NFL Player News

Seahawks running back Thomas Rawls rushed 16 times for 104 yards in place of an injured Marshawn Lynch in Sunday's win against the Bears. 

Lynch, who was a game-time decision with a calf injury, played briefly in the first half (six touches) before leaving with a hamstring injury.

Fred Jackson is the No. 2 running back, but Rawls got almost all of the work after Lynch left. Rawls likely earned more work with his impressive performance if Lynch is limited next week. The Seahawks also have incentive to find out what they have in Rawls in case Lynch retires after this season.

Chargers running back Melvin Gordon ran 14 times for 51 yards in Sunday's game against the Vikings. He failed to haul in his lone target in the 31-14 loss.

The rookie has averaged a respectable 4.5 yards per touch through three weeks, but he has yet to receive more than 16 carries in a game and has been an afterthought in the passing game. Gordon possesses immense physical talent, but his role in the offense and the presence of Danny Woodhead and Brandon Oliver have limited his fantasy value early on.

Week 4 brings with it a favorable home matchup against the Browns that Gordon's owners should certainly look to exploit.

In Sunday's postgame media availability, Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said that running back Andre Ellington (knee) is expected to play next Sunday against the Rams, Mike Jurecki of FOX Sports 910 Phoenix reports.

Ellington has missed the last two games due to a PCL sprain in his right knee, but a limited practice Friday forecast that he's growing close to a return.

His practice participation this week will ultimately determine whether he makes an appearance in Week 4. If not, though, Chris Johnson should garner much of the RB workload yet again, with David Johnson serving in a change-of-pace role.

Cardinals running back Chris Johnson had 22 carries for 110 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns in Sunday's 47-7 win over the 49ers.

He also had one catch for 40 yards. Johnson was a beast early in the game, and showed good determination, constantly fighting for extra yaradge. He had both of his touchdowns in the second quarter, and almost had a third score on his 40-yard reception.

Johnson remains the starter and appears to be the workhorse, while Andre Ellington is out with a PCL injury, as rookie David Johnson had only seven carries for 25 yards Sunday. It will be interesting to see how Chris Johnson is used once Ellington returns, as David Johnson is considered a superior pass catcher, meaning he should get most of the work on passing downs. Next week, Johnson and the Cardinals will face the Rams.

Eagles running back Ryan Mathews rushed 25 times for 108 yards and caught two passes on four targets for 20 receiving yards and a touchdown Sunday against the Jets, though he lost a fumble. 

Starting in place of the injured DeMarco Murray (hamstring), Mathews had a lot of success against a Jets defense that had been very stingy this season, particularly against the run. His 23-yard receiving touchdown was on a one on one with linebacker Demario Davis, who had no shot at stopping the running back.

Backup Darren Sproles scored on a short-yardage situation, but Mathews is likely to get more of those touches if Murray has to miss any more time. Murray was questionable for the game and originally expected to play, but he apparently wasn't able to do enough in pregame warmups to warrant playing. If he has to continue sitting, Mathews will start Week 4 against the Redskins.

Ravens running back Lorenzo Taliaferro carried the ball three times for no yards and caught his only target for six yards in a loss Sunday to Cincinnati.

The second-year runner had a strong showing in limited work against Oakland, but he found the sledding much tougher in Week 3 and was minimally involved in the offense. Starter Justin Forsett struggled again and is now averaging 3.1 yards per carry on the season, but Taliaferro has yet to make his claim for an increased role.

The Ravens will head to Pittsburgh for a divisional showdown in Week 4.

Buccaneers running back Charles Sims totaled 11 yards on six carries and secured both of his targets for 41 yards and a touchdown in a Week 3 defeat to Houston.

Sims encountered a suffocating Texans run defense on his six totes, but turned in a beauty of a 32-yard touchdown reception. The second-year pro evaded multiple defenders after catching the ball a yard in front of the line of scrimmage, and then outraced several others downfield, punctuating the play with a flip into the end zone.

Sims continues to pay dividends through the air but has generally found tough sledding on the ground in his career to this point. He will try to remedy that next Sunday against Carolina.

Buccaneers running back Doug Martin had 14 carries for 46 yards in Sunday's 19-9 loss to the Texans.

Martin found himself in a diminished role Sunday, with the Bucs passing 36 times and only rushing 20. The highlight of Martin's 14 totes was a decisive 17-yard run up the middle early in the third quarter, but his day was non-descript otherwise.

After having secured all three passes thrown his way over the first two weeks, Martin was also not targeted in the passing game Sunday. Martin will look to regain a more extensive role next week when the Bucs head home to take on the Panthers in Week 4.

Raiders running back Latavius Murray carried it 26 times for 139 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's Week 3 matchup against the Browns.

Murray had a monster day in a balanced Raiders' offense that went for 469 yards of total offense Sunday. He caught one pass for 10 yards to give him a total of 27 touches on the day, which was very promising for Fantasy owners.

Murray is clearly the main workhorse in the Raiders' offense and if they continue to throw it around as successfully as they have over the last two games, the third-year back should have some large holes to run through. Murray will get a matchup against the Bears in Week 4.

Rams running back Benny Cunningham rushed once for 12 yards and caught both of his targets for 18 receiving yards Sunday against the Steelers.

Rookie Todd Gurley made his NFL debut Sunday and is clearly ahead of Cunningham on the depth chart. Additionally, Tre Mason led the team with nine carries, and while he and Gurley both failed to average even two yards per carry, Cunningham's still unlikely to get a significant workload if the other backs are healthy.