NFL Player News

Chiefs backup running back Knile Davis didn't play much of the first three quarters Week 8 against St. Louis, but after starter Jamaal Charles left early in the fourth quarter with his team up big, Davis reminded everyone he's a serviceable fill-in should the need for one arise. He ran 16 times for 49 yards and scored a touchdown on a 3-yard run midway through the fourth quarter.

Though he didn't have many yards per carry, 13 of his carries came with Charles out of the game in an obvious run-out-the-clock scenario. He showed his big-play ability with a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown earlier in the contest.

Again, Davis normally won't get so much playing time unless Charles goes down with another injury, but between this performance and what he did in Weeks 2-4, he deserves to be owned in all Fantasy leagues just for that possibility.

After rookie Tre Mason appeared to take a leading role Week 7 against Seattle, rushing for 85 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries, the Rams went running back by committee again Week 8 at Kansas City. Mason led the team in carries, but he had only seven. Meanwhile, Zac Stacy got five, and Benny Cunningham got four.

Stacy was once again the weak link, gaining just 17 yards. Though he's been the Rams' leading ball carrier this season, his longest run is only 16 yards. In this game alone, Mason had a run of 14 yards, and Cunningham had a run of 18 yards.

Coach Jeff Fisher said prior to Week 8 that Stacy could get 25 carries against the Chiefs, but clearly, he wasn't effective enough to justify so many. Frankly, he hasn't been effective enough to justify any at this stage of the game, but the Rams need more convincing. Because Mason was again their most effective rusher in Week 8, it's probably just a matter of time.

Of the three, Mason is the one to own right now even if you can't start him just yet. Cunningham has some appeal in deeper PPR leagues. Stacy is probably just a waste of a roster spot.

After a stretch of four games in which he caught no more than two passes for no more than 38 yards, Cordarrelle Patterson suddenly became the Vikings' go-to wide receiver Week 8 at Tampa Bay, making six grabs for 86 yards, both season-highs. His 12 targets were twice as many as any other Viking.

It was the role he was expected to play coming into the season, but with the change from Matt Cassel to Teddy Bridgewater at quarterback and the struggle to replace Adrian Peterson in the backfield, he kind of got lost in the shuffle. Neither Greg Jennings nor Jarius Wright has stood out enough in the receiving corps for him remain just a third wheel, though.

The Vikings offense is still a work in progress, and the catching staff may have come to realize it's better off giving Patterson a chance to make plays. It's too early to say how relevant he'll be the rest of the way, especially since his ankle seems to be at less than 100 percent, but if somebody cut him in your league, you may want to make a play for him.

Granted, Doug Martin didn't play at all in the fourth quarter because of an ankle injury, but even before his departure, fellow Buccaneers running back Bobby Rainey was the more effective of the two. In terms of running the ball, their numbers were similar -- Martin had 10 carries for 27 yards and Rainey had eight for 25 -- but Rainey played a much bigger role in the passing game, catching six passes for 41 yards.

True, the Buccaneers prefer Rainey on passing downs, and he's remained a relevant contributor in that phase of the game since filling in for an injured Martin in Weeks 2 and 3. But as a runner, he's been at least on par with Martin and probably even better. For the season, he has averaged 4.6 yards per carry to Martin's 2.9.

Rookie Charles Sims' eventual return from an ankle injury could complicate the situation, but if I own Martin, I'm handcuffing Rainey to him. And if I'm desperate for running back help, I might add Rainey even if I didn't own Martin. Injury or not, changes are coming.

When the Ravens listed a perfectly healthy Bernard Pierce among their inactives for Week 8 at Cincinnati, it probably seemed like good news for Justin Forsett owners. Pierce had been a thorn in their sides, short-changing Forsett with a short touchdown run each of the last two weeks.

But Forsett wasn't the one to benefit from Pierce's absence. Lorenzo Taliaferro was, scoring not just one touchdown but two -- and both on runs of more than 5 yards.

Forsett was still the primary rusher, getting 17 carries to Taliaferro's seven, and he got a chance from the Bengals' 2-yard line in the first quarter. But when he failed with it, the Ravens seemed all the more inclined to go with Taliaferro inside the 10-yard line.

Taliaferro may be even more of a danger to Forsett than Pierce was. The Ravens trusted Pierce in short-yardage situations, but with an average of just 3.6 yards per carry, he wasn't a threat to break a long one. With Sunday's performance, Taliaferro is averaging 4.4 yards per carry, and again, neither of his touchdowns came at the goal line.

It doesn't mean you sit Forsett in Fantasy. He's been pretty reliable no matter who the Ravens have paired with him. But he's not as safe as he appeared to be at this time last week. And Taliaferro is worth adding on his own merit.

Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer found eight different receivers Sunday against Oakland and six of them caught two or fewer passes.

That group included wideouts Taylor Gabriel, who raced 48 yards with a screen pass midway through the first quarter and finished with two catches for 60 yards, and Miles Austin (2-34), tight end Jim Dray (2-27) and running backs Terrance West (1-10) and Isaiah Crowell (1-8). West also rushed for 11 yards on seven carries while Crowell added a carry for one yard.

Colts wideout Hakeen Nicks gained a starting spot for Sunday in Pittsburgh due to the absence of Reggie Wayne and did little with it.

Nicks managed just one catch for 27 yards as one of several small offensive contributors. Also in that group was wideout Griff Whalen, who caught one pass for 23 yards, and running back Dan Herron, who chipped in with a reception for five yards while adding two yards on one carry. Tight end Coby Fleener also caught one for four yards.

If you own Patriots running back Shane Vereen, you were probably excited to start him after his two-touchdown performance last week. And you had every reason to be. He was even the CBSSports.com Start of the Week for his matchup against the Bears.

But unfortunately, the one thing that could ruin him in Week 8 (other than injury, of course) came to fruition. The ever-clever Patriots out-clevered everyone again, deciding that a more traditional running back -- specifically, the heretofore unknown Jonas Gray -- would be a better fit for their game plan. He did fine, rushing for 86 yards on 17 carries, so you can't really fault the Patriots. But dang, a little heads-up would have been nice.

But of course, Bill Belichick wouldn't be Bill Belichick if he gave heads-ups to the media, and he's been around long enough for us to know what getting with him and the Patriots offense. They've always liked to mix and match at running back. Losing their preferred option doesn't change anything.

So is Vereen still valuable in Fantasy? Sure, in PPR leagues and as an every-now-and-then play in standard leagues. But now that Gray appears to have the Stevan Ridley role, you could argue he's just as valuable.

The Cardinals got a slew of offensive contributions in their 24-20 win over the Eagles. Among them, tight end John Carlson caught two of six targets for 16 yards and running back Robert Hughes had two catches for 13 yards.

Wideout Jaron Brown added a 7-yard reception. They'll all visit the Cowboys in Week 9.

Raiders running back Darren McFadden might have received many more carries Sunday against the host Browns had his team not been behind the entire game. But he made good use of the 12 he did get - at least until one huge mistake.

McFadden rushed for 59 yards for a 4.9 YPC average. He also caught four passes for 26 yards. He began strong with a 16-yard burst up the middle on his first carry, but his fumble in Browns territory with 1:12 left in the third quarter and his team down just 9-6 proved deadly. The Raiders never recovered.

He will seek a more complete effort when Oakland plays at Seattle next Sunday.