite just five carries longer than 20 yards this year. Cook is a downhill runner who rarely takes negative yardage. Meanwhile, Josh Allen's rushing ability is a matchup nightmare for opposing defenses, as we saw last week when he ran for 74 yards against the Steelers. Allen leads the NFL in rushing touchdowns by quarterbacks while averaging 11.3 carries over his last three games.

Kansas City's defense this season has been good, but they've sometimes struggled against the run. On the season, they're about league-average, allowing the 14th-most rushing yards this season. However, they are allowing 4.6 yards-per-carry this season, which is primarily driven by two big rushing performances from the Raiders, as Zamir White and Josh Jacobs are the only two running backs to top 100 yards against this defense. The Chiefs have reduced Derrick Nnadi's role as the defensive tackle has struggled for most of the season against the run. The Chiefs' defensive line has been the biggest issue for most of the season as they've had a rotation of linemen, but they are designed to rush the passer, led by Chris Jones, instead of having elite run-stoppers as they rely on their linebackers, Nick Bolton and Willie Gay Jr, to stop the run.

Houston at Baltimore

Devin Singletary and the Texans' rushing attack has been as inconsistent as any running game this season. Over the last five weeks, Singletary has had 26, 9, 16, 24, and 13 carries. This team wants to be a pass-first offense using the rushing attack to close out the win or to set up the passing attack. They're quick to abandon the run in losses as Singletary is averaging 12.7 carries in losses since taking over from Dameon Pierce compared to 19.9 carries in wins. One thing to monitor this week is the health of Laremy Tunsil, who left last week's game with a knee injury. While he did return to practice on Wednesday, it is something to monitor as he would be a very significant loss if he were to be ruled out this week.

On a week where there are no "great" rushing matchups, we're having to dig deep even to find three top matchups. Baltimore had been great for most of the season, as they are incredibly talented with players such as Roquan Smith, Patrick Queen, Justin Madubuike, and Michael Pierce, but this is a defense that has now allowed running backs to top 100-yards in four of their last five games. The strength of schedule can explain some of this, as they faced Christian McCaffrey and Kyren Williams, but for De'Von Achane and Najee Harris to both top 100 yards against Baltimore does draw some red flags this week. The good news for the Ravens is that they should get Kyle Hamilton back this week after missing the last two games. Hamilton is among the league's best safeties and is third on the team in tackles. Stopping Devin Singletary will be critical for the success of Baltimore this week.