![\"Jonathan](\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/06\/USATSI_25121841_168402708_lowres-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/p>\nBye-Mageddon has come and gone, and thankfully, there won’t be another week this season when six different teams will all be off at once. We welcome back fantasy contributors like Ashton Jeanty, Kenneth Walker, Kyren Williams, Jahmyr Gibbs, David Montgomery, Bam Knight, and Travis Etienne, while we will have to make do without Saquon Barkley, Breece Hall, Quinshon Judkins, Bucky Irving, and Rachaad White. The main benefit of this bye week is that injured players like Saquon, Bucky, and Quinshon will get extra time to heal and should be healthy come week 10. As for week 8, the backs that did play put on a show. Well, I should say, most of them did. Bijan Robinson and Christian McCaffrey owners had to be wondering what was going on as they watched Jonathan Taylor, James Cook, Breece Hall, and Saquon Barkley mess around and put up over 30 fantasy points last week. I’m sure we’ll see most of those names on the Week 9 running back rankings, so let’s dig in and see where they all land.<\/p>\n
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OK, this is getting a little ridiculous. Taylor scored three touchdowns for the second week in a row and also for the fourth time this season in just eight games. He’s basically the Babe Ruth of fantasy football right now, as he’s scored more touchdowns than some entire teams and is practically lapping the field in total fantasy points scored. At this point, his matchup can be against a literal brick wall, and I would start him and expect at least 20 points. This week, he gets the Steelers<\/a>, and while I think they will limit him a bit, he’s still the best option available in any format. Leave him in your lineup and enjoy your Sunday.<\/p>\n To say Week 8 was a bit of an anomaly for CMC would be quite the understatement. Heading into his matchup against the Texans<\/a>, McCaffrey was averaging 19 carries and just under 10 targets per game. This past weekend, the 49er<\/a> offense couldn’t get going, and McCaffrey was held to a mere 8 rush attempts and 6 pass targets. Houston does have the top-ranked defense overall in the league against the run, and while we didn’t expect his output to be quite so low, an off day isn’t a total shock. The shocking part was how little CMC was able to touch the ball in the first half. In his defense, the 49ers defense needs to shoulder the blame as Houston possessed the ball for over 23 minutes in the first half and scored on each of their first-half drives before throwing an interception on a Hail Mary to end the frame. San Francisco should find the sledding much easier this weekend at Met Life Stadium against a Giants<\/a> defense that is ranked 30th in the league against the run. I expect a huge bounce-back game from CMC and won’t be surprised if he ends the week as the overall RB1.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Bijan is another first-round stud that was stuck in second gear last Sunday. In what appeared to be the most cherry matchup of the week against Miami<\/a> and their porous run defense, the game turned out to be a total nightmare for Bijan and his fantasy owners. We’re going to go ahead and blame Kirk Cousins here, who seemed like he wasn’t on the same page as any of his teammates all day. Bijan couldn’t get it going as he was only given the ball 9 times with an additional 3 pass targets. His 4.3 fantasy points were his lowest since Week 15 of his rookie year back in 2023, and I don’t expect that to happen again. This week, he gets a tough Patriots<\/a> run defense that has yet to allow a 100-yard rusher this season and has stifled every opposing running back to less than 50 yards. The season high for rushing yards in a game came from Josh Allen in Week 5 with 53 yards. The Falcons<\/a> are going to make a concerted effort to get Bijan going, and I think this is the week the dam finally breaks against Mike Vrabel’s defense. There isn’t a scenario where this guy ever gets put on your bench, so you’re starting him no matter what. Don’t be scared, and don’t crack and trade him. He’s elite and will be a top 3 back in fantasy when the season ends.<\/p>\n Gibbs and friends are coming off their bye week and will host the Vikings<\/a> and J.J. McCarthy, who’s apparently all healed from his ankle injury. Coincidentally, the healing was completed while watching Carson Wentz run for his life all game long against the Chargers<\/a> before he was finally caught and put down with a shoulder injury that will require surgery, ending his 2025 season. But the plan all along was to put McCarthy back under center this week, wink-wink. If the Viking offense struggles at all, this game will get ugly fast, and Sonic and Knuckles will be the main beneficiaries. Expect both Gibbs and Montgomery to eat this week against a Minnesota defense that is ranked 24th against the run and just allowed Kimani Vidal to run all over them last Thursday night. In their last game before the bye, the Lions<\/a> split the carries between Gibb and Monty much more evenly than they did the previous week against Kansas City<\/a>. The trend seems to be that when the Lions win big, they spread the ball between their backs, and when they need juice on offense, they lean heavily on the more explosive Gibbs. Montgomery is a great guy, and we love his toughness and how great he is with his sister, but he’s just not as good as Gibbs. At some point this season, the touches will swing more heavily in Gibbs’ favor, but that may not start this week. Either way, he’s a great start at home against Minnesota.<\/p>\n For more fantasy football analysis, check out our Week 9 Quarterback Rankings<\/a>!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n The bang-up job that Miami did last week against Bijan Robinson and the Falcons shot their defense up the rankings against the run. They moved all the way up to #28 in the league, and this week they get to face Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson on a short week. If my attempt at sarcasm was yet another swing and a miss, please know that I still think they stink. Last week was an anomaly, and they are going to allow close to 200 yards on Thursday night to the Ravens<\/a> rushing attack. Get King Henry in, play Lamar, heck, you can even play Keenan Mitchell, and you’ll probably get a decent point total. The Falcons seem like they are prone to the occasional meltdown, and last week they melted down in grand fashion against the Dolphins. Lamar is practicing in full and will be ready to go when the lights come on this Thursday night, and so will Derrick Henry and his bruising fullback, Patrick Ricard. This game may get ugly, and King Henry should find himself in the end zone multiple times for the second week in a row. The window to buy low on him is now closed as the Ravens have one of the best remaining schedules for running backs in the league. Hopefully, you didn’t panic and trade him away.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Coming back in that same game, I love Achane against the Ravens defense. The Baltimore front seven doesn’t have the speed to contain Achane, and it seems like Miami may have finally figured out how to use him alongside rookie running back Ollie Gordon. Achane is especially valuable in PPR leagues as he will get around 7 pass targets each week, as he did last week against the Falcons. He has scored double-digit fantasy points in every game this season, and he possesses the upside potential to be the overall RB1 in any given week. The Raven defense is currently ranked 28th in the league overall, and Achane’s special skill set can exploit them both as a runner and as a receiver. The Miami offense is going to run through Achane for as long as he can handle it. Get him in your lineup every week.<\/p>\n Coming off a game where he ran for 216 yards on 19 carries, there really isn’t anywhere to go but down for Cook. The good news is, he can do half of what he did against Carolina<\/a>, and he’ll still be a top 10 back for the week. This game should be an exciting one, and I expect there to be a bunch of points scored. Expect Cook to get involved with the passing game again, after not even being targeted in each of the last 2 games and not having a single catch since Week 4 against the Saints<\/a>. In last year’s AFC championship game, Cook had 3 catches for 49 yards through the air while adding 85 yards and 2 scores on the ground. He will be a focal point of the Bills<\/a> offense this week in a game the Bills really need to win if they want to get past the Chiefs come playoff time.<\/p>\n Is Kimani Vidal this good, or is it the Chargers offensive blocking scheme and play calling? It’s most likely a little bit of both. Either way Vidal has put up over 100 yards twice now since taking over for the injured Omarian Hampton, and this week he gets the Tennessee Titans<\/a>. The Tennessee defense has been Swiss cheese this year against opposing running backs, and they’re fresh off a game where they watched Jonathan Taylor put on a show with 155 total yards and 3 scores. Vidal is no JT, but he is poised for another big week in a game that Los Angeles should control from the onset. It’s getting to the point that if you own both Omarian Hampton and Vidal, you actually might hope Hampton is held out for as long as it takes for him to be completely healthy, as it could end up being a bit of a timeshare when he does finally return.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I love the matchup here, and I would have Swift ranked much higher, but it seems like the groin injury he is nursing has affected how much Ben Johnson is willing to use him lately. The Bears are being cautious with their lead back, holding him out of practice during the week so he is ready to take the field come Sunday. He has been very effective, despite the injury, but last week he was held to just 11 rushing attempts while Kyle Monangai got close to 40% of the touches, much like in their previous game. Ben Johnson has always liked using two backs, and there is room enough for two to eat this week against a Bengals<\/a> defense that is currently ranked dead last in the league against the run and dead last overall. My only concern is that if the game is a blowout, we may not see much of Swift in the second half. If Joe Flacco plays for Cincinnati and this game becomes a shootout, there is a good chance Swift ends the day as a top 5 fantasy back.<\/p>\n Last week, Javonte got his revenge game against a tough Broncos<\/a> defense, and he made them feel his presence with a couple of rushing touchdowns. The scores saved his fantasy day, because he was otherwise not super effective with just 42 rushing yards on 13 totes. The Cowboys<\/a> did try and stay committed to the run despite playing from behind in the second half, but it was rookie Jaydon Blue who handled most of the carries late in the game with the Cowboys behind. This Monday night, the Cowboys should be able to have their way at home against an Arizona<\/a> defense that struggles to stop the pass while ranking 12th overall against the run. There will be a bunch of points scored by both sides, and Javonte should handle any goal-line opportunities that Dallas may have. He is a much safer bet than some other options, like Josh Jacobs, who is nursing a calf injury, or even Kyren Williams, who has been ceding carries to Blake Corum for the Rams.<\/p>\n2) Christian McCaffrey vs. Giants<\/h3>\n
![\"Week](\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/10\/USATSI_21655630-1024x683.jpg\")
3) Bijan Robinson vs. Patriots<\/h3>\n
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4) Jahmyr Gibbs vs. Vikings<\/h3>\n
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\n5) Derrick Henry vs. Dolphins<\/h3>\n
![\"derrick](\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27258128-1024x683.jpg\")
6) De’Von Achane vs. Ravens<\/h3>\n
![\"Fanduel](\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/09\/DeVon-Achane-Dolphins-1024x683.jpg\")
7) James Cook vs. Chiefs<\/h3>\n
![\"Bills](\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/05\/Bills-James-Cook-Contract-1024x764.jpg\")
8) Kimani Vidal vs. Titans<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27401024-1024x683.jpg\")
9) D’Andre Swift vs. Bengals<\/h3>\n
![\"D'Andre](\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/10\/DAndre-Swift-Injury-1024x683.jpg\")
10) Javonte Williams vs. Cardinals<\/h3>\n