NFL Player News

Stevenson carried the ball four times for 34 yards and caught one of two targets for two yards in Sunday's 33-24 loss to the Dolphins.

He wound up finishing third in the Patriots' backfield in touches behind Damien Harris (15) and Brandon Bolden (nine) after missing a large part of the middle of the game with a head injury, but Stevenson was still very productive on the ground with the workload he did get. Assuming the injury isn't serious, he should be more involved in the offense Saturday in the wild-card round against the Bills, a defense he ran for 78 yards against on 24 carries in their first meeting this season.

Harris carried the ball 11 times for 37 yards and a touchdown and caught all four of his targets for 36 yards in Sunday's 33-24 loss to the Dolphins.

The Patriots deployed a three-headed backfield, with Brandon Bolden (nine touches) and Rhamondre Stevenson (five touches despite missing part of the game with a head injury) also seeing significant action, but Harris was the busiest and most productive of the trio. He finishes the regular season with an impressive 15 rushing touchdowns in addition to 1,061 scrimmage yards, both career highs, and he figures to be a major part of the game plan Saturday in the wild-card round as the Patriots face a Bills defense he gashed for 214 rushing yards and four TDs in their two prior meetings this season.

Ekeler registered 16 carries for 64 yards and also caught five of his 12 targets for 35 yards to go along with two total touchdowns in Sunday's 35-32 overtime loss to the Raiders.

Ekeler tied the Colts' Jonathan Taylor for the most total touchdowns this season despite playing one fewer game. The dynamic running back asserted himself as one of the premier red-zone specialists in the NFL and answered his critics by remaining mostly healthy despite a massive increase in workload. The fifth-year running back did fall short of his lofty projections in terms of receptions, but that's in large part because Ekeler was forced to take on far more carries than anticipated. The Chargers are expected to aggressively target a complimentary back to Ekeler this offseason either through the draft or free agency, but after a career year nearly across the board in his first season in Joe Lombardi's system, it's hard to imagine the genie getting put back in the bottle.

Jacobs (ribs) rushed 26 times for 132 yards and a touchdown while catching both of his targets for 12 more yards in Sunday's 35-32 overtime win over the Chargers.

Jacobs suited up for this game despite carrying a questionable tag into the weekend, but the rib injury did not appear to hamper Las Vegas' top rushing option. The 28 touches tied the 23-year-old's previous season high, while the 132 rushing yards set a new highwater mark heading into the postseason. As for the regular season, Jacobs had a down year (872 rushing yards, 348 receiving yards and nine touchdowns over 15 games) and finished below 1,000 rushing yards for the first time in his three seasons with the Raiders. Las Vegas has seen its offense experience major coaching and scheme changes throughout the year, but Jacobs figures to be heavily involved if the Raiders stand a chance to upset the Cincinnati Bengals in the first round of the playoffs.

Singletary carried the ball 19 times for 88 yards and a touchdown and caught both his targets for 24 yards and a second TD in Sunday's 27-10 win over the Jets.

The third-year running back continued his impressive finish to the regular season, scoring both his TDs in the fourth quarter as the Bills finally pulled away from the Jets and locked up their second straight AFC East title. Singletary racked up an impressive 485 scrimmage yards and six touchdowns (five rushing, one receiving) over the final five games of the regular season, giving him massive momentum heading into Saturday's wild-card round clash with the Patriots.

Carter carried the ball nine times for 19 yards and failed to catch any of his three targets in Sunday's 27-10 loss to the Bills.

The Jets' offense couldn't get much going on the ground or through the air in their season finale, and Zach Wilson ended up being the team's leading rusher with 24 yards. Carter showed flashes of upside in his first NFL campaign, finishing with 964 scrimmage yards through 14 games, and barring a significant offseason addition, he should be the primary option in the Jets' backfield in 2022.

Patterson rushed six times for 21 yards and brought in both targets for 14 yards in Washington's 22-7 win over the Giants on Sunday.

Patterson was back in a complementary role a week after posting 98 total yards against the Eagles with Antonio Gibson available Sunday. The rookie showed some promise in limited action in 2021 by rushing for 266 yards and adding another 73 through the air on 11 receptions, and he appears set to compete for a potentially larger role behind Gibson in training camp this summer.

Vaughn rushed 10 times for 29 yards and a touchdown and brought in both targets for 12 yards in the Buccaneers' 41-17 win over the Panthers on Sunday.

Vaughn took on lead-back duties with Ronald Jones (ankle) sidelined and logged double-digit carries, but he wasn't able to do much on a yards-per-carry basis. However, his two-yard scoring run early in the third quarter salvaged his day somewhat from a fantasy perspective, and he finished the season with two scores over the last three games. The health of both Jones and Leonard Fournette (IR-hamstring) will certainly be the subject of plenty of scrutiny this coming week leading up to Sunday's wild-card matchup against the Eagles, and if at least one of the two remains on the shelf, Vaughn would presumably be in line for at least a complementary role in the contest.

Akers (Achilles) rushed five times for three yards and caught all three targets for 10 yards in Sunday's 27-24 overtime loss to the 49ers.

Akers made his 2021 debut in Week 18 after missing practically the entirety of the regular season with an Achilles injury. The 21-year-old was eased back into action with just eight total touches while Sony Michel (21-43-0) retained his lead-back role. Akers is more versatile of an asset and provides more upside than the current veteran starter, so it wouldn't be surprising to see Akers carve out a larger role -- assuming good health -- in a showdown between the Rams and Cardinals in the first round of the playoffs.

Evans rushed seven times for 35 yards and brought in four of five targets for 24 yards in the Bengals' 21-16 loss to the Browns on Sunday.

The rookie checked in second in carries to Trayveon Williams with Joe Mixon (reserve/COVID-19) unavailable and Samaje Perine active but not logging any touches. Evans was able to record his second NFL touchdown in the same manner -- through the air -- as his first back in Week 6 when he recorded a four-yard scoring grab with 2:26 remaining in the contest. Despite the uptick in activity Sunday, Evans will almost certainly revert back to a healthy scratch or special-teams work when the postseason begins for the Bengals with a wild-card matchup against a to-be-determined opponent Saturday afternoon.