NFL Player News

Rams running back Benny Cunningham rushed for just 10 yards on four carries Sunday but caught all three of his targets for a team-high 38 receiving yards in his team's 13-10 win over the 49ers in Week 9.

Cunningham is well behind rookie Tre Mason in the running game but continues to have an impact in the passing game, and he now has managed 20 receptions for 167 yards and one touchdown as a receiver to go along with 173 rushing yards on 44 carries and two rushing scores. He'll likely play a similar role in Week 10 when the Rams face the Cardinals.

After sitting out Week 9 at Cleveland because of a sprained ankle, Buccaneers starting running back Doug Martin has now missed three games this year, and in all three, backup Bobby Rainey has gone for more than 100 yards combined rushing and receiving.

His most impressive effort came Week 2 against St. Louis, when he had 144 yards on 22 carries and 30 on three catches, but Week 9 was noteworthy in its own right. He had 87 yards on 19 carries and 34 on his only catch.

And that was with him having just four carries in the second half of a game that became something of a shootout -- or at least as much of one as the Buccaneers and Browns can have. Just imagine if he got an even workload from start to finish.

When you consider Martin's season-high in combined yards is only 74, you have to wonder why the Buccaneers would even go back to him, but since they've done it once before, you can't discount that possibility. Still, as the backup of an injury-prone running back whose performance alone has him on thin ice, Rainey is nothing short of must-own in Fantasy.

Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater did his best to get wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson involved during a 29-26 win Week 9 vs. Washington. Unfortunately, the duo had trouble getting on the same page.

Patterson was targeted seven times, including a few deep passes, but the second-year receiver finished with just one catch for 9 yards. It came after Patterson had one of his best games of the season in Week 8, totaling six catches for 86 yards.

Sunday was the third time this season Patterson had less than 10 receiving yards. The Vikings are back in action Week 11 at Chicago following their Week 10 bye.

It appeared that Buccaneers running back Bobby Rainey would run wild Sunday in Cleveland as a replacement for featured back Doug Martin. But he only ran wild for a while.

Rainey rushed for 22 yards on four attempts in the team's first possession, raced 34 yards with a screen pass minutes later, and continued to shred a poor Browns run defense. He ran 23 yards up the middle early in the second quarter and finished the first half with 80 yards on 15 carries.

The Browns, however, held him to just seven yards on four carries and no catches thereafter. Rainey will seek a more complete effort against visiting Atlanta next Sunday, though the possible return of Martin could severely limit his reps.

The Cardinals got a slew of offensive contributions in their Week 9 win at Dallas. Wideout Ted Ginn caught both his targets for 42 yards, and receiver Jaron Brown had two receptions for 15 yards, including an 11-yard touchdown.

No. 3 receiver John Brown secured two of five targets for 10 yards. Running back Robert Hughes added an 18-yard grab. They'll all play the Rams in Week 10.

Reports that Browns rookie running back Terrance West would receive more carries than established starter Ben Tate against visiting Tampa Bay on Sunday proved accurate. The former also outperformed the latter - which isn't saying much.

With a revamped offensive line failing to produce holes, West managed to rush for 48 yards on 15 carries and add a touchdown catch for two yards in which he got wide open for the flip from quarterback Brian Hoyer. Tate was held to a mere three yards in 10 attempts, but did contribute four receptions for 29 yards.

Jets running back Chris Johnson had one of his better games of the season, and New York running backs totaled more than 100 rushing yards during a 24-10 loss Week 9 at Kansas City.

Johnson led the way with a team-high 69 rushing yards on 11 carries. His longest rush went 21 yards. Chris Ivory added 22 rushing yards on eight carries, while Bilal Powell had 20 rushing yards on five carries. Although, no Jets running back had a touchdown Sunday.

Johnson was the only running back to catch a pass, totaling two receptions for 32 yards. He was targeted three times.

The Jets are back in action Week 10 vs. Pittsburgh.

Dolphins running backs Damien Williams and Daniel Thomas combined for 20 carries in a comfortable win over the Chargers in Week 9.

With the game well in hand and Lamar Miller (shoulder) injured in the second half, the Dolphins focused more on the ground game. Williams led the way with 28 yards on 11 carries and two catches for 23 yards. Thomas took eight handoffs for 9 yards and caught all two of his targets for 14 yards in a 37-0 victory.

If Miller is unable to play next week, the team will likely use Williams and Thomas for the majority of the carries against Detroit.

Vikings running back Jerick McKinnon rushed for a team-high 54 yards on 14 carries Sunday against the Redskins. However, he watched backup running back Matt Asiata total three rushing touchdowns and a two-point conversion in a 29-26 win.

McKinnon's best chance for a touchdown came early in the third quarter. However, he was pulled down at the 1-yard line following a 9-yard gain. One play later, Asiata had a 1-yard touchdown run.

McKinnon added three catches for 14 yards in the win. The rookie still doesn't have a touchdown in nine games (four starts). The Vikings are on a bye Week 10 before returning to action Week 11 at Chicago.

Cardinals running back Andre Ellington rushed 21 times for 95 yards (4.5 ypc) and caught all four of his targets for 39 yards and a touchdown in the Week 9 win at Dallas. It was Ellington's third straight game with 100-plus yards from scrimmage, and fourth in the past five.

Ellington's 1-yard scoring grab in the fourth quarter was his fourth total touchdown this season. He has at least 25 touches in four straight games.

Ellington plays the Rams in Week 10.