Hidden Stat Line: Week 9 Backfield Breakdown

One might think that as the season moves along we'd see more teams deciding on a single lead back and fewer deploying committees. But if you thought that, you'd be wrong, as six different teams had three running backs get significant playing time in Week 9. On top of that, seven other teams split their touches pretty evenly between two players, leaving us with only 13 teams where one guy had a commanding share of the opportunities.

And even then, well-established workhorses like Derrick Henry, Josh Jacobs and Ezekiel Elliott saw their backups handle more snaps and touches than they had in previous weeks. Dalvin Cook, on the other hand, seems to have fully resigned his backup to mop-up duty. And, in other news, the Week 9 snap leaders were just who you'd expect.... Chase Edmonds, J.D. McKissic and Duke Johnson — true NFL royalty, the lot of them.

I guess my point, if I even have one, is that this would be an especially good week to read Backfield Breakdown. And what do you know, you're already in the right place!

Week 9 RB Leaderboard

+MNF

Bold = Top 10 in a stat.

Classify Me, Captain

Three-down Role with 80-plus Percent Snap Share

1. Houston Texans - Duke Johnson
2. Arizona Cardinals - Chase Edmonds

Three-down Role, But Subbed Out Sometimes

1. Green Bay Packers - Aaron Jones
2. San Francisco 49ers - Jerick McKinnon
3. Atlanta Falcons - Todd Gurley
4. Carolina Panthers - Christian McCaffrey
5. Minnesota Vikings - Dalvin Cook
6. Chicago Bears - David Montgomery
7. Pittsburgh Steelers - James Conner
8. Dallas Cowboys - Ezekiel Elliott

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

1. Jacksonville Jaguars - James Robinson
2. Tennessee Titans - Derrick Henry
3. Las Vegas Raiders - Josh Jacobs

Two-Man Split

1. Denver Broncos - Melvin Gordon & Phillip Lindsay
2. Buffalo Bills - Zack Moss & Devin Singletary
3. Washington FT - Antonio Gibson & J.D. McKissic
4. Baltimore Ravens - J.K. Dobbins & Gus Edwards
5. Los Angeles Chargers - Joshua Kelley & Kalen Ballage
6. New Orleans Saints - Alvin Kamara & Latavius Murray
7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Leonard Fournette & Ronald Jones
8. New York Jets - La'Mical Perine & Frank Gore

Not-So-Pretty Committee

1. Seattle Seahawks - DeeJay Dallas, Travis Homer & Alex Collins
2. New York Giants - Wayne Gallman, Alfred Morris & Dion Lewis
3. Indianapolis Colts - Jonathan Taylor, Nyheim Hines & Jordan Wilkins
4. Kansas City Chiefs - Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Le'Veon Bell & Darrel Williams
5. Detroit Lions - D'Andre Swift, Adrian Peterson & Kerryon Johnson
6. Miami Dolphins - Salvon Ahmed, Jordan Howard & Patrick Laird
7. New England Patriots - Damien Harris, Rex Burkhead & James White

(The classification list is based on Week 9 usage only. It's not meant as a prediction for the future, or as a commentary on anything that transpired before Week 9.)    

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.)

Packers (34) at 49ers (17)

Packers

• Jones (calf) returned from a two-game absence, while Jamaal Williams and AJ Dillon both missed Thursday's game after being placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
• Dexter Williams was called up from the practice squad and played four snaps in the second quarter. He suffered a knee injury and didn't play at all after halftime.
• Jones played only seven of 16 snaps in the fourth quarter. He played 33 of 50 (66 percent) through the first three quarters, accounting for 11 of the 18 RB carries (61 percent) and five of the nine RB targets (56 percent).
• The workload was right around Jones' 2020 averages — 15.0 carries, 5.6 targets, 57 percent snap share. He didn't have his best game, but he handled his usual role and now has 10 days to prepare for a home game against Jacksonville.
• Ervin played 16 of his 22 snaps in the backfield, per PFF. Prior to Thursday, he'd played only four of his 108 offensive snaps in the backfield, while 84 had come from the slot.

49ers

• Tevin Coleman (knee), Raheem Mostert (ankle) and Jeff Wilson (ankle) were inactive, and all appear in danger of missing time beyond Week 9.
• The 49ers also had a bunch of key players missing at other positions, namely LT Trent Williams and WRs Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel (hamstring) and Kendrick Bourne. All have since been activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list, though Samuel could miss additional time with the hamstring injury.
• Hasty took 12 carries to McKinnon's three Week 8 at Seattle, but the veteran got the Week 9 start and saw 2-3x the rookie's workload in every key volume stat (snaps, carries, targets, routes).

Broncos (27) at Falcons (34)

Broncos

• Gordon and Lindsay have now played two full games togethers, Weeks 8 and 9. Lindsay is averaging 7.0 carries and 3.0 targets, while Gordon is averaging 7.0 carries and 4.0 targets.
• Gordon has run 51 routes to Lindsay's 30 the past two weeks, so the target gap could between them could be a little wider moving forward. On the other hand, the Broncos largely played from behind the past two weeks, which worked in favor of Gordon getting more playing time and Lindsay less.

Falcons

• Qadree Ollison was active ahead of Ito Smith for a second straight week, playing five snaps (7 percent) without any carries or targets.
• Gurley got each of the three RB carries in the red zone, including his fifth TD of the year inside the 5-yard line. Gurley has 41 of the team's 47 RB carries in the red zone this season, essentially mirroring what he did in Los Angeles last year (poor YPC, limited receiving work, lots of TDs).

Seahawks (34) at Bills (44)

Seahawks

• With Chris Carson (foot) and Carlos Hyde (hamstring) both out again, Dallas got a second straight start. But his snap share dropped from 79 percent the previous week to 31 percent in Sunday's loss, and his touches fell from 23 to nine. Collins was a new addition to the backfield, but the bigger factors were game script and Homer being healthier (he played through a knee injury the previous week).
• Dallas played eight of 13 snaps in the first quarter and eight of 17 in the second quarter, entering the break with six carries for 27 yards and two catches for eight yards. He added a four-yard TD in the third quarter, but that was his only touch after halftime.
• Homer played 23 of 35 snaps in the second half, with Collins getting seven and Dallas four.
• Homer blocked on 10 of his 23 pass snaps (44 percent), per PFF. His 37 percent rate for the season is second to only Royce Freeman (49 percent) among running backs.

Bills

• Moss got more snaps than Singletary for a second straight week, the only two times that's happened this year. Looking only at the past two games, Moss has a 23-16 advantage in carries, while Singletary has a slight edge (4-3) in targets.
• Moss scored a one-yard TD, after scoring from eight and four yards out the previous week against New England. The rookie has played 10 of 16 snaps in goal-to-go situations the past two weeks, taking four carries to Singletary's one. If we narrow it down to inside the 5-yard line, Moss has a 9-3 snap advantage and a 3-1 carry advantage.
• Moss and Singletary got five snaps apiece on 3rd-and-medium/long. The first-down workload was also evenly split, with Moss getting 19 snaps and Singletary taking 15.

Ravens (24) at Colts (10)

Ravens

• Justice Hill played three snaps without any targets or carries. He has five snaps but no touches in two games with Mark Ingram (ankle) out of the lineup.
• Edwards was the starter, and he also took each of the four snaps in goal-to-go situations, all of which were carries for him and all of which occurred in the second half. The first of the four was a four-yard loss and a lost fumble, but the Ravens came right back to Edwards for three consecutive goal-line carries (the last being a TD) on the very next drive. Persistence!
• Edwards and Dobbins shared clock-killing work in the fourth quarter when Baltimore led by multiple scores. Edwards took three straight carries on one drive, and Dobbins got three in a row on the next (the play-calling was a little bland).
• Dobbins played three of seven snaps on 3rd-and-medium/long, with Hill getting two and Edwards none. The Ravens used 10 personnel (one TE, four WRs) on two of those seven plays.
• With Ingram out the past two weeks, Dobbins has a 90-50 snap advantage over Edwards, but the carries are tied at 27, and Dobbins only has a 4-3 edge in targets. Plus, Edwards has played six of seven snaps inside the 5-yard line, scoring two TDs on five carries in that area.

Colts

• Taylor got the start and took two carries for 14 yards on the opening drive. Wilkins then came in for the second drive, but Taylor finished that series with a pair of carries inside the 10-yard line, including a one-yard TD.
• On the third drive, Taylor coughed up a fumble — his first in the NFL — that was returned for a touchdown. That was at the end of the first quarter, and he then played only five of 20 snaps in the second quarter and six of 31 in the second half.
• Excluding the first quarter, Hines played 20 of 51 snaps (39 percent), with Wilkins getting 19 (37 percent) and Taylor only 11 (22 percent).
• Wilkins, Taylor and Hines are all below 4.0 YPC for the year. Taylor has been disappointing, no doubt, but his 3.9 YPC is actually best of the group, and he's also caught 20 of 21 targets for 178 yards (8.5 YPT). Where's Marlon Mack when you need him?

Giants (23) at Washington Football Team (20)

Giants

• With Devonta Freeman (ankle) out another week, Gallman got a second straight start and a third consecutive game with double-digit carries. He's played 53, 43 and 57 percent of snaps the past three games, with 15, 13 and 15 touches and exactly one TD in each game.
• Gallman's two-yard TD was the only snap New York had inside the Washington 10-yard line.
• Over the past three weeks, Gallman has played eight of 10 snaps inside the 10-yard line, taking three carries for five yards and three TDs. Dion Lewis got the other two snaps, seeing one carry and one target inside the 10.
• Morris did most of his damage on a single drive in the second quarter, taking five carries for 44 yards to set up an Evan Engram touchdown.
• Lewis got 12 of 12 snaps on 3rd-and-medium/long, but he played only three other snaps all game.
• In the first half, Gallman played 21 of 45 snaps (47 percent), with Lewis at 29 percent and Morris at 24 percent.
• Gallman then bumped up to 72 percent snap share after halftime (23 of 32), with Morris at 16 percent and Lewis at 13 percent. Gallman had an 8-3 carry advantage over Morris in the second half, when the Giants were protecting a lead.

WFTs

• Peyton Barber played one snap and didn't touch the ball.
• Gibson lost a fumble at the end of a 21-yard catch-and-run on Washington's first snap of the game. It was his second fumble in the NFL, and he was back on the field for the next drive.
• Washington ran 15 of its 50 plays (30 percent) from 12 personnel (two RBs). They also used the two-back look on 19 snaps (29 percent) in the previous game, compared to just 26 snaps over the first six weeks of the season. Given the injury and performance issues at wide receiver, it makes sense that the team has increased its use of formations with both Gibson and McKissic on the field at the same time.
• McKissic played 15 snaps in the slot, tying a season high from the previous game (per PFF). He also got 26 plays in the backfield and four out wide, and his Week 9 snap share was 28 percentage points above his previous season high (55 percent, Week 4).
• Gibson lined up in the backfield on 24 of his 25 plays. He's taken just 12 snaps from the slot all year, plus 11 lined up out wide, per PFF.
• Gibson's one-yard TD was the only play Washington ran inside the Giants' 10-yard line.
• McKissic played seven of seven snaps on 3rd-and-medium/long. Gibson played only two.

Texans (27) at Jaguars (25)

Texans

• David was placed in the concussion protocol after leaving the game in the first quarter.
• Duke played 41 of 46 snaps (89 percent) after the first quarter, with Howell taking only five reps and finishing without any carries or targets.
• Duke lost a fumble in the second quarter but bounced back with a one-yard TD on the next drive. He struggled on the ground, with a long gain of only eight yards.

Jaguars

• Robinson's first game without Gardner Minshew was also his first without any catches. And it was the first time since Week 1 that the rookie got fewer than four targets.
• Robinson continued to get plenty of snaps even with Jacksonville playing from behind in the second half. His post-halftime snap share (71 percent) was nearly identical to his number for the entire game.
• Thompson played 10 of his 19 snaps on third downs. He also got two of two snaps on the final drive of the first half, with his catches for 12 and 6 yards setting up a Josh Lambo field goal. Last but not least, Thompson, played six of seven snaps on the final drive of the game, catching one pass for 13 yards. In other words, Robinson was on the field whenever there was any threat of a run play, while Thompson handled the snaps where everyone knew a pass was coming.

Panthers (31) at Chiefs (33)

Panthers

• McCaffrey was fantastic in his first game back from a lengthy absence, but he suffered a shoulder injury on the final drive.
• McCaffrey played 34 of 40 snaps (85 percent) in the first half, with Davis getting only nine (23 percent).
• The post-halftime split was closer to even in terms of snap share (58 percent for McCaffrey, 40 percent for Davis) and targets (five apiece), but McCaffrey had a 9-0 advantage in carries.
• McCaffrey played nine of 15 snaps on 3rd-and-medium/long.
• McCaffrey played five of six snaps inside the 10-yard line, with two carries and one target producing a pair of TDs.
• Curtis Samuel got six snaps in the backfield (per PFF) and took three carries for 13 yards. It was a little surprising to see his rushing/backfield involvement hold up even with CMac back in the lineup.

Chiefs

• Edwards-Helaire hit a season low for snap share for a third straight week. He played at least 60 percent of snaps in each of KC's first six games, before slipping to 53, 50 and now 40 percent.
• CEH is averaging 6.3 carries and 4.0 targets on 28.3 snaps since Bell started playing. Over the first six weeks of this season, the rookie averaged 17.8 carries, 5.2 targets and 46.5 snaps.
• Williams was reintroduced to the offense, playing 11 of 11 snaps on 3rd-and-medium/long. He also got nine of 10 snaps in the two-minute drill at the end of the first half, so there's no question Williams was the passing-down specialist Sunday. That's a problem for the fantasy outlooks of CEH and Bell, especially with Andy Reid leaning more pass-heavy the past couple weeks.

Lions (20) at Vikings (34)

Lions

• Johnson played five of six snaps on 3rd-and-medium/long. He also got 12 of 20 snaps in the fourth quarter with the Lions in their hurry-up offense and passing on nearly every play.
• Peterson got the start and got eight snaps and four carries in first quarter, but he took just 12 snaps and four carries over the final three quarters combined.
• Swift played only 33 percent of snaps after halftime, with three carries and three targets.
• Swift either had a carry or target on 18 of his 30 snaps, 60 percent. Over the past four weeks he's seen a carry or target on 60 of 125 snaps, 48 percent.
• Peterson got both snaps inside the 5-yard line, taking one carry for a four-yard loss. Looking at the past four games, Swift has a 4-3 advantage for inside-the-five carries, and a 6-4 advantage inside the 10.

Vikings

• Ameer Abdullah played one snap, a 22-yard TD reception with 15 seconds remaining in the first half.
• Cook played 19 of 22 snaps in the first half, plus 15 of 19 in the third quarter. His snap share only fell below 80 percent because Alexander Mattison got 12 of 17 snaps in the fourth quarter with Minnesota nursing a big lead.
• Mattison got 10 of his 12 carries in the fourth quarter, after Cook put the game away with a 70-yard TD run.
• Cook leads the league in rushing yards (858), rushing TDs (12) and total TDs (13), even though he's missed one and a half games and the Vikings already had their bye week.

Bears (17) at Titans (24)

Bears

• Midway through the third quarter, Montgomery coughed up a fumble that was returned for a touchdown. He was back on the field for the first play of the next drive, but he then suffered a concussion in the middle of the fourth quarter.
• Montgomery played 41 of 53 snaps (77 percent) through three quarters, down a tiny bit from the 81-to-85 percent range he'd occupied in each of the previous five games.
• Nall got each of his 10 snaps in the fourth quarter. Per usual, Patterson was getting the little bit of backup RB work behind Montgomery, prior to the injury.
• Artavis Pierce played one snap but didn't get any carries or targets. He could be part of a committee with Patterson and Nall if Montgomery isn't ready for MNF at Minnesota next week. The extra day of rest does give Monty at least one thing working in his favor.

Titans

• Zero targets for running backs? Philip Rivers does not approve.
• Foreman got two carries on the final drive, but he also had three in the first half while the game was still competitive. Henry already had McNichols stealing some work on passing downs, and now has Foreman chipping off a few carries on early downs. Of course, I'll say the same thing I said last week... the Titans still always find a way to put a bunch of food in The Big Dog's bowl (18 or more morsels of Kibbles 'N Bits carries in every game this year).

Steelers (24) at Cowboys (19)

Steelers

• Benny Snell played only five snaps (7 percent) on offense and took three carries for one yard, while Jaylen Samuels strictly played special teams.
• The workload problem for Conner was the same as Week 8 in Baltimore. It wasn't a matter of Pittsburgh's other RBs getting work, it was a matter of the Steelers repeatedly using 01 personnel (0 RB, 1 TE, 4 WRs) in the second half
• Pittsburgh used 10 personnel on 21 of 63 plays (33 percent), after using the look on 18 of 50 (36 percent) the previous week. Prior to Week 7, the Steelers had used 01 on only six of 407 plays all year.
• In the first half, Conner played 24 of 35 snaps (69 percent), with McFarland getting 17 percent and Snell at 14 percent. After halftime, Conner played seven of 33 snaps (21 percent) and McFarland played two (6 percent).
• This ended Conner's six-game streak with 15 or more carries in every contest. He's still a solid fantasy start in any format, but he could be more RB2 than RB1 if the Steelers make the four-wide sets a more permanent feature of their offense. The results suggest they should consider it, with Ben Roethlisberger posting a 140.9 passer rating and 8.4 yards per dropback in his 51 snaps from 01 personnel.

Cowboys

• This was the third time in the past four weeks Elliott has played less than two-thirds of the offensive snaps (61, 66, 65 percent), but the other two instances both were blowout losses. Week 9 was really the first time we've seen Pollard steal more than one-quarter of the snaps in a competitive contest.
• Elliott's averages in four games without Dak Prescott: 15.3 carries for 52 yards (3.4 YPC), plus 3.0 catches for 16.3 yards on 4.3 targets. Without any touchdowns.
• The Cowboys did lean on Zeke with the game on the line, giving him 19 of 24 snaps in the fourth quarter, including four carries and two targets.

Raiders (31) at Chargers (26)

Raiders

• Booker scored his TD from 23 yards out, while Jacobs got each of the four red-zone carries (including a 14-yard TD).
• Booker had season highs for snap share, carries and rushing yards... and it happened in a close game. He's now had five or more touches in four straight games, with Jacobs averaging 19.5 carries and 2.3 targets over the same stretch.
• For the season, Booker has produced 6.8 YPC on 33 carries, while Jacobs is at 3.7 on 161.
• Richard got seven of his nine snaps on third down.

Chargers

• Justin Jackson got the start but played only three snaps before leaving with a knee injury. Troymaine Pope was inactive due to a concussion, and Austin Ekeler (hamstring) remains on IR.
• Kelley played nine of 12 snaps on 3rd-and-medium/long, while Ballage didn't get any.
• Kelley had a 17-14 snap advantage over Ballage on first downs, and 15-11 on second downs. But the Chargers ran the ball far more often when Ballage was on the field.
• Ballage got four red-zone carries and one RZ target, though he played only seven of the 15 snaps in that area. Kelley got six red-zone snaps but no carries or targets.

Dolphins (34) at Cardinals (31)

Phins

• Myles Gaskin (ankle) and Matt Breida (hamstring) both missed the game. Technically, this was Howard's third start of the year, but Gaskin has been the "starter" for all practical purposes since the beginning of the season.
• Howard played 14 of 15 snaps in the first quarter, but just seven of 46 throughout the rest of the game.
• Ahmed played 26 of 46 snaps (27 percent) after the first quarter, with a 7-5 carry advantage over Howard in that time. If you want to narrow it down even further, Ahmed played 18 of 27 snaps (67 percent) in the second half, though he and Howard had the same number of post-halftime carries (four apiece).
• Howard played three of four snaps inside the 10-yard line, including both snaps inside the five. He accounted for both of Miami's red-zone carries, including a two-yard TD.
• Laird played five of six snaps on 3rd-and-medium/long.

Cards

• With Kenyan Drake (ankle) out for the first time this year, D.J. Foster was called up from the practice squad to work as the No. 2 RB. Foster played five snaps, getting one carry and one target.
• Edmonds played all but three snaps and cruised past Drake's season high of 20 carries. However, Edmonds didn't have a single run go for more than six yards, while QB Kyler Murray put up an 11-106-2 rushing line.
• Edmonds had three red-zone carries to Murray's two. Neither got any chances inside the 10-yard line, as the Cardinals ran just one play there (a TD pass to Maxxxxxxxxxx Williams).

Saints (38) at Buccaneers (3)

Saints

• Dwayne Washington played eight snaps, all in the fourth quarter, taking five carries for nine yards. It was his first work on offense this year, though he's been active for six games now as a special teams player.
• Ty Montgomery missed the past five games with a hamstring injury, but his absence from Sunday's game seems to have been a healthy scratch. Montgomery was activated from IR last week, after practicing for the past few weeks. He's just insurance for a Kamara injury, in all likelihood.
• Kamara finished with season lows for snap share, touches (14), total yards (49) and PPR points (15.9). But he found the end zone for the first time since Week 4, ending a mini-drought that defied logic.

Semi-pro Football Players Impersonating the Tampa Bay Bucs

• Jones was still the starter, but he finished with single-digit carries and exactly four targets for a second straight week. He played eight of his 16 snaps in the first quarter, seeing just one carry and two targets thereafter.
• Fournette played 32 of 40 snaps (80 percent) after the first quarter, albeit with only one carry.
• Ke'Shawn Vaughn was a healthy scratch, and LeSean McCoy was technically active but didn't play. Kinda strange that Bruce Arians had Fournette in the game over McCoy even at the very end of a massive blowout, right?
• Fournette now has played 56, 73 and 66 percent of snaps in three games since returning from a foot injury, averaging 9.0 carries, 6.3 targets per game and 69.7 yards per game. He hasn't scored a TD, but he has played 10 of the 17 snaps inside the 10-yard line, with Fournette and Jones getting three inside-the-10 carries apiece over the past three games. Both guys have some upside to see goal-line work, but only Fournette offers significant upside for receiving stats at this point.

Patriots () at Jets ()

Patriots - Coming Tuesday

• Harris has started five games in a row, averaging 12.6 carries for 70 yards and 0.2 TDs. He's been effective on the ground with 5.6 YPC, but he's caught only two passes for 26 yards on two targets.

Jets 

• Ty Johnson played two snaps.
• ESPN's Rich Cimini suggests Perine could get more playing time in the second half of the season.

RB Waiver Targets for Week 10

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

(List will be updated Tuesday)

1. Duke Johnson
2. J.D. McKissic
3. Cordarrelle Patterson
4. Kalen Ballage
5. Joshua Kelley
6. Jordan Wilkins
7. Tony Pollard
8. Brian Hill
9. Salvon Ahmed
10. Wayne Gallman