Go here for this week's Passing Matchups. 

Top 3 Rushing Matchups

Detroit vs Washington

After their bye last week, the Lions get a significant boost to their rushing attack as they'll get David Montgomery back this week after the running back has missed the last three games. With Montgomery, this takes some burden off of Jahmyr Gibbs, who had averaged 25.6 touches per game in Montgomery's absence compared to an average of 16.0 touches per game with Montgomery active. The Lion's committee backfield, along with one of the league's best offensive lines, make this an incredibly difficult offense to deal with, even before factoring in the passing threat that the Lions pose to opposing defenses. Detroit has run for 146.4 yards per game, the sixth-most in the NFL this season, and is second in rushing touchdowns, with Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery combined for 32 touchdowns this season. One thing to watch this week is the health of right guard Kevin Zeitler and left tackle Taylor Decker, who missed practice on Wednesday. Decker seems extremely likely to play, as he missed due to the birth of a child, while Zeitler is dealing with a hamstring injury. If he were to miss, it would be a major loss as the veteran is having one of the best years of his career.

Washington has been one of the weaker run-stopping units in the NFL this season. While Bobby Wagner remains one of the game's elite run-stopping linebackers, he can only do so much behind this defensive line. This defensive line was built to rush the passer while sacrificing the ability to stop the run. The team brought in Jer'Zhan Newton as they hoped he would solidify the defensive tackle position, but he has struggled against the run. Daron Payne and Jonathan Allen are liabilities at this point against the run and far from the elite defensive linemen we saw early in their careers. Washington is allowing the fourth-most rushing yards to opposing running backs this season, as they're allowing 114 per game. Having Wagner at middle linebacker does help eliminate some of the big games, as only five running backs have topped 100 yards, two of which were Saquon Barkley. But almost every running back they've faced has had some level of success, as 18 running backs have topped 50 yards against this defense this season.

Baltimore at Buffalo

Baltimore's rushing attack in the postseason is even more dangerous than in the regular season. Even in a 28-14 victory last week, Lamar Jackson ran the ball 15 times for 81 yards, his most rushing attempts since Week 1 in the primetime kickoff game against Kansas City. Meanwhile, Derrick Henry ran the ball 26 times for 186 yards and two touchdowns against Pittsburgh. Henry's volume has ramped up in recent weeks, and he has now averaged 24.3 carries per game over the last four weeks. This is an offense that the only way to stop them is to get out to an early lead. If you fall behind early, trying to stop Henry and Jackson running 40 times with 300-pound fullback Patrick Ricard as a lead blocker will be a nightmare. The Ravens offensive line is led by center Tyler Linderbaum, who has emerged as one of the best young centers in the NFL. With Zay Flowers looking unlikely to play this week, the Ravens will need to turn to a run-heavy game plan again.  

Buffalo's run defense has been up and down throughout the season. While their numbers look better lately, Buffalo has faced a favorable matchup over the last four games, with Denver, New England, the New York Jets in a blowout game script, and New England again. During the year, Buffalo has allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to opposing running backs, as they've struggled against some of the game's elite running backs. Kyren Williams, Jonathan Taylor, De'Von Achane twice, and Derrick Henry had massive games against Buffalo. In their first meeting, Derrick Henry had 199 yards on 24 carries and a touchdown, adding three receptions for 10 yards and a receiving touchdown. The defensive line is a strength for Buffalo, but if you can get past the defensive line, that's where the elite running backs have created problems, as the Bills linebackers and safeties have been a liability. There was some hope that Matt Milano would greatly improve this defense, but since coming back in Week 13, Milano still does not seem 100% healthy, as he missed both Week 16 and 18 and is playing just about 65% of snaps when he is playing. He has not been the game-changing force we've seen in prior seasons.

Philadelphia vs LA Rams

The Eagles have turned to a run-heavy offense for most of the season despite having elite wide receiver options. Last week, we saw the Eagles run the ball 34 times compared to just 21 pass attempts. Saquon Barkley, coming off a week of rest, had 25 carries for 119 yards and has topped 100 rushing yards in nine of his last eleven games. Taking one of the league's best running backs in Barkley and having him run behind one of the two best offensive lines in the NFL is a dangerous combination, as this unit is led by All-Pro Jordan Mailata, who has had a nearly perfect season. At right tackle, Lane Johnson continues to play at a high level, while the interior of the offensive line all excel at run-blocking. This unit has been healthy for nearly the entire season and has high cohesion, as four of the five linemen have been with the team for multiple seasons, with only Mekhi Becton being in his first year with the Eagles.

While the Rams defensive line has been elite at rushing the passer, led by Defensive Rookie of the Year Jared Verse, this is a defense that has struggled against the run as rookie Braden Fiske has been a liability against the run for most of the season. In their first meeting between these two teams, Saquon Barkley had the game of the season, with 255 yards, two touchdowns, and 47 receiving yards. Except for the Eagles game earlier this season, the Rams safeties have been the bright spot as both Quentin Lake and Kamren Curl have been able to prevent some of the big plays this season and cover up some of the holes that this team has at linebacker as Christian Rozeboom has struggled against the run. Undrafted rookie linebacker Omar Speights has been a run-stopping specialist since taking over from Troy Reeder, who was placed on IR in Week 8.