The list of starting running backs in Week 15 is something else

With players like Mark Ingram, Thomas Rawls, Jonathan Stewart and LeGarrette Blount out with injuries, unknown names will take center stage on Sunday.

By Sean Wagner-McGough

Dec 16, 2015 at 7:32 pm ET • 2 min read

Where did all the running backs go? It's Week 15, and three legitimate Super Bowl contenders will be trotting out the likes of Fozzy Whittaker, Mike Tolbert, Cameron Artis-Payne, Brandon Bolden, James White, Bryce Brown, Christine Michael, and Derrick Coleman as their primary ball carriers in split backfields.

It's been that kind of week in the NFL -- the aftermath of an injury plague that swept across the league last week and claimed running back after running back.

Let's start with the Panthers. On Wednesday, Panthers head coach Ron Rivera announced that Jonathan Stewart will miss Sunday's game with a sprained foot. The injury doesn't appear to be serious enough to warrant major concern for the Panthers' eventual playoff run, but it will hinder their chance to make a run at a 16-0 finish. To fill Stewart's void, the Panthers will rely on a three-headed attack composed of Mike Tolbert, Fozzy Whittaker, and rookie Cameron Artis-Payne.

The Panthers aren't alone. The Patriots just lost LeGarrette Blount for the season, which means they're without their top two running backs, as Blount joins Dion Lewis on injured reserve. Now, they'll have to rely on Brandon Bolden and James White. Combined, they've carried the ball 51 times this season. Of course, the Patriots did sign Montee Ball, but who knows if he'll even factor into their plans on Sunday?

Seattle suffered a similar fate. On Sunday, Thomas Rawls broke his ankle and will miss the remainder of the season. Remember: Rawls was supposed to be Marshawn Lynch's backup this season, but with Lynch still sidelined, the Seahawks will be rolling into Sunday with Fred Jackson, Bryce Brown, and Christine Michael (yep, him again!).

Or you know, the Seahawks could just use their fullback -- something they're seriously considering.

OL/asst. HC Tom Cable reiterated what Carroll had said earlier about FB Derrick Coleman factoring in the RB competition w/ Brown & Michael.
— John Boyle (@johnpboyle) December 16, 2015

The three injured running backs listed above all appear in the tweet below. In other words, two of the NFL's best runners are done for the year and another is banged up for the short term.

RBs w/ lowest stuff % Rawls 12% Blount 12 Bernard 13 J.Hill 16 Stewart 17 Forte 17 Lat.Murray 17 Martin 18 Ingram, Jennings, McFadden 19
— Gil Brandt (@Gil_Brandt) December 16, 2015

And that's just counting the injuries sustained last week that are guaranteed to prevent starters from suiting up. Expanding the scope to look at less serious injuries includes the Chiefs' Spencer Ware, who is battling a rib injury, and the Jaguars' T.J. Yeldon, who sprained his MCL and is questionable moving forward. Not to mention the Saints' placed Mark Ingram on IR just a week ago and plenty of other teams have already lost their No. 1 running backs to season-ending injuries.

So, just as teams begin to fight for playoff positions (and just as many Fantasy playoffs hit the semifinals), the following players are projected to see somewhat meaningful minutes this week: