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Ezekiel Elliott RB | LAC
Cowboys' Ezekiel Elliott: Finds end zone versus Chiefs
Elliott carried 27 times for 93 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 28-17 win over the Chiefs.
Fresh off the latest delay of his impending six-game suspension, Elliott wound up averaging an uninspiring 3.4 yards per carry while managing a long run of just 11 yards. Nevertheless, he still churned out production and scored his fifth touchdown over the last three games on a two-yard plunge in the third quarter. Elliott continues to enjoy a massive workload on a weekly basis, but it remains unclear if and when disciplinary action against him will go into effect. It came out this week that his legal personnel could be working toward a settlement with the league, making his status for next week's game against the Falcons even murkier.
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Marlon Mack RB | ARI
Colts' Marlon Mack: Held below 30 yards
Mack rushed nine times for 29 yards and wasn't targeted in the passing game during Sunday's 20-14 win over the Texans.
Mack was out-touched 20-9 by Frank Gore. Indianapolis' offense struggles to create scoring opportunities, and Mack continues to serve as little more than a change-of-pace option behind Gore, so the rookie fourth-rounder still offers minimal value in standard formats.
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C.J. Anderson RB | LAR
Broncos' C.J. Anderson: Held to 13 yards
Anderson rushed for 13 yards on nine carries in Sunday's 51-23 loss in Philadelphia.
The commentators aren't kidding when they say that Denver's offense begins and ends with Anderson. In Denver's three wins this season, Anderson has averaged 118 total yards per game. In its five losses, Anderson has averaged just 43.8 total yards. It's hard to see it getting much better for Anderson as the Broncos are seeing a familiar formula used against them. Defenses are stuffing eight and nine men in the box to take away Denver's rushing attack early and force Trevor Siemian or Brock Osweiler to beat them on the outside. That strategy has worked, and Denver has fallen behind so often that it forces the team to abandon the run.
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Christian McCaffrey RB | SF
Panthers' Christian McCaffrey: Gets 20 touches in victory
McCaffrey rushed 15 times for 66 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 20-17 win over the Falcons. He also caught five of six targets for 28 yards.
McCaffrey had averaged just over five carries per game since Week 1, but after veteran Jonathan Stewart lost two fumbles during the first quarter, the team turned to the rookie a career-high 15 times in the rushing game. Not only did McCaffrey take advantage of his opportunities by posting a season-best 4.4 yards per carry, but he also scored his first rushing touchdown. Despite getting more involved on the ground, McCaffrey still made his usual impact through the air, catching at least five passes for a fifth straight game. Combined, McCaffrey put together the type of high-volume, dual-threat performance many expected he'd have more regularly this season, perhaps marking a breakthrough ahead of next Monday's visit from the Dolphins.
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Joe Mixon RB | HOU
Bengals' Joe Mixon: Scores against Jags
Mixon rushed for 31 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries and added 15 yards on three catches in Sunday's 23-7 loss to the Jaguars.
Mixon put the Bengals on the board late in the first half when he took a zone read around the bend and sneaked into the end zone for a seven-yard score. It was only Mixon's second score of the season, and he's managed to top four yards per carry just once thus far in 2017. However, he remains valuable so long as Cincinnati keeps pushing the ball to him. Mixon has had at least 14 touches in five of his last six games. The only other Bengals back to touch the ball on Sunday was Giovani Bernard, who logged a pair of rushes.
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Andre Ellington RB | TB
Cardinals' Andre Ellington: Returns Week 9
Ellington (quadriceps) is listed as active Sunday at San Francisco, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.
Held out Week 7 due to a quad injury, Ellington followed up the Cardinals' bye with three limited practices. The activity was enough to clear him for his first action since Week 6, but the presence of Adrian Peterson clouds any potential contribution on the ground. Having said that, Ellington should serve as a safety valve for Drew Stanton in the passing attack.
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Rob Kelley RB | NO
Redskins' Rob Kelley: Suiting up Sunday
Kelley (ankle) is active for Sunday's game against the Seahawks.
Though Kelley has been cleared to suit up for the Week 9 contest, he won't be in store for a full workload after the ankle injury rendered him a limited practice participant throughout the week. Once he becomes further removed from the injury, Kelley isn't a lock to reclaim the bell cow role he held for the Redskins for much of the second half of his rookie season. Kelley has averaged less than 3.5 yards per carry in all but one of his five games this campaign and has already started to see Chris Thompson cut into his role as a result.
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Joe Mixon RB | HOU
Bengals' Joe Mixon: Set to start Sunday
Mixon will start at running back Sunday against the Jaguars with Jeremy Hill (ankle) inactive for the contest, Paul Dehner Jr. of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.
Hill had logged exactly four carries in each of the Bengals' last three games, so he was a de facto starter more than anything with head coach Marvin Lewis having committed to Mixon as the team's feature back. Nonetheless, Hill's absence will allow Mixon to enter the game for the Bengals' opening drive and could result in a couple extra touches for the rookie over the course of the day, thereby enhancing his fantasy outlook for the week.
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Andre Ellington RB | TB
Cardinals' Andre Ellington: Scheduled to play Sunday
Ellington (quadriceps), who is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the 49ers, will play in the contest, a source informed Adam Schefter of ESPN.
Ellington missed the Cardinals' last game in Week 7 against the Rams, but with a bye week to heal up from the quad injury, it looks as though the running back will be ready to go Sunday. Though the Oct. 10 acquisition of Adrian Peterson has resulted in fewer snaps and carries for Ellington, the Clemson product still ranks as head coach Bruce Arians' preferred pass catcher out of the backfield. That may allow Ellington to retain some appeal in deeper PPR settings, but it may be hard to justify rostering him elsewhere.
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Rob Kelley RB | NO
Redskins' Rob Kelley: On track to play Week 9
Kelley (ankle), who is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Seahawks, is expected to play in the contest, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.
While it doesn't appear that Kelley will miss his third game of the season, Rapoport notes that the running back won't be in store for a full workload Sunday. That doesn't come as much of a surprise, given that Kelley has seen fewer than 20 snaps in three of his last four appearances, with Chris Thompson emerging as Redskins head coach Jay Gruden's preferred option out of the backfield. With a meager 35 yards on 15 carries over the last two weeks, Kelley could end up falling behind rookie Samaje Perine on the depth chart if he fails to turn it around in the near future.