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Kenyan Drake RB | GB
Cardinals' Kenyan Drake: Held in check by Rams' front
Drake registered 36 yards on 10 carries while securing all three of his targets for 15 receiving yards during Sunday's 18-7 loss to the Rams.
Though Chris Streveler had his moments in relief of Kyler Murray (ankle) for roughly three-quarters of the contest, the upside of Arizona's offense was undoubtedly capped without a healthy Murray under center. Drake garnered 77 percent of the Cardinals' RB carries, but that fact doesn't carry as much weight given the pass-first game script Arizona was ushered into. The Cardinals never led in the second half, with the offense making just two trips into the red zone all day (one coming via a Jordan Hicks interception). Drake wraps up his first full season in Arizona with 955 rushing yards and 10 rushing scores over 239 attempts, along with 25 catches for 137 yards. The 26-year-old is set to become an unrestricted free agent in March, while Chase Edmonds remains under contract with the Cardinals through 2021.
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Nyheim Miller-Hines RB | NO
Colts' Nyheim Hines: Collects 67 total yards in win
Hines rushed twice for 17 yards and secured six of seven targets for 50 yards in the Colts' 28-14 win over the Jaguars on Sunday. He also returned four punts for 40 yards.
Hines was a complete afterthought in the ground game with Jonathan Taylor exploding for a career-high 253 yards and two touchdowns, but he paced the Colts in receptions and receiving yards in a game during which Indianapolis stuck to a conservative passing attack. Hines' carry total was his lowest since Week 9, but his reception total qualified as his second highest of the season. Given Taylor's late-season surge, Hines projects to primarily fill the pass-catching role he carries out so effectively in next weekend's wild-card matchup against the Bills.
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Darwin Thompson RB | LV
Chiefs' Darwin Thompson: Big game in expanded role
Thompson rushed 14 times for 45 yards and a touchdown and caught all seven of his targets for 65 yards and another score in Sunday's 38-21 loss to the Chargers.
Thompson made the most of his opportunity to start with both Clyde Edwards-Helaire (ankle) and Le'Veon Bell (knee) not featuring Sunday. The second-year pro notched his first touchdown of the campaign with a one-yard rush during the second quarter, then hauled in an eight-yard pass to score in the fourth. Overall, Thompson led Kansas City in both rushing and receiving, showing good versatility to perhaps inspire the team's confidence should the Chiefs be short-handed in the backfield at any point during the playoffs.
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Jonathan Taylor RB | IND
Colts' Jonathan Taylor: Explodes for career-best effort
Taylor rushed 30 times for 253 yards and two touchdowns and brought in one of two targets for one yard in the Colts' 28-14 win over the Jaguars on Sunday.
As his final numbers imply, Taylor consistently terrorized the Jaguars defense, ripping off a game-long 56-yard run on his second carry of the day and subsequently notching touchdowns of one and 45 yards in the second and fourth quarter, respectively. The rookie had an uneven first nine games as a pro, but he bounced back to finish with 74 or more rushing yards in each of his last six contests, scoring seven touchdowns over his last four games. Taylor also proved to be a solid receiver with a 35-298-1 line through the air, and he'll now look to carry over the significant momentum of this performance into a wild-card matchup against the Bills on the road next weekend.
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James Conner RB | ARI
Steelers' James Conner: Tallies 62 total yards
Conner rushed the ball nine times for 37 yards in Week 17 against the Browns. He added five receptions for 25 yards.
Conner led the Steelers' backfield with nine carries, though the team attempted only 20 total rushes for the game. He remained involved as a receiver and has combined for 10 receptions and 70 yards across his last two games. Conner ends the regular season with 936 total yards, falling shy of 1,000 for the second consecutive campaign. He will presumably serve as the team's lead back throughout its playoff run prior to entering the offseason as a free agent.
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Aaron Jones RB | MIN
Packers' Aaron Jones: Scores in big win
Jones rushed 11 times for 42 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 35-16 win over the Bears. He also caught four of five targets for 43 yards.
Jones' production was evenly split between the ground and the air as he again displayed his versatility while topping 80 scrimmage yards. The tailback's 11th touchdown of the campaign, however, came on the ground when Jones rushed in from four yards to give the Packers a commanding lead late in the fourth quarter. By helping Green Bay secure the top seed in the NFC, Jones will now get a week off before taking the field in the divisional round of the playoffs.
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Antonio Gibson RB | NE
Football Team's Antonio Gibson: Active Sunday
Gibson (toe) is active for Sunday's game in Philadelphia, Kyle Stackpole of Washington's official site reports.
Gibson is playing through a turf toe injury at the moment, which sidelined him Weeks 14 and 15 before he mustered 69 yards from scrimmage on 13 touches last Sunday against the Panthers. Washington can clinch the NFC East with a victory Sunday, so Gibson may attempt to increase the 30-percent share of the offensive snaps that he garnered Week 16.
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Gus Edwards RB | LAC
Ravens' Gus Edwards: Tallies 60 rushing yards
Edwards carried the ball 12 times for 60 yards in the Ravens' Week 17 win over the Bengals. He added one reception for 10 yards.
Despite drawing no carries in the fourth quarter, Edwards reached double-digit rushing attempts for the second consecutive game to close the regular season. His role with the team has remained remarkably consistent, as he has now had between 139 and 153 total touches across each of his four campaigns. He has never surpassed 1,000 total yards, though his 852 yards from scrimmage in 2020 were the highest of his career. He'll likely continue to split duties in the Ravens' backfield with J.K. Dobbins throughout the team's playoff push.
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D'Andre Swift RB | CHI
Lions' D'Andre Swift: Scores in season finale
Swift rushed 12 times for 54 yards and one touchdown while securing three of three targets for 16 yards during Sunday's 37-35 loss to Minnesota.
While he ceded a good chunk of the work in the ground game to Adrian Peterson, Swift again drew the start and ultimately paced the backfield in touches for the eighth time in his last eight games. After starting the season slowly as a depth option behind Peterson, the rookie will finish the campaign with 878 total yards and 10 scores, averaging nearly 80 total yards and a score in his eight starts as one of the few bright spots in Detroit's 5-11 2020 campaign. With Peterson no longer under contract beyond this season, the future is especially bright for Swift.
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Ronald Jones RB | DAL
Buccaneers' Ronald Jones: Gets into end zone in return
Jones rushed 12 times for 78 yards and a touchdown in the Buccaneers' 44-27 win over the Falcons on Sunday.
Making his return from a two-game absence as a result of a finger injury and stint on the reserve/COVID-19 list, Jones was efficient with his modest number of opportunities. The third-year back's long run of the day went for just 16 yards, so he consistently gained positive yardage versus a Falcons defense that had been stingy against the run all season. Jones' lack of passing game work was a disappointment, but now that he garnered some game action prior to the end of the regular season, the USC product should be ready for a full workload in a first-round playoff matchup against either the Giants or Washington next weekend.