Christian McCaffrey once again found himself among the top three running backs with 29.8 fantasy points (PPR scoring) last week against the Cincinnati Bengals. However, Detroit Lions rookie Jahmyr Gibbs edged him with 29.9 fantasy points on Monday Night Football while Baltimore Ravens RB Gus Edwards leveraged a great matchup with the Arizona Cardinals to finish third with 29.4 fantasy points in Week 8.
Below, we’ll run through the best running back matchups for a potential breakout in fantasy football for Week 9.
Fantasy football, Week 9: Best RB Matchups
Alvin Kamara vs. Chicago Bears
Kamara has plenty going for him in this matchup: 1) The Saints are 7.5-point home favorites with a game script that should incentivize running the ball. 2) The Bears have allowed the seventh-most fantasy points per game to running backs this season. 3) Kamara does plenty of work in the passing game, and the Bears have allowed the third-most receptions to running backs so far. 4) Kamara has plenty of momentum with 27+ fantasy points (PPR scoring) in back-to-back games.
Kareem Hunt vs. Arizona Cardinals
It’s difficult to predict how Cleveland will manage their backfield between Hunt and Jerome Ford. The latter played through an ankle injury last week, and there’s reason to believe he could see more volume after healing for another week. Still, there’s a good possibility both Browns running backs feast in this matchup. Hunt took 16 touches for 67 total yards and a touchdown last week at the Seattle Seahawks, and now he’ll face an Arizona defense that made Gus Edwards look like a Hall-of-Famer last week.
Saquon Barkley at Las Vegas Raiders
Barkley had 36 carries for 128 rushing yards last week, as the Giants had to force-feed him the ball while trotting out their third-string quarterback. Even if Barkley doesn’t crack 30 carries in Week 9, the gameplan should be similar for an injury-plagued New York team. However, the matchup is better this time around, facing a Raiders team that has allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to opposing running backs, and Las Vegas just let rookie RB Jahmyr Gibbs record the best fantasy RB performance of the week last Monday.