Week 1 Rushing Matchups

Photo: USA Today Sports

Go here for this week's Passing Matchups.

Top 5 Rushing Matchups

Minnesota at NY Giants

Minnesota is revitalizing their rushing attack this offseason by bringing in Aaron Jones to replace last year's run game of Alexander Mattison and Ty Chandler. Jones is a player who has always had to deal with crowded backfields in Green Bay as he split time with AJ Dillon. But he has a career 5.0 yards-per-carry, and every season that he has touched the ball more than 200 times, he has run for 1,000 or more yards. This season, Jones should not have to worry about a crowded backfield, as the Vikings only have two running backs on the roster, Ty Chandler being the other. Chandler is a player that the Vikings like, as he had success as a complimentary back last year, rushing for 461 yards on 102 carries. With the loss of Kirk Cousins this offseason, this team is expected to run the ball more than they did in 2024, and Jones could be in for a big season this year.

The Giants return much of the same defense that allowed the third most rushing yards per game with 111 to opposing running backs last season. While they only allowed two running backs to top 100 yards last year, they allowed success to nearly every team they faced, as 15 running backs topped 60 yards in their 17 games last season. The Giants brought back the entire front seven from last season, adding only Brian Burns, a top-tier pass rusher but simply an average run-stopper. Linebacker is the big issue for the Giants as it has been for quite some time. While veteran Bobby Okereke has been one of the bright spots on this defense, averaging 150 tackles in each of the last two seasons. The big problem continues to be Micah McFadden, who is entering his third season. McFadden continues to miss too many tackles to be a reliable average run-stopper, as he led the league in missed tackles at 17% last season, with the next closest linebacker being at 15%. The Giants have a massive hole to fill with the departure of Xavier McKinney, among the league's best run-stopping safeties. McKinney signed a massive deal with the Packers this offseason, leaving the Giants to rely on Dane Belton, among the league's worst safeties. With the Giants expected to be trailing in many games this season, expect them to face a significant number of rushing attempts, which will only put pressure on McFadden and Belton up the middle.  

Buffalo vs Arizona

There are high hopes in Buffalo's rushing attack heading into the 2024 season. James Cook enters his third season after having a breakout season last year. Last season, Cook had 1,122 yards rushing on just 237 carries as the team also gave 144 carries to a combination of Latavius Murray, Ty Johnson, Damien Harris, and Leonard Fournette. This season, the Bills drafted Ray Davis in the fourth round, who they like a lot and should likely receive a consolidated workload that the Bills did not really have last season, a consistent number two running back. Josh Allen will continue to use his legs this season, which were a big part of the offense as he ran 111 times for 524 yards and 15 touchdowns last season. The Bills are replacing center Ryan Bates, who left in the offseason, by moving Connor McGovern from guard to center while promoting David Edwards from a backup to a starter at left guard.

Arizona led the league in rushing yards to opposing running backs with 119 per game last season. While the Cardinals brought in some new people, they minimally addressed the run game, bringing in Mack Wilson at linebacker who was a backup in New England last year. Alongside Wilson is Kyzir White, who, in his six-year career, has struggled to consistently make run stuffs, often making tackles five or six yards downfield. The one bright spot is the investments made in the interior of the defensive line as they brought over Justin Jones who was a big reason that the Bears' run defense was one of the biggest surprises of the 2023 season. The Cardinals also signed Bilal Nichols, another big signee that should help the interior of this defensive line. Nichols came from Las Vegas and will provide them with another 310+ pound defensive tackle on the interior that will help out the sub-par linebacker play in Wilson and White. The edges for the Cardinals could be an issue, especially early on in the season, as defensive end BJ Ojulari, who was the team's second-round pick in 2023, has been placed on IR with a knee injury along with Darius Robinson, who was the team's first-round pick in 2024 has also been placed on IR with a calf injury. This is a unit that is likely to once again be one of the worst in the NFL unless they can just dominate the interior of the defensive line or create unique packages for their safeties Jalen Thompson and Budda Baker to make plays as their safety room is a strength for this team.