Top 5 Rushing Matchups
Cincinnati vs Arizona
After being shut out in Week 15, the Bengals proved last week that, despite the season not going according to plan, they have no plans to quit, rebounding nicely, with a 45-point explosion in Week 16 against Miami. Chase Brown was effective but has fallen back into the 10- to 13-carry-per-game range instead of the 15+ we saw in the three-game stretch from Weeks 11-13. Where he has excelled is as a receiver, as the team has been trying to find different ways to get Brown the ball, as he has at least four receptions in three of his last four games. At 846 yards, the team has to be at least thinking about a 1,000-yard season from Brown, which would be a career-high after he fell just 10 yards short in 2024. If there is a bright spot for the Bengals in the 2025 season, it is that their offensive line has shown signs of improvement compared to earlier in this season. Amarius Mims, who was one of the league's worst tackles to start the year, has improved enough to at least be at a league-average level, while rookie left guard Dylan Fairchild has shown signs of improvement as well.
Arizona has been abysmal for a while now, but its run defense has simply been non-existent. This run defense started the season strong, but over the last three weeks, it has allowed a staggering 180 rushing yards per game, 27 yards more than the next-worst team in Cleveland. Last week, both Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier ran for more than 75 yards, while Robinson added 92 yards receiving as the duo totaled 247 yards from scrimmage. In Weeks 14 and 15, both Blake Corum and Jawhar Jordan topped 100 yards rushing against Arizona. The team continues to play Darius Robinson, who was the team's 2024 first-round pick and is one of the worst defensive linemen in the NFL, while Dalvin Tomlinson is having a career-worst season after he was brought in to solidify the middle of this defense. At linebacker, neither Akeem Davis-Gaither nor Cody Simon provides a consistent run-stopping threat. At safety, Budda Baker is a solid run defender, but the problem is that the Cardinals are being forced to play two rookies at cornerback, so Baker has had to focus more of his attention on pass coverage to help Willie Johnson and Denzel Burke due to the injuries to this team. The team may also be without Baker this week as he missed practice on Wednesday with a concussion. For a defensive-minded coach, this seems like a team that will be in search of a new head coach in a few weeks, given how poorly this team has played defensively this season and how they've now lost seven in a row.
Pittsburgh at Cleveland
Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell have combined to be one of the more effective committee backfields in the NFL this season. Last week, we saw Warren post a career-high 143-yard performance against Detroit, while Gainwell continued to excel in the receiving game, recording 78 yards and a touchdown that led the team in the Steelers' victory over the Lions. Gainwell now has at least five receptions in each of his last three games and five of his last six, as he's been a much-needed addition to the passing game for a team that has limited options outside of DK Metcalf. Speaking of Metcalf, the team will be without their number one receiver for the remaining two regular-season games, after a fan incident caused him to be suspended. This will cause the Steelers to turn to their running backs even more than they have in recent weeks, as their top receiving options will be Adam Thielen and the tight ends.
Cleveland is a team that has quit defensively. They're solely focused on getting Myles Garrett the sack record, and have shown no interest in stopping the run over the last three games. Over the last three weeks, James Cook (117 yards 2 touchdowns), D'Andre Swift (98 yards 2 touchdowns), and Tony Pollard (161 yards 2 touchdowns). The amount of arm tackling that the Browns have had the last several weeks is equivalent to what you would typically see in a high school game, not an NFL team. This is still a very talented team, but the team has had to focus more on stopping the pass over the last two weeks, given the injury to Denzel Ward, who has missed the last two weeks but could return this week after a limited practice on Wednesday. Carson Schwesinger remains a bright spot for the Browns to build around, as he is a tackling machine with 10 or more tackles in each of his last seven games. Unfortunately for Cleveland, the loss of Maliek Collins has left a hole in the middle of the defense that has put as much pressure on this linebacker unit as it has. If Schwesinger does not make the tackle, the safeties of Ronnie Hickman and Grant Delpit are not consistent enough run-stoppers, which has led to some of the big runs that they've allowed over the last few weeks.
Dallas at Washington