Adrian Peterson owners saw their worst nightmare come true last Sunday — their No. 1 pick went down with a foot injury in the middle of the fantasy playoffs. He did not return.
The cautious owners who grabbed Peterson’s handcuff at least could reassure themselves with the performance of Toby Gerhart, who rushed for 89 yards on 15 carries, including a 41-yard touchdown run. Unfortunately, Gerhart sustained a hamstring injury and has not practiced this week.
Peterson is very questionable for Sunday, with Gerhart stuck with a similar tag. Reports are the Vikings are more optimistic about Gerhart than Peterson, but that’s not saying much. If neither can go, untested Matt Asiata would get the call.
Not only would owners have to roll with a complete unknown, but it would also be against the Eagles, which isn’t a good matchup on paper. They have surrendered the 16th-most fantasy points to backs this season, and their 3.9 yards per carry allowed is ninth best in the league. The problem for Peterson/Gerhart owners is that matchup and untested player aside, rolling the dice with Asiata is better than taking a zero.
However, the Vikings running back question is just one of many cloudy backfields this week. That means the desperate — and if you have to start Asiata, you qualify as such — could have some other options to turn to on Sunday afternoon.
McGahee likely out in great matchup
The Chicago Bears defense can’t handle running backs this season. Fantasy points allowed paints a grim picture — they have given up 22.5 points per game in 2013. They've allowed the most YPC to backs this season, as well (5.1). No other team has given up even 5.0 YPC.
Cleveland RB Willis McGahee is sidelined with a concussion. But the Browns still have a pair of running backs that have looked better than McGahee at times this season, Chris Ogbonnaya and Fozzy Whittaker.
Ogbonnaya would be the better of the two options, given that he’s a part of the passing game. In limited action (42 carries) Ogbonnaya has averaged 5.3 YPC while adding 291 yards receiving. For points-per-reception leaguers, he’s caught 41 passes on the season for an average of just over three catches a game. Given an expanded role in a good matchup, you could do a lot worse than a guy who should at least pick up five or six points as a minimum.
Whittaker is harder to pin down, as he has played ahead of Ogbonnaya when the latter had fumbling issues. But overall he’s run behind him, making him the weaker play.
The MJD handcuff
The third running back situation to monitor Sunday is in Jacksonville, where Maurice Jones-Drew's recent resurgence may have been cut short by a hamstring injury. Jones-Drew has not practiced since sustaining the injury last Thursday, and while he wants to play, the odds may not be in his favor.
If Jones-Drew owners haven’t already, they should grab Jordan Todman. The situation is a bit overrated, though. Sure, the Bills don’t have a good run defense (they’ve allowed 4.3 YPC this season, seventh most in the league), but Todman hasn’t exactly lit it up either, averaging 3.2 YPC on 43 carries this season. As noted in this week's Walking the Wire, opponents aren’t everything. A requisite amount of talent is needed to exploit the matchup. However, as with Asiata, starting Todman is better than starting no one.
There’s less appeal here beyond handcuffing Jones-Drew than with the Browns situation, if only because Jones-Drew is likely going to be a game-time call whereas McGahee is out. Anyone who grabs Todman is taking the risk of having to go in a different direction if MJD suits up.
Packers offense 'questionable'
It’s not news that Aaron Rodgers' status was up in the air for this weekend’s game against Dallas before he was ruled out Friday afternoon. But the Packers' passing game is not the only situation with questions for Week 15. Eddie Lacy is also in doubt after sustaining an ankle injury Sunday. While Lacy did return to the game, he was ineffective and has not practiced this week.
If Lacy can’t go, James Starks would be the guy. He is a must-own player for Lacy owners, as the Packers play at 4:25 p.m. ET, meaning there just won’t be any other options available. All those other potential replacement backs play at 1 p.m.
Monday night mess
Reggie Bush owners are in an even more difficult spot. If you have to play Bush at an RB spot and do not have Joique Bell, then you have to make your decision before Monday night. Unless reports are extremely favorable, fantasy owners can’t afford to take the gamble and will need to start a replacement on Sunday.
However, if you can play Bush as a flex then there are a few options available. Dennis Pitta, especially in PPR, should see a good number of targets after getting 11 in his return on Sunday. If you are unable to start a tight end in your flex spot, Marlon Brown, Jacoby Jones, Nate Burleson and Kris Durham are desperation plays. None are reliable based on inconsistent usage, but once again, starting one of them is better than taking a guaranteed zero.