Hidden Stat Line: Week 8 Backfield Breakdown

The biggest backfield story of Week 8 was Jordan Wilkins replacing Jonathan Taylor as the Colts' lead runner after halftime in a 41-21 win over Detroit. Coach Frank Reich made a "hot hand" reference in his post-game press conference, while QB Philip Rivers dropped a hint that the rookie's reduced workload may be related to an injury.

A few other backfields also became more complicated over the weekend, with Troymaine Pope taking on more work for the Chargers, and Phillip Lindsay operating in a 50/50 split with Melvin Gordon. Plus, we got breakout games from rookies Zack Moss and J.K. Dobbins, while Cam Akers may soon get a chance for one of his own.

Week 8 RB Leaderboard

Bold = Top 10 in a stat. Leaderboard includes all RBs with five or more touches.

Classify Me, Captain

Three-down Role with 80-plus Percent Snap Share

1. Carolina Panthers - Mike Davis
2. Cleveland Browns - Kareem Hunt
3. Minnesota Vikings - Dalvin Cook
4. Green Bay Packers - Jamaal Williams
5. Miami Dolphins - Myles Gaskin
6. Chicago Bears - David Montgomery

Three-down Role, But Subbed Out Sometimes

1. Atlanta Falcons - Todd Gurley
2. Pittsburgh Steelers - James Conner
3. Cincinnati Bengals - Giovani Bernard
4. New Orleans Saints - Alvin Kamara
5. Dallas Cowboys - Ezekiel Elliott
6. Philadelphia Eagles - Boston Scott

Clear Lead Back, But Usually Off the Field for Obvious Passing Situations

1. Tennessee Titans - Derrick Henry
2. Las Vegas Raiders - Josh Jacobs
3. Seattle Seahawks - DeeJay Dallas

Two-Man Split

1. Baltimore Ravens - J.K. Dobbins & Gus Edwards
2. Buffalo Bills - Zack Moss & Devin Singletary
3. New York Jets - La'Mical Perine & Frank Gore
4. Kansas City Chiefs - Clyde Edwards-Helaire & Le'Veon Bell
5. Denver Broncos - Melvin Gordon & Phillip Lindsay
6. San Francisco 49ers - JaMycal Hasty & Jerick McKinnon

Not-So-Pretty Committee

1. New England Patriots - Damien Harris, Rex Burkhead & James White
2. Indianapolis Colts - Jordan Wilkins, Jonathan Taylor & Nyheim Hines
3. Detroit Lions - D'Andre Swift, Adrian Peterson & Kerryon Johnson
4. Los Angeles Rams - Darrell Henderson (thigh), Malcolm Brown & Cam Akers
5. Los Angeles Chargers - Justin Jackson, Troymaine Pope & Joshua Kelley

Game-by-Game Breakdowns

(Snap totals, snap shares, carries and targets come from pro-football-reference.com or NFL.com's game books. Data on dropbacks and routes run come from Pro Football Focus.)

Falcons (25) at Panthers (17)

Falcons

• Ito Smith was a healthy scratch for the first time this year, while Ollison was active for the second time. Ollison also suited up Week 3, but he strictly played special teams (nine snaps).
• Ollison played five of the six snaps on 3rd-and-medium/long.
• Hill saw season highs for snap share and carries, and it happened in a game where the point differential never went above eight. Gurley had handled season-high 71 percent snap share in a close game the previous week, but he struggled in the first quarter Thursday, taking five carries for eight yards.
• Gurley played only two more snaps (24) than Hill (22) after the first quarter, but Gurley did get six of the seven red-zone carries, including a three-yard TD with 11:06 remaining in the game.
• Gurley has nine of the team's 12 carries (75 percent) inside the 5-yard line this year, and 17 of 22 (77 percent) inside the 10-yard line. Gurley finished Thursday's action with an NFL-high 38 red-carries, while Hill has taken only four and Smith only two.
• For the season, Hills is averaging 4.6 YPC and 5.8 YPT, while Gurley is at 3.8 YPC and 3.9 YPT. Part of that is Gurley getting so many carries near the goal line, but Hill has a 4.8 to 4.4 advantage in YPC even if red-zone work is excluded. Gurley is 14th in PFF's elusive rating, while Hill ranks only 33rd out of 42 RBs with 40 or more carries.

Panthers

• Curtis Samuel scored both Carolina touchdowns, putting up a 3-23-1 rushing line and 4-31-1 receiving line on season-high 76 percent snap share. Samuel took seven snaps in the backfield, 26 in the slot and eight out wide, per PFF. His rushing TD was a 12-yarder on the Panthers' first drive, following a sequence where Davis picked up 35 yards with two carries and a catch on three consecutive plays.
• Samuel also had a rushing score the previous week (from five yards out), but he hasn't seen any work inside the five (the Panthers didn't run any snaps inside the 10-yard line Thursday night).
• Davis picked up 35 of his 77 yards on the Panthers' first drive.
• Davis blocked on nine of his 30 pass snaps (30 percent), up from 12 percent over the previous five games, per PFF. He had only three pass-block snaps Week 6 and two in Week 7, so this was a spike, not a trend.
• Davis topped 70 percent snap share for a sixth straight week, but he's averaging only 12.7 carries, 3.3 targets and 56.9 yards in his past three games. His first three starts yielded 15.0 carries, 8.3 targets and 117.0 yards.
• Part of the problem has been poor efficiency, both for Davis individually (3.4 YPC, 3.8 YPT in Weeks 6-8) and the Panthers offense as a whole. Carolina averaged only 52.4 plays the past three games, while the defense averaged 66.3. The Panthers ran nearly 10 more plays per game (62.0) in Davis' first three starts compared to his past three.

Steelers (28) at Ravens (24)

Steelers

• Conner played less than 60 percent of snaps for the first time since Week 1, but it wasn't because he yielded more playing time to other running backs. The Steelers ran 19 of their 31 plays in the second half out of 01 personnel (4 WRs, 1 TE, 0 RB), a look they'd used on only seven snaps through six and a half games.
• Anthony McFarland played one snap and took a carry for one yard. Benny Snell strictly played special teams, dropping to 0 percent snap share after last week's 8 percent. Snell played at least 15 percent in each of Pittsburgh's first five games.
• Conner got both of the team's red-zone carries, including a one-yard TD.

Ravens

• Justice Hill played two snaps but didn't get any carries or targets.
• The Ravens ran 79 offensive plays, including 47 carries for 265 yards and a touchdown (Lamar Jackson had a 16-65-0 rushing line).
• Dobbins played 11 of 16 red-zone snaps, but it was Edwards who got the lay-up TD (a one-yarder in the second quarter). Both running backs were on the field for that touchdown, with Edwards lined up as a fullback and Dobbins as the deep back. Both guys played two of three snaps inside the 5-yard line.
• Dobbins played 12 of 15 third-down snaps, including 10 of 12 on 3rd-and-medium/long.

Patriots (21) at Bills (24)

Patriots

• Ryan Izzo was the only tight end active for Sunday's game, so the Patriots played 15 of their 64 snaps in 20 personnel (3 WRs, 2 RBs, 0 TE) with both White and Burkhead on the field.
• White played each of the seven snaps on 3rd-and-medium/long, with Burkhead also on the field for three of those.
• First-down snaps were evenly divided; 14 for Burkhead, 13 for Harris, 9 for White.
• Harris played only six of 31 snaps in the first half, taking five carries for 17 yards. The fourth quarter accounted for 10 of his 20 snaps, eight of his 16 carries and more than half of his rushing yards (56).
• The Patriots had two snaps inside the 5-yard line, both on the same drive — a one-yard gain for Harris followed by a Cam Newton rushing TD from two yards out on third down. White was on the field for Newton's score, after Harris had taken four carries for 39 yards on four consecutive snaps.
• Burkhead got three of six red-zone snaps, while White and Harris played two apiece.

Bills

• Moss played more snaps than Singletary for the first time, and the rookie also had his first NFL game with double-digit carries.
• Singletary played four of seven snaps on 3rd-and-medium/long, with Moss getting the other three.
• Moss played eight of 11 snaps in the red zone, taking six carries for 31 yards and two TDs. He scored from eight yards out in the first quarter, and from four yards out in the third. Singletary's only RZ touch was a one-yard loss from the Patriots' 15-yard line.
• Despite missing three games, Moss has more red-zone carries (13-12), more inside-the-10 carries (8-5) and more inside-the-five carries (5-3) than Singletary.

Titans (20) at Bengals (31)

Titans

• This was Henry's second-smallest snap share of the year, and he had season lows for both carries (18!) and targets (one).
• Henry played four of the five snaps in goal-to-go situations, taking two carries for six yards and a TD. He's the only player in the NFL who has taken every single one of his team's inside-the-five carries (11 attempts, five TDs) this year.
• Yes, that's the same D'Onta Foreman who stole our hearts in both 2018 and 2019. He made his first NFL appearance since Dec. 2018, occasionally subbing in for Henry on early downs. Foreman got each of his six snaps and all five of his carries before the fourth quarter.
• McNichols played each of the five snaps on 3rd-and-medium/long.
• Henry played at least 71 percent of snaps in each of Tennessee's first three games, but he's now been at 60 percent or lower in three of the past four. It hasn't had any negative impact on his production, at least not yet. Losing some carries to Foreman and some targets to McNichols could be a bigger deal the next few weeks, with the Titans facing Chicago, Indianapolis and Baltimore. Of course, there's no guarantee Foreman stays involved, and the Titans seem to find Henry plenty of work even when they also get other backs some touches.

Bengals

• Joe Mixon (knee) missed a second straight game, and this time Perine got significant work. The previous week, Bernard got 13 carries and five targets on 76 percent of snaps, while Perine had only two touches on 25 percent.
• Perine got 12 of his 24 snaps and six of his 10 carries in the fourth quarter. Prior to the final quarter, Bernard played 73 percent of snaps and had a 10-4 advantage in carries and 3-1 lead in targets.
• Perine did steal a one-yard TD in the second quarter, and he got a carry from the Titans' 5-yard line in the third quarter (Bernard had a six-yard TD catch on the next snap). Bernard's first TD came on a 12-yard run, converting a 3rd-and-1. Bernard got seven of the 11 red-zone snaps.

Raiders (16) at Browns (6)

Raiders

• This has been the same deal all year. Jacobs gets a lot of carries, with Booker occasionally subbing in on early downs and Richard handling most of the clear passing situations.
• Jacobs fell shy of three targets for the first time all year. The Raiders attempted only 24 passes on a windy afternoon, and Jacobs was used as a blocker on four of his 15 pass snaps, per PFF. He still played three more pass snaps than Richard.
• Jacobs got eight red-zone carries and one target, accounting for all of the RZ opportunities for Vegas RBs. But he was stuffed at the goal line on three consecutive plays in the fourth quarter, so he finished the game without a TD. Jacobs averaged 5.0 YPC on his 23 carries that weren't in the red zone.

Browns

• Hunt handled an every-down role again, following 90 percent snap share Week 7. He didn't get a on of touches, as the Browns were limited to 47 plays in a game where neither team did much passing and the Raiders dominated possession.
• Hunt played 26 of 26 snaps in the second half.
• Nick Chubb (IR - knee) might be ready to play after a Week 9 bye.

Colts (41) at Lions (21)

Colts

• Coming off back-to-back games with only one carry, Wilkins more than doubled his previous season highs of 17 snaps and nine carries.
• Taylor played 14 of 22 snaps in the first quarter, taking six carries for eight yards and catching two passes for nine yards. Wilkins played just four snaps in the opening quarter but gained 32 yards on three touches.
• Wilkins then played 10 of 20 snaps in the second quarter, taking four carries for 24 yards. Taylor played seven snaps and took four carries for 14 yards, while Hilton played four snaps and caught two passes for 51 yards and two TDs (from 29 and 22 yards out).
• Wilkins really took over in the second half, playing 24 of 34 snaps (71 percent) and taking 14 carries for 57 yards and a touchdown (from one yard out).
• Even if we exclude the final drive in garbage time, Wilkins played 17 of 27 snaps (63 percent) during the competitive part of the second half, taking 10 carries for 35 yards.
• Taylor played only five snaps after halftime, with one carry for no gain and one incomplete target. That carry came from the 1-yard line, but Taylor was stuffed, and Wilkins then punched it in on the next play and also added a two-point conversion. Not a great sequence for Taylor's fantasy managers.
• Wilkins is still at only 3.7 YPC this year, compared to 3.9 for Taylor and 2.9 for Hines. The Colts are No. 7 in PFF's team grades for run blocking, while they're 26th in the grading for ballcarriers.
• Coach Frank Reich used the infamous term "hot hand" after Sunday's game when he was discussing Wilkins' increased usage. And Philip Rivers mentioned Taylor was "nicked up".

Lions

• The snap share was a new high for Swift, topping 44 percent from Week 1 and 45 percent from Week 7. But the Lions were shut down on the ground, with Swift and Peterson combining for only eight rushing yards on 11 carries.
• Swift also established a new high for routes/db, though Johnson played eight of 13 snaps on 3rd-and-medium/long.
• Swift played each of Detroit's 19 snaps in the fourth quarter, which accounted for three of his four targets but only one of his six carries. Prior to the fourth quarter, Swift's snap share was only at 45 percent, not so far ahead of Peterson (29 percent) and Johnson (26 percent).
• Johnson played only three snaps that weren't on third downs, but one of those was a nine-yard TD reception, his first score since Week 2. He's now finished without a carry in back-to-back games.

Vikings (28) at Packers (22)

Vikings

• Cook was back at full strength after a bye week, scoring four TDs and handling the second-largest snap share of his career (93 percent in Week 17 of 2018). The adductor strain that held him out from Week 6 appears to have fully healed.
• Cook leads the NFL with eight TDs on carries inside the 10-yard line, though he's only sixth in number of rush attempts (14) in that area.
• Cook has scored 11 touchdowns in five and a half games, with 17.1 or more PPR points in every appearance.

Packers

• Williams handled a massive role again, following 24 touches on 89 percent snap share the previous week. He's a rock-solid RB1 if Aaron Jones (calf) continues to miss time.
• Dillon officially got all six of his touches on a single drive in the first half, but he also had a carry and a reception wiped out by penalties on back-to-back snaps in the third quarter.

Jets (9) at Chiefs (35)

Jets

• Perine led the backfield in snaps for a third straight week, though he was down from 58 and 70 percent in the previous two games. He's seen 2-to-3 targets and 8-to-11 carries in each game since the Jets got rid of Le'Veon Bell.
• Gore has taken either 10 or 11 carries in each game since Bell was cut.
• Johnson took three carries for 15 yards on the final three plays of the game, deep into garbage time. He did get three snaps and one target before the fourth quarter, occasionally mixing in behind Gore and Perine.

Chiefs

• Edwards-Helaire played 25 of 46 snaps (54 percent) through three quarters, with Bell getting 17 (37 percent) and Williams three. Bell actually had a 6-4 carry advantage over CEH at the end of the third quarter, and with both guys seeing three targets.
• Edwards-Helaire then added eight snaps and two carries in the fourth quarter, while Bell didn't play at all after the third.
• Bell's final touch of the afternoon was an unsuccessful 4th-and-1 carry with 7:20 remaining in the third quarter. It wasn't clear if the Chiefs were frustrated with him or just figured they didn't need him in an easy win.
• Thompson strictly played in fourth-quarter garbage time. Williams got five of his eight snaps in the final quarter.

Los Angeles Rams (17) at Miami Dolphins (28)

Rams

• Henderson was removed in the second quarter with a thigh injury and didn't play at all after halftime. He took 11 of 19 snaps in the first quarter, with a 5-2 carry advantage and 1-0 target advantage over Brown.
• Brown played 28 of 41 snaps in the second half (68 percent), with Akers getting the other 32 percent.
• Akers had no carries and four snaps in the previous two games, Weeks 6 and 7. He started the first two games of the year but hasn't seen much work since he missed two weeks with a rib injury.

Dolphins

• Jordan Howard was a healthy scratch again.
• Gaskin led the team in targets and played a season-high 88 percent of snaps. His previous highs were 75 percent in Week 3 and 70 percent in Week 6.
• In five starts, Gaskins is averaging 16.8 carries for 60.2 yards and 0.4 TDs, plus 4.0 catches for 27.2 yards on 4.8 targets.
• Gaskin carried the ball on six consecutive plays on Miami's final drive, picking up 18 yards before the team was forced to punt. His 3rd-and-1 conversion with 2:45 remaining sealed the game.

Chargers (30) at Broncos (31)

Chargers

• Jackson made a third straight start. While his rushing volume and snap share have varied, he's seen either five or six targets in each start, averaging 12.3 carries for 57.3 yards and 4.3 catches for 39.7 yards, with 49 percent of snaps.
• Kelley played 11 of 20 snaps in the first quarter when he took three carries for 28 yards, but he saw only 10 snaps and four carries (plus one target) throughout the rest of the game, taking a backseat to Jackson and Pope.
• Pope had one touch and 15 percent of snaps the previous week in a win over Jacksonville. Prior to that, his only appearance in 2020 was four snaps in the Week 5 loss to New Orleans. Pope averaged 6.7 yards on 10 carries in Sunday's loss, plus he was third on the team in targets (seven).
• Kelley got the only red-zone carry, plus he and Pope got one red-zone target apiece. They logged three RZ snaps apiece, while Jackson didn't have any.
• Jackson still hasn't scored a TD this year, and he hasn't gotten a red-zone carry or target in his three-game run as the starter. In fact, he's played only three of 16 RZ snaps, fewer than both Kelley (seven snaps, two carries, two targets) and Pope (six snaps, one target).
• Jackson played seven of 12 snaps on 3rd-and-medium/long, with Pope getting four and Kelley one.

Broncos

• Lindsay sparked the comeback with a 55-yard TD run midway through the sixth quarter, cutting the Chargers' lead to 24-10.
• This was the first full game with both Gordon and Lindsay healthy. Lindsay has played in three other games, but two of those he left early with injuries and the other Gordon missed.
• Gordon and Lindsay got four snaps apiece in the red zone, but neither had a carry or target in that area. The Broncos ran only one play in a goal-to-go situation — the game-winning, one-yard TD pass to KJ Hamler on the final snap of the afternoon.
• Lindsay played 15 first-down snaps to Gordon's 14.
• Gordon had a 12-9 snap advantage on second down, a 9-5 advantage on third down and a 1-0 advantage on fourth down.
• Gordon played eight of 13 snaps on 3rd-and-medium/long, with Lindsay taking the other five.

Saints (26) at Bears (23) — OT

Saints

• Despite being held out of the end zone for a third straight game, Kamara maintained his streak of scoring more than 19 PPR points in each appearance this year. He also maintained his league lead in scrimmage yards, now up to 987 in seven games (141.0 average).
• Murray has double-digit touches in all but one game this season, averaging 10.1 carries for 40.3 yards and 1.4 catches for 13.0 yards. Both his TDs came in the same game.
• Kamara played seven of the Saints' eight red-zone snaps, with Murray getting three. Both guys had one carry and one target in the red zone.

Bears

• Montgomery has played 81-to-85 percent of snaps in each game since Tarik Cohen's season-ending ACL injury, averaging 14.8 carries for 50.2 yards and 0.2 TDs, plus 4.2 catches for 27.2 yards on 5.8 targets. Montgomery has produced only 3.4 YPC and 4.7 YPT in that stretch, but he's seen 10 or more carries and five or more targets in every game.
• Montgomery's 4.2 YPC on Sunday was his best average since Week 2, boosted by a 38-yard scamper in the second quarter. After halftime, the Saints limited him to 12 carries for 23 yards and two catches for 16 yards.
• Patterson played six snaps in the backfield, two from the slot and two out wide, per PFF. He's taken 6-to-11 backfield snaps every week this year, lining up in the backfield for 68 percent of his snaps.

49ers (27) at Seahawks (37)

49ers

• Coleman returned from IR but then re-injured his knee in the first quarter. He got the start and played six of the team's first nine snaps.
• Hasty was the lead runner after the first quarter, taking nine carries to McKinnon's two. McKinnon had a 4-1 edge in targets and a 56-44 advantage in snap share.
• McKinnon played 12 of 14 snaps on third down, including nine of nine on 3rd-and-medium/long.
• McKinnon played 20 of 28 snaps in the fourth quarter with the 49ers down big. Hasty actually played more snaps (59 percent) between the second and third quarters.
• Raheem Mostert (knee) won't be eligible to return from IR until Week 10, and it isn't clear he'll be ready at that time. The Niners have a Week 11 bye, so Week 12 might be the wiser target date for a return. Meanwhile, Jeff Wilson (ankle) will be out for at least two more games, and possibly more.

Seahawks

• Chris Carson (foot) and Carlos Hyde (hamstring) both were inactive, while Homer played through a knee contusion from the previous week and was limited to seven snaps.
• Dallas got eight carries and three targets in the red zone, including a two-yard TD reception and a one-yard TD run. He played each of Seattle's five snaps inside the 49ers' 5-yard line.
• Homer played four of 10 snaps on 3rd-and-medium/long, while Dallas got only one. The Seahawks ran the other five plays without any RBs on the field.
• Homer played all three snaps in the two-minute drill at the end of the first half (it ended up being a rare three-and-out).

Cowboys (9) at Eagles (23)

Cowboys

• Elliott had a long gan of 11 yards and averaged only 3.3 YPC, dropping him to 3.9 YPC for the year. He did play 78 percent of snaps, after dropping to 61 and 66 percent the previous two games in blowout losses. He also avoided any fumbles for a second straight week.
• Pollard did well Sunday night, but he's also at 3.9 YPC for the season and is averaging only 6.4 yards on 12 receptions. Elliott hasn't been good this year, but the real problem is the poor blocking, which figures to continue given all the O-line injuries.
• Elliott hasn't scored a TD in the three games without Dak Prescott, averaging 14.3 carries for 52.3 yards and 3.3 catches for 15.7 yards. Uh oh.

Eagles

• Jason Huntley played two snaps. He didn't have a carry or target.
• Scott's snap share was similar to the previous week (69 percent, with 12 carries and five targets). He's a solid RB2 if Miles Sanders (knee) misses more time, though a Week 9 bye should give the Eagles' starter a good chance to prevent that from happening.
• Scott has played 7-to-13 snaps in Sanders' four healthy games this year, averaging 2.5 carries and 1.0 target. It's possible the Eagles give Scott a little more work in the second half of the season, even if Sanders stays healthy.

RB Waiver Targets for Week 9

This list is limited to players on less than 50 percent of Yahoo rosters as of Monday afternoon.

(List will be updated Tuesday)

1. JaMycal Hasty
2. Malcolm Brown
3. DeeJay Dallas
4. Cam Akers
5. Jordan Wilkins
6. La'Mical Perine
7. Damien Harris
8. Gus Edwards