Go here for this week's Passing Matchups. 

Top 5 Rushing Matchups

Washington vs Carolina

The big question for Washington heading into this week is the health of Brian Robinson Jr. The third-year running back has said all the right things that he is feeling back to his usual self after suffering a knee injury, but he was just a limited participant at practice on Wednesday. This running game needs Robinson after being completely shut down last week by Baltimore. Austin Ekeler was the featured back but had nine carries for 21 yards, producing more as a receiver than a running back, while Jeremy McNichols had just two carries. Having the threat of Robinson to go along with Jayden Daniels will significantly take the burden off of the rookie quarterback, as the offense can once again be two-dimensional.

Over the last two seasons, no defense has been as bad at stopping the run as Carolina. This defense has made questionable roster moves, had terrible injury luck, and negative game scripts, all leading to their league-leading 134 rushing yards allowed per game. Last week, Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier combined for 200 rushing yards, making them the fourth team to top 130 rushing yards against this defense. The issue for Carolina is quite simple. This is a defense that chose to get worse at the linebacker position, bringing in Josey Jewell, who is an off-ball linebacker, while letting Frankie Luvu, who was the team's leading tackler, depart to Washington. Luvu is not a great linebacker, but at least he's a guy who can consistently make tackles. Then, making matters worse, Jewell and Shaq Thompson, the team's two starting linebackers, both get injured, leaving an absolute mess at the position as rookie Trevin Wallace, along with 2023 undrafted free agent Claudin Cherelus, who is essentially a rookie as he did not play at all in 2023 are your starting linebackers. Meanwhile, the defensive line has done no favors for this linebacking unit as the team chose to allow Brian Burns to depart this offseason, bringing in Ja'Deveon Clowney, who is just a pass rusher at this point in his career, leaving the defensive line incredibly thin. So, when your Pro Bowl-caliber defensive tackle Derrick Brown is lost for the year, you're relying on guys such as A'Shawn Robinson and DeShawn Williams, who are just not NFL-caliber starters. It will take a complete overhaul of this defense in the offseason to rebuild it back to the days when it was one of the best run-stopping units in the NFL each year.

Carolina at Washington

The Panthers' rushing attack continues to be successful, thanks to Chuba Hubbard. Since Andy Dalton has been named the starter, Hubbard has topped at least 90 rushing yards in all four games. Hubbard is also averaging 5.8 yards-per-carry over the last four weeks which is third in the NFL. While Jonathon Brooks' window to return has opened, it likely will not be this week, and at this point, the Panthers will be unlikely to make a change unless they trade Hubbard or he starts to struggle. One thing the Panthers have succeeded at for the 2024 season is building an offensive line. 2022 first-round pick Ikem Ekwonu at left tackle has developed into a solid producer. Like most teams, this offensive line has had to deal with injury as they lost center Austin Corbett, but backup Brady Christensen has been a solid run-blocker at the position.

Washington's run defense has been one of the biggest disappointments of the 2024 season. Last week, they could not stop Baltimore's rushing attack as Derrick Henry ran for 132 yards and two touchdowns against this Washington defense. With Dan Quinn in charge, a significant effort has been made to fix the pass defense, which has considerably improved given the lack of talent that they have in that secondary. However, fixing that part of the defense has created another hole, as this run defense has allowed 119 rushing yards per game. This defense has allowed 100 yards or more to Derrick Henry and James Conner this season. The linebackers are strong here in Washington as they brought in Frankie Luvu and Bobby Wagner this offseason, but the issue is on the defensive line. Last season, the Commanders traded Montez Sweat and Chase Young and have downgraded significantly as rookie second-round pick Jer'Zhan Newton has been one of the worst defensive ends in football, while Phidarian Mathis, who was the team's 2022 second-round pick, has struggled on the defensive line. This is a defense that lost Jonathan Allen, and while Allen is a long way removed from his 2021 and 2022 Pro Bowl seasons, he is still an athletic body that the team will be without the former first-round pick for the remainder of the season.

Tennessee at Buffalo

Despite no resemblance of a passing game, Tony Pollard continues to produce. Last week, the Titans threw for just 95 yards on 27 passes as Will Levis, DeAndre Hopkins, and Calvin Ridley continued to struggle, but for Pollard, he had 93 rushing yards and a touchdown. For Pollard this season, he has at least 60 yards in four of his five games. Pollard is producing in spite of having one of the league's worst offensive lines. This is a unit that invested heavily in the left side as 2024 first-round pick JC Latham, and 2023 first-round pick Peter Skoronski both have struggled while at right tackle the Titans made a change to Leroy Watson benching Nicholas Petit-Friere but that has not worked out thus far as there are still major issues at right tackle. The offensive line and limited passing ability will limit the upside of Pollard on a week-to-week basis, but he continues to show that he's a dynamic running back who can have breakaway speed, as he has three 20+ yard carries in his five games this season.

The Buffalo defense that they're starting in 2024 is far different from the Buffalo defenses we were used to, which were elite run-stopping safeties and linebackers with a defensive line that was designed to rush the passer. Through injuries to linebacker Matt Milano and the departures of aging veterans Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer, this defense has not been able to adjust in 2024. On the season, Buffalo is allowing the second-most fantasy points to opposing running backs, as they've allowed 100-yard performances in two of the last three weeks to Breece Hall and Derrick Henry. Terrel Bernard has struggled as a middle linebacker but has received no support from the defensive line, as Ed Oliver is just an interior pass-rush guy at this point in his career. He often seems uninterested in stopping the run, while Dawaune Smoot and DaQuan Jones are simply overmatched.