Washington hosts Chicago tomorrow night, and I'll definitely be starting Brian Robinson. He's been playing well anyway, and with a little more involvement as a receiver. And the Bears don't seem to cover running backs well. At all.
A year ago, Chicago was terrible defending the run. They allowed 157 rushing yards per game (31st) and 31 rushing touchdowns -- 6 more than any other team.
This year they're a little bit better against the run so far, currently 18th, allowing 116 yards per game and 4 rushing touchdowns. But they are still terrible against running backs, since they don't seem to account for the possibility of those guys catching balls near the end zone, too.
Chicago has allowed 4 touchdown receptions by running backs; 5 TDs in six games dating back to the end of last season. Here's how opposing running backs have fared against Chicago in the last six weeks.
| RUNNING BACKS VS. CHICAGO, LAST 6 GAMES | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Run | TD | Rec | TD |
| Jamaal Williams, Det. | 144 | 1 | 13 | 0 |
| D'Andre Swift, Det. | 78 | 1 | 39 | 1 |
| Cook/Mattison, Min. | 91 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| Aaron Jones, G.B. | 41 | 1 | 86 | 1 |
| Rachaad White, T.B. | 73 | 1 | 30 | 0 |
| Pacheco/CEH/McK, K.C. | 126 | 2 | 37 | 2 |
| McLaughlin/Perine, Den. | 84 | 0 | 55 | 1 |
In those six games, four different running backs have caught touchdowns (5 total), while seven different running backs have a rushing score (8 total).
Chicago has been bad enough in this area that Robinson looks like an outstanding start. I'm not ready to recommend Antonio Gibson, who's not playing much. But if you're in a salary cap type game and need a cheap option, Gibson is a player to consider. It's matchup where the odds of a No. 2 running back getting in the end zone go way up.
--Andy Richardson