All News & Analysis

Premium Content Sign Up

Backs & Fronts – Week 14

San Diego Chargers running back Ryan Mathews tries to get past a New England Patriots defender during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 24, 2010, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

Ryan MathewsBefore the season, I introduced a pair of new statistics, front-adjusted yards over expectation (FAYE) and front-adjusted yards over expectation per carry (FAYE/C). The idea behind them is simple. Running backs perform better when there are fewer defenders in the box. That means that backs who play for teams who consistently see fewer than seven men in the box have a nice advantage. It also means that not every back with an above-average YPC mark is an above-average back.

The fantasy playoffs are finally here. This is the time of the season when matchups are king for backs in fantasy, but some recent efficiency numbers could throw a wrench in some of those plans.

DOMINATE FANTASY FOOTBALL & BETTING WITH AI-POWERED DATA & TOOLS TRUSTED BY ALL 32

Unlimited Fantasy League Sync
Fantasy Start/Sit Line-Up Optimizer & Waiver Wire
WR-CB & OL-DL Matchups, PFF Player Grades, & Premium Stats 2.0 Tools
Nathan Jahnkes Rankings - #1 Most Accurate Last 70 Weeks
PFF Best Bets, Player Props, & Power Ranking Tools
NFL Mock Draft Sim with Trades & Draft Grades

Already have a subscription? Log In

Scott Spratt was named Newcomer of the Year by the Fantasy Sports Writers Association. He also writes for RotoGraphs and contributes to ESPN Insider as a research analyst for Baseball Info Solutions. Feel free to ask him questions on Twitter – @PFF_ScottSpratt

All Featured Tools

Subscriptions

Unlock the 2023 Fantasy Draft Kit, with League Sync, Live Draft Assistant, PFF Grades & Data Platform that powers all 32 Pro Teams

$31 Draft Kit Fee + $8.99/mo
OR
$89.88/yr + FREE Draft Kit