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Thanksgiving is just around the corner, which means we can count our blessings. One of which is the opportunity to watch 3 Thursday games. Six different teams will be on a short week and anything can happen in prime time.
This edition of week 13 running back rankings may help to ease your holiday stress and give you a little clarity when trying to figure out who to start and who to sit on your season long fantasy team. The players in these week 13 RB rankings will differ a bit from players you might be considering for your daily fantasy football. Rankings are based on fantasy points per game and upcoming matchup. Any player injured or on bye will not be included in the week 13 RB rankings.
Must Start: If you have them on your team, do not bench them in week 13
1. Arian Foster: Tennessee@Houston
On Monday, Texan's head coach Bill O'Brien expressed the possibility of Foster playing on Sunday against the Titans. Keep an eye on whether this will materialize because the matchup is an amazing one. The Titans have allowed 364 yards and 4 touchdowns by opposing running backs in the last two weeks.
2. DeMarco Murray: Philadelphia@Dallas
You already know that Murray's workload will always be high regardless of who the Cowboys play.
3. Le'Veon Bell: New Orleans@Pittsburgh
Coming off a bye and at home, Bell won't likely have a 200 yard game like he did against the Titans on Monday night but he may get pretty close. In the last two weeks, the Saints gave up 384 yards and 2 touchdowns to opposing running backs.
4. Eddie Lacy: New England@Green Bay
Teams have not been getting a whole lot of yards rushing against the Patriots lately but they still average 19 fantasy points against for the entire 2014 season. Weeks 11 and 12 saw a poor performance for Indianapois and Detroit's running backs against New England, however, Eddie Lacy (and his 5.5 yards per carry over the last two weeks) will likely have much better success.
5. Jamaal Charles: Denver@Kansas City
Charles is essentially the focal point of this offense and will get the ball in his hands as many times as possible in every game. The Chiefs know that if they plan on beating the Broncos, they will need to let the playmaker do what he does best.
6. Justin Forsett: San Diego@Baltimore
Forsett leads the NFL in yards per carry among all running backs and led all running backs in week 12 in fantasy points.
7. Matt Forte: Chicago@Detroit
The Lion's defense is tough, but their offense has not scored a touchdown since week 10. This gives Chicago an opportunity to take their time on offense, control the pace of the game and run the ball with Forte.
8. LeSean McCoy: Philadelphia@Dallas
The Cowboys have allowed 266 yards and 4 touchdowns in the last 4 weeks to running backs. LeSean McCoy has 218 yards rushing and 1 touchdown in the last two weeks. These two stats will come together in a very important divisional game on Thanksgiving.
9. Andre Ellington: Arizona@Atlanta
The Cardinal's offense really struggled against the Seahawks in week 12, but don't expect that to happen again in week 13. The Falcons are much more forgiving to opponents, allowing on average 410 yards of offense this season.
10. C.J. Anderson: Denver@Kansas City
Anderson has had 3 consecutive 100 yard games including 167 against a good Dolphin's defense in week 12.
11. Rashad Jennings: NYG@Jacksonville
Last week, Jennings was only second to Odell Beckham in receiving targets. The Giants seem intent on getting him involved in the offense and this could really pay off for fantasy owners if he continues that against a Jaguars team who have been giving up a lot of fantasy points to running backs all season long.
12. Marshawn Lynch: Seattle@San Fransisco
Dropped a bit on the rankings due to some unfavorable matchups but as always Seattle's game does rely on running the ball well and Lynch will get touches.
Start these guys if you don't have any of the ones above
13. Alfred Morris: Washington@Indianapolis
Morris had 125 yards rushing and 1 TD against a good San Fransisco defense in week 12. Colt's defense has really been suspect since getting blown up by the Steelers in week 8, especially lately, allowing 4 rushing touchdowns in the last 2 weeks.
14 .Denard Robinson: NYG@Jacksonville
Again, this is a very favorable matchup for Robinson who has shown he can be a real playmaker on an team otherwise devoid of offensive weapons. In the last 4 weeks, teams playing the Giants have racked up 577 yards rushing and 4 touchdowns to running backs.
15. Mark Ingram: New Orleans@Pittsburgh
16. Jeremy Hill: Cincinnati@Tampa Bay
Hill had 18 carries while Giovani Bernard had 17 against Houston. It's unclear which direction the team will go but Hill did have nearly twice as many yards on nearly the same amount of touches. Either way, this is a good matchup for Cincinnati RBs.
17. Latavius Murray: Oakland@St. Louis
This guy is very big, very strong, and very fast. He has all the tools to be a star in this league and the Raiders will give him lead when he gets healthy. He suffered a concussion against the Chiefs on Thursday night and may or may not play against St. Louis but he needs to be on your radar.
18. Jerick McKinnon: Carolina@Minnesota
The addition of Ben Tate muddies the water a bit for the Vikings backfield but whomever gets the most of the action against the Panthers will be productive.
19. Tre Mason: Oakland@St. Louis
The Rams get their most favorable defensive opponent for RBs since week 2.
20. Isaiah Crowell: Cleveland@Buffalo
The Browns will run the ball first every game and having Josh Gordon back really opens things up for the offense. Watch for this offense to really get going the last stretch of the season, even against tough defenses like Buffalo.
21. LeGarrette Blount: New England@Green Bay
Does Bill Belichick favor Blount or was not playing Jonas Gray in week 12 simply punishment for oversleeping? Where does Shane Vereen fit into the mix? Hard to say at this point, either way the Patriots have positioned themselves very well for the playoffs with their RB depth.
22. Giovani Bernard: Cincinnati@Tampa Bay
23. Doug Martin: Cincinnati@Tampa Bay
24. Jonas Gray: New England@Green Bay
The best of the rest: Start these guys if that's all you have
25. Anthony Dixon: Cleveland@Buffalo
26. Shane Vereen: New England@Green Bay
27. Ryan Matthews: San Diego@Baltimore
28. Darren Sproles: Philadelphia@Dallas
29. Joique Bell: Chicago@Detroit
30. Fred Jackson: Cleveland@Buffalo
31. Lamar Miller: Miami@NYJ
32. Alfred Blue: Tennessee@Houston
33. Chris Ivory: Miami@NYJ
34. Jonathan Stewart: Carolina@Minnesota
35. Bishop Sankey: Tennessee@Houston
36. Charles Sims: Cincinnati@Tampa Bay
37. Daniel Herron: Washington@Indianapolis
38. Terrance West: Cleveland@Buffalo
39. Ben Tate: Carolina@Minnesota
40. Trent Richardson: Washington@Indianapolis