The NFL schedule is heading into Week 7 after the Seahawks defeated the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday night football and with the fantasy week getting underway, here is a look at some solid running back options that could be used as starters as well as some that should be benched, including players like Ryan Mathews, Adrian Peterson, Steven Jackson and Stevan Ridley.
Ryan Mathews is coming off of his best game of the season after rushing for 102 yards against the Indianapolis Colts on Monday night football and with the team playing the Jacksonville Jaguars, he is a prime START option for the Chargers. San Diego has to make the always terrible east coast trip for a 1:00 pm game, but even with that, the Jaguars are 0-6 and are playing against a Chargers team that looks like its improving and with the way Philip Rivers has been playing, chances are Mathews and the team will get a solid victory.
Mathews has the reputation as an injury prone player and while that might be unfair, he has been nicked up during his career and now is the first time he has been healthy for a sustained period of time. Mathews is on his way to his best season as a pro since rushing for 1,000 yards in 2011 and this year he is already over 33 yards rushing. Mathews had 22 carries against the Colts and averaged nearly five yards per carry and he could be in for another big game on Sunday with the winless Jaguars as their opponent.
Stevan Ridley is another player that was banged up to start the season, but after dealing with a knee injury, he had his best game of the year for the Patriots, rushing for 96 yards and gaining over 110 total yards in the win over the Saints and he could have another nice day against the Jets on Sunday. The Jets defense is playing well, but the Patriots are expected to get Rob Gronkowski back and he could be a huge difference on Sunday, opening up the offense for Ridley and Tom Brady.
This season Ridley has 270 yards and two touchdowns and he has been steadily increasing his production, putting up more yards, carries and average yards per carry over the past three weeks and he could be looking to do that again on Sunday. He is a START option after scoring two touchdowns last week and he could be in line for another one on Sunday.
Adrian Peterson is a START option as always and since he is playing the Giants, it's even more likely that he will put up some big numbers. Last week he had 62 yards on 10 carries and that came after a 140-yard game in London and he ranks in the top five in the NFL in yards, TDs and rush yards per game. Steven Jackson is a BENCH option as he will be out again for the Falcons.
