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We're hours away from watching the Jets and 49ers close out Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season but there is a lot of unpack from a Fantasy Football perspective from just the games played already. On the Sunday night recap of Week 1 Fantasy Football Today episode, the FFT team broke down every single game in its entirety. Today, we're going to focus on their takeaways from the running back position -- specifically the different backfield splits and goalline work. Let's dive right into it.

Quick reminder: We'll touch briefly on five interesting backfields below, but for the complete analysis of each interesting backfield split from Week 1, you'll find it on the Fantasy Football Today podcast below:

Patriots backfield

Those Fantasy managers who invested in Rhamondre Stevenson must be sitting pretty today as he looked like his old self in Week 1. Per Tru Media Sports, via Jacob Gibbs, Stevenson gained 118 of 120 rushing yards after contact. That's one of the best marks we've seen. He also played 80% of the Patriots' snaps -- a higher percentage than he played at any point in 2023. Game script could limit Stevenson's ceiling, but in non-PPR formats, this kind of snap share plus efficiency after contact will lead to high floor role this season. Antonio Gibson does not appear worth rostering at this time.

Texans backfield

Mixon was one of my most-rostered players this draft season because I loved the fit going from the Bengals' unimaginative blocking scheme to Bobby Slowik's under-center, outside zone scheme. In Week 1, Mixon gained 101 of 169 rushing yards after initial contact. That's more yards after contact than Mixon has compiled in a single game since Week 9 of 2022. His snap share wasn't as promising as the handful of backs who essentially never left the field in Week 1, but his performance made up for it.

Vikings backfield

There was preseason concern among Fantasy managers that Aaron Jones would fall into a complete split backfield with Ty Chanler in Minnesota, but the Vikings leaned on the veteran in Week 1 and he responded with a vintage performance from an efficiency standpoint. Jones gained 74 of 94 rushing yards after contact in his first game with the Vikings. Only J.K. Dobbins averaged more yards after contact per rush (7.8) than Jones (5.3) in Week 1.

Titans backfield

Tony Pollard gained 71 of 82 rushing yards after contact in his first game with the Titans. That was more than any single-game total from Pollard's 2023 season. He also played a lot more snaps than most anticipated. This wasn't an even time share with Tyjae Spears who was used primarily as the passing downs back --  Spears ran four more routes and played almost all of the 3rd down snaps, but was used sparingly otherwise.

Bengals backfield

There was early steam for Chase Brown in Fantasy drafts, but if Week 1 is any indication, Zack Moss is the running back you'll want to roster in 2024. Moss operated as the third down back, likely due to the trust the coaching staff has in his ability to pass protect. He played 10 snaps on third down compared to zero for Brown. He also operated as the red zone/goalline back. 

The FFT team discussed in depth the previous five backfields plus all of the other interesting groups including the Seahawks, Steelers and a lot more. Be sure to check out the episode for the complete analysis.