Rushing Matchups: Conference Championships

Go here for this week's Passing Matchups.

Top 2 Rushing Matchups

Philadelphia vs Washington

Philadelphia is going to lean heavily on Saquon Barkley throughout the playoffs. In their two games thus far, Barkley has 25 and 26 carries; last week, he accumulated 205 rushing yards with two touchdowns. The Eagles have the perfect combination of elite running back with arguably the league's best offensive line led by their elite All-Pro tackles Jordan Mailata and Lane Johnson. While the interior of the offensive line is not nearly as decorated with awards, they're run-blocking specialists led by Landon Dickerson at left guard and Mekhi Becton, who has been an extremely successful transformation from a former first-round bust tackle. The Eagles converted Becton to guard, and he looks like a long-term starter at the position. The one concern that most would have is the health of Jalen Hurts, as he suffered a knee injury in last week's game that could limit his rushing upside and force more work toward Barkley this week. Hurts did practice on Thursday, so it looks like he will play this week, but it seems he will be far less than 100%.

Washington's run defense has been one of the weaker units all season. Last week, the Lions torched this defense until they mysteriously decided to abandon the run. Detroit ran for 201 yards and three touchdowns as Jahmyr Gibbs led the way with 105 yards on 14 carries, averaging 7.5 yards per carry. During the year, Washington is allowing 114 rushing yards per game to opposing running backs, the fourth-highest in the NFL. In their first two meetings, Saquon Barkley has run for 146 and 150 yards while scoring two touchdowns in each of those two games. The issue for the Commanders is that their defensive line is one of the weaker units in the NFL. They drafted Jer'Zhan Newton in the second round, but he has struggled against the run as, at just 295 pounds, he's undersized for the nose tackle position the team is asking him to play. Alongside Newton, Daron Payne and Jonathan Allen, both former first-round picks, have struggled throughout their careers against the run, excelling in rushing the passer, but this year is a different level. At times, they seem completely uninterested in stopping the run. The strength of this defense is at the linebacker position, as both Bobby Wagner and Frankie Luvu earned Second-Team All-Pro, and it is the 34-year-old Wagner who leads the team in tackles with 132. However, the linebackers can only do so much when they're being asked to shed blockers that the defensive line lets get downfield. All it takes is a little space for Barkley, and he's next to impossible to tackle in the open field.

Kansas City vs Buffalo

Isiah Pacheco has seemingly been demoted to a backup role, as he had just five carries last week and has just 11 over his last two games, with Kareem Hunt having 17 total. This is a rushing attack with insufficient volume to support a committee backfield. Hunt excelled last week in icing the game as he converted critical obvious running downs while ending the game with 44 yards on eight carries. On the other hand, Pacheco struggled as he had just 18 yards on five carries, with ten coming on one play. Pacheco has been on the field for just 33% of the plays over his last four games compared to Hunt, who is at 45%, with Samaje Perine adding another 20% as a receiving and pass-blocking back. The offensive line for Kansas City has been a problem, as left guard Mike Caliendo has struggled in his limited playing time, but the Chiefs are choosing to have a hole at left guard rather than left tackle as they benched left tackle D.J. Humphries to move left guard Joe Thuney out to left tackle. Right tackle Jawaan Taylor has also been an issue, as he's been one of the worst run blockers in the NFL this season.

The Bills' run defense has been inconsistent this season but did just enough this past week against Baltimore to come out with a victory. Buffalo allowed 176 rushing yards against Baltimore, which was a significant improvement compared to the 271 yards allowed to them in the regular season matchup. However, there still are concerns here. This defense is good enough to shut down some of the league's worst run defense but has struggled against average or above running backs as they've allowed 75 rushing yards or more to De'Von Achane, Derrick Henry twice, Breece Hall, Jonathan Taylor, and Kyren Williams. The good news for Buffalo is that they're facing Kansas City, who ran for just 78 yards as a team, as Kareem Hunt led the way with 60 yards on 14 carries. The issue for Buffalo is the linebackers are a significant liability this season. Terrel Bernard has struggled all season and does not look to be a player that can be relied upon as a building block of this defense, while Matt Milano has not returned to his reliable form since missing the first 11 games of the season with a bicep injury. Milano is dealing with a hamstring injury that likely is impacting his production. Safety Taylor Rapp, who has been an excellent run-stopper this season, appears that he may miss this week as he did not practice on Wednesday or Thursday with a back and hip injury. If Rapp were to miss, this would be a significant downgrade for this defense.