NFL Player News

Murray did not record a carry or target in Saturday's 24-22 win over the Chargers.

Murray has served as the No. 2 running back behind James Cook most of the season and leads all Buffalo running backs with four rushing touchdowns, but it's noteworthy that Leonard Fournette saw five carries in a tight game compared to none for Murray. Fournette -- who joined the Bills' practice squad in October -- has plenty of cred and is five years younger than Murray, so it'll be interesting to see how the Bills split up the backup carries the rest of the way. With Josh Allen up to 13 rushing touchdowns on the season, no one besides Cook holds anything more than speculative value in the Buffalo running back corps.

Fournette rushed five times for 20 yards and was not targeted in the receiving game in Buffalo's 24-22 win over the Chargers on Saturday. He also returned one kickoff for 17 yards.

Perhaps Playoff Lenny, who was elevated from the practice squad earlier in the day, was brought up with just that in mind, as the Bills are fighting hard for a postseason spot. James Cook is the main back in this offense, but it now seems pretty open for backup work between Fournette, Latavius Murray and Ty Johnson (shoulder). Fournette looked strong and fresh in his limited work, and the coaching staff has to like the fact that he volunteered for return duty. We'll see if this continues as the Bills try to win their final two games to seal a playoff berth, while it's worth noting that Murray did not receive a carry Saturday and Johnson missed the contest.

Johnson rushed once for two yards during Sunday's 30-12 loss to the Buccaneers.

Jacksonville fell behind early and rushed the ball 13 times in the blowout defeat, with just seven of those carries going to running backs. Johnson has a solid grip on the No. 2 tailback job but isn't likely to be major factor in the offense down the stretch with starter Travis Etienne healthy.

McLaughlin had six carries for 37 yards and caught four of five targets for 30 yards in Sunday's 26-23 loss to the Patriots.

McLaughlin maximized his time on the field Sunday, converting 10 combined touches into 67 yards from scrimmage. The opposite could be said for starter Javonte Williams, who netted just 19 yards on 14 touches in the loss to New England. McLaughlin has been Denver's most efficient rusher this season, but he has spent most of the year operating as the team's third option behind Williams and veteran backup Samaje Perine. Perhaps the undrafted rookie will get more looks against the Chargers on Dec. 31 after Sunday's loss all but sealed the Broncos' fate in regards to making the playoffs this year.

Harris carried the ball seven times for 21 yards in Sunday's 26-23 win over the Broncos.

Harris appeared in his second game this season and saw increased involvement in the offense. He was inefficient with his chances and also had no involvement as a pass catcher. Harris has limited fantasy appeal as a result, though he should continue to see work as long as Rhamondre Stevenson (ankle) is sidelined.

Williams had 11 carries for 24 yards and a touchdown while catching all three of his targets for a loss of five yards in Sunday's 26-23 loss to the Patriots.

Williams finished with negative receiving yards and 20 or fewer yards from scrimmage for the second game in a row. He also coughed up his first fumble of the season. Unlike last week's dud against Detroit, the 23-year-old was able to offset the low yardage total with a short touchdown run in the first quarter. Williams also caught one of Russell Wilson's successful two-point attempts in the fourth quarter to give another boost to his managers' fantasy scores Sunday. Despite his recent struggles, Williams figures to lead Denver's backfield against the Chargers on Dec. 31.

Elliott rushed the ball 12 times for 27 yards in Sunday's 26-23 win over the Broncos. He added nine receptions on 11 targets for 33 yards and a touchdown.

Elliott led the team with 12 rushing attempts due to Rhamondre Stevenson (ankle) still being sidelined, though he surprisingly ceded seven carries to Kevin Harris. Despite his ineffectiveness on the ground, Elliott was a frequent dump-off option for Bailey Zappe and came through with a 15-yard touchdown catch early in the third quarter. Though he's failed to reach 30 rushing yards in his last two games while working extremely inefficiently on the ground, Elliott has at least five receptions in his last three contests, with two touchdowns in that span.

Kelley lost two yards on his lone carry in Saturday's 24-22 loss to the Bills.

Kelley played just eight snaps and registered his lone carry in the first half. With just two games to go and zero possibility of a playoff berth, expect second-year back Isaiah Spiller to receive more playing time over Kelley moving forward.

Spiller tallied two carries for one yard and also caught his lone target for four yards in Saturday's 24-22 loss to the Bills.

It wasn't clear if Spiller had overtaken nominal starting running back Austin Ekeler in last Thursday's blowout loss to the Raiders, or if the dramatic upswing in playing time was due to the lopsided nature of the game. Saturday's outing seemed to confirm the second-year back is simply a change-of-pace option moving forward as he played just 17 offensive snaps, far fewer than Ekeler's 45. With the Chargers officially out of playoff contention, they could cede more playing to the 2022 fourth-round pick, but it's hard to imagine Spiller carving out a significant enough role to warrant fantasy consideration.

Charbonnet produced no yards on two carries and minus-4 yards on one catch (two targets) during Sunday's 20-17 win at Tennessee.

In terms of rushes plus targets, Charbonnet's four in Week 16 matched his second fewest in a game through the first 14 contests of his career despite Seahawks No. 1 running back Kenneth Walker (shoulder) heading into Sunday's outing as questionable to suit up. Walker now has recorded 39 touches for 168 yards from scrimmage and one rushing TD over the last two weeks, while Charbonnet has been contained to 12 total yards on seven touches during that span. As a result, Charbonnet doesn't hold much sway in fantasy as long as Walker is able to play on game days.