When a pass-catching running back is in a PPR league, I tend to get more excited when the team is in a tougher situation. If a team can’t run the ball or falls way behind, it tends to start working in more dumpoff passes, and the fantasy points can pile up.
We saw it in the first game of the season, when Tarik Cohen grabbed up a bunch of short catches late against the Packers. Had the Bears been leading that game by a couple of touchdowns in the fourth quarter, they more likely would have been grinding things out on the ground with David Montgomery.
It’s something I’ve been toying around with, so I decided to run a few numbers.
Since 2014, there have been 65 games in which a running back has caught at least 9 passes. Only about a quarter of those players came from teams that won the game. Almost three times as many came from losing teams – 47 winners versus 18 losers.
If we lower the bar down to 7-plus catches, there are still over twice as many coming from losing teams (160 to 73, with one tied game). Most teams don’t use passes to running backs to break down defenses; those plays get a lot more popular when the team is trailing.
Something to think about. You get a third-down back on a team that’s going to lose a lot of games, he can be good in these kind of matchups. Chris Thompson (pictured) in a lot of games; if the Cowboys come out and put up a bunch of points early on Sunday, Thompson should have a good day. Maybe Kenyan Drake this week against New England.
| RUNNING BACKS WITH 9 CATCHES IN GAMES | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Opp | Score | Tgt | Rec | Yards |
| 2018 | Alvin Kamara, N.O. | at Atl. | W 43-37 | 20 | 15 | 124 |
| 2018 | Christian McCaffrey, Car. | at Atl. | L 24-31 | 15 | 14 | 102 |
| 2018 | Saquon Barkley, NYG | at Dall. | L 13-20 | 16 | 14 | 80 |
| 2018 | Chris Thompson, Was. | Ind. | L 9-21 | 14 | 13 | 92 |
| 2018 | Tarik Cohen, Chi. | at NYG | L 27-30 | 14 | 12 | 156 |
| 2015 | Javorius Allen, Bal. | at Mia. | L 13-15 | 13 | 12 | 107 |
| 2014 | Matt Forte, Chi. | at Car. | L 24-31 | 12 | 12 | 105 |
| 2017 | LeVeon Bell, Pit. | G.B. | W 31-28 | 14 | 12 | 88 |
| 2018 | Ezekiel Elliott, Dal. | Phil. | W 29-23 | 13 | 12 | 79 |
| 2018 | Christian McCaffrey, Car. | Atl. | L 10-24 | 13 | 12 | 77 |
| 2018 | Christian McCaffrey, Car. | Sea. | L 27-30 | 11 | 11 | 112 |
| 2016 | Bilal Powell, NYJ | Mia. | L 13-34 | 12 | 11 | 78 |
| 2015 | Danny Woodhead, S.D. | Oak. | L 29-37 | 12 | 11 | 75 |
| 2017 | Todd Gurley, LAR | at Ten. | W 27-23 | 13 | 10 | 158 |
| 2015 | James White, N.E. | Phil. | L 28-35 | 13 | 10 | 115 |
| 2015 | Lance Dunbar, Dal. | Atl. | L 28-39 | 10 | 10 | 100 |
| 2019 | Christian McCaffrey, Car. | LAR | L 27-30 | 11 | 10 | 81 |
| 2018 | James White, N.E. | at Buff. | W 25-6 | 13 | 10 | 79 |
| 2018 | James White, N.E. | Ind. | W 38-24 | 14 | 10 | 77 |
| 2014 | Matt Forte, Chi. | at Atl. | W 27-13 | 13 | 10 | 77 |
| 2018 | Todd Gurley, LAR | Phil. | L 23-30 | 13 | 10 | 76 |
| 2017 | Alvin Kamara, N.O. | at Mia. | W 20-0 | 10 | 10 | 71 |
| 2018 | Austin Ekeler, LAC | Ariz. | W 45-10 | 11 | 10 | 68 |
| 2016 | LeVeon Bell, Pit. | N.E. | L 16-27 | 13 | 10 | 68 |
| 2017 | Christian McCaffrey, Car. | Phil. | L 23-28 | 14 | 10 | 56 |
| 2015 | Devonta Freeman, Atl. | at T.B. | L 19-23 | 11 | 10 | 56 |
| 2015 | Theo Riddick, Det. | Ariz. | L 17-42 | 13 | 10 | 53 |
| 2017 | James White, N.E. | Car. | L 30-33 | 12 | 10 | 47 |
| 2017 | LeVeon Bell, Pit. | Jac. | L 9-30 | 10 | 10 | 46 |
| 2014 | Fred Jackson, Buf. | at Den. | L 17-24 | 14 | 10 | 37 |
| 2018 | Alvin Kamara, N.O. | T.B. | L 40-48 | 12 | 9 | 112 |
| 2018 | Melvin Gordon, LAC | K.C. | L 28-38 | 13 | 9 | 102 |
| 2017 | Christian McCaffrey, Car. | N.O. | L 13-34 | 11 | 9 | 101 |
| 2016 | Giovani Bernard, Cin. | at Pitt. | L 16-24 | 11 | 9 | 100 |
| 2018 | Saquon Barkley, NYG | Phil. | L 13-34 | 12 | 9 | 99 |
| 2014 | Fred Jackson, Buf. | at Oak. | L 24-26 | 12 | 9 | 93 |
| 2016 | David Johnson, Ariz. | Was. | W 31-23 | 12 | 9 | 91 |
| 2016 | LeVeon Bell, Pit. | NYJ | W 31-13 | 11 | 9 | 88 |
| 2017 | Andre Ellington, Ariz. | S.F. | W 18-15 | 14 | 9 | 86 |
| 2016 | Fozzy Whittaker, Car. | at Atl. | L 33-48 | 9 | 9 | 86 |
| 2017 | Devonta Freeman, Atl. | Car. | W 22-10 | 11 | 9 | 85 |
| 2015 | Duke Johnson, Cle. | at SD | L 27-30 | 10 | 9 | 85 |
| 2017 | Carlos Hyde, S.F. | Ariz. | L 10-20 | 11 | 9 | 84 |
| 2018 | Duke Johnson, Cle. | K.C. | L 21-37 | 9 | 9 | 78 |
| 2015 | Arian Foster, Hou. | Ind. | L 20-27 | 10 | 9 | 77 |
| 2017 | LeVeon Bell, Pit. | Balt. | W 39-38 | 10 | 9 | 77 |
| 2016 | LeVeon Bell, Pit. | Dall. | L 30-35 | 10 | 9 | 77 |
| 2015 | Charles Sims, T.B. | at Car. | L 10-38 | 11 | 9 | 74 |
| 2017 | Chris Ivory, Jac. | LAR | L 17-27 | 10 | 9 | 74 |
| 2018 | Saquon Barkley, NYG | Was. | L 13-20 | 10 | 9 | 73 |
| 2017 | Melvin Gordon, LAC | at Oak. | W 17-16 | 12 | 9 | 67 |
| 2018 | Dion Lewis, Ten. | Phil. | W 26-23 | 9 | 9 | 66 |
| 2017 | Andre Ellington, Ariz. | at Phil. | L 7-34 | 10 | 9 | 65 |
| 2018 | Nyheim Hines, Ind. | Hou. | L 34-37 | 11 | 9 | 63 |
| 2015 | Darren McFadden, Dal. | N.E. | L 6-30 | 10 | 9 | 62 |
| 2016 | Jerick McKinnon, Min. | Ind. | L 6-34 | 9 | 9 | 59 |
| 2017 | LeVeon Bell, Pit. | Ten. | W 40-17 | 11 | 9 | 57 |
| 2018 | Christian McCaffrey, Car. | at T.B. | L 17-24 | 10 | 9 | 55 |
| 2018 | Jalen Richard, Oak. | LAR | L 13-33 | 11 | 9 | 55 |
| 2018 | Saquon Barkley, NYG | at Atl. | L 20-23 | 10 | 9 | 51 |
| 2017 | Shane Vereen, NYG | at Dall. | L 3-19 | 10 | 9 | 51 |
| 2018 | Nyheim Hines, Ind. | at Jac. | L 0-6 | 9 | 9 | 50 |
| 2014 | DeMarco Murray, Dal. | at Chi. | W 41-28 | 10 | 9 | 49 |
| 2017 | Duke Johnson, Cle. | Cin. | L 7-31 | 10 | 9 | 47 |
| 2018 | Theo Riddick, Det. | at S.F. | L 27-30 | 12 | 9 | 47 |
—Ian Allan