When the Bengals lost Joe Mixon in Week 11, Samaje Perine took a huge opportunity and ran with it. In a three-game stretch, he produced 330 total yards and four touchdowns. This came on the heels of a three-game stretch when Joe Mixon totaled 361 total yards and six touchdowns.
No matter who has started for the Bengals at running back, they've found great success this season. And it's possible both backs will be worth starting in Week 15.
The matchup against Tampa Bay is not a very good one on paper, at least for rushers. Only three running backs have topped 100 yards against them all season and they've only given up five touchdowns on the ground to running backs this season. But the Bengals backs can do plenty of damage through the air. And injuries may force them to do even more this week.
As of Tuesday morning, we aren't expecting Tee Higgins, Hayden Hurst, or Tyler Boyd to suit up for Cincinnati in Week 15. That leads Ja'Marr Chase and the running backs as the only options for Joe Burrow with more than 15 targets this season. It's not hard to imagine a scenario where the Bengals running backs combine for double-digit targets in addition to the 19 carries they've averaged this season.
For now, view Mixon as a No. 2 running back and Perine as a high-end flex, but don't be surprised if they're both very productive this week.
Now let's get to the rest of the Week 15 RB Preview:
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RB Preview
Numbers to know
15 -- Carries for J.K. Dobbins for 120 yards and a touchdown. He had a 44-yard dash where he didn't look as explosive as usual, but he should only get faster as he gets healthier and could be a huge factor for the Fantasy playoffs.
54 -- Travis Etienne's production has completely fallen off. Since Week 9, he has yet to top 54 rushing yards and also hasn't found the end zone.
5.4 -- Yards per rush allowed by the Chargers defense this season. If that number holds, it would be the highest in the Super Bowl era.
`1 -- Touchdown in the last four games for Nick Chubb. He's also only had one 100-yard rushing game versus the Ravens in nine games.
114 -- That's two straight games for James Conner with at least 114 scrimmage yards and a touchdown. He looks healthy and is producing like the running back Fantasy managers were hoping for at the beginning of the season.
This one has been brewing for a while, as McKinnon has consistently played the most snaps for the Chiefs at running back, but the Fantasy production just started to come. Even if you don't want to start him this week, he should be 100% rostered because if something happens to Isiah Pacheco it's late enough in the season that the Chiefs might just give McKinnon 15 touches per game. This week he's more of a high-end flex.
I prefer Strong to Kevin Harris because I think he has more paths to Fantasy relevance. If Rhamondre Stevenson is out, I could still see a path to five-to-10 carries and a handful of targets if Strong is sharing with Damien Harris. If both Patriots' lead backs are out then you could start both Pierre Strong and Kevin Harris as borderline No. 2 backs, but I would prefer Strong because of his work in the passing game. For now, put in a claim for both.
The Panthers have run for 408 yards over their past two games and they're facing a Steelers defense that just allowed J.K. Dobbins to rumble for 120 yards. Hubbard is back in the 1B role, with more passing game work than Foreman and both are startable as low-end No. 2 backs or high-end flexes.
Mason is the clear No. 2 behind Christian McCaffrey with Elijah Mitchell out of the picture. We all know McCaffrey's injury history, and Mason now appears to be just one injury away from 15-plus touches per game in an offense that should be even more run-heavy with Brock Purdy at quarterback.
Henry bounced back nicely in Week 14 against the Jaguars and now he faces arguably the worst run defense in the entire NFL. You can get cute somewhere else, play Henry. Especially on FanDuel.
Swift was an enormous disappointment in Week 14 and not someone I would consider in cash games at all, but he makes for a very intriguing contrarian play. He still has the ability to take any touch to the house and this is a game where I don't expect Jamaal Williams to find much success. If Swift gets loose on the perimeter a couple of times, he could win someone a lot of money at a low roster rate.
