In preparation for NFL Week 7, here are the updated PFF power rankings. This week, the rankings are presented alongside an interesting piece of information about a running back on each team. (Only running backs with 20 or more carries were considered, unless stated otherwise.)
1. Green Bay Packers
When there are only four defensive backs on the field, James Starks averages 6.8 yards per carry, the best rate in the league.
2. New England Patriots
Only one of Dion Lewis’ 40 carries has gone for a loss this year. That’s a rate of 2.5 percent, lowest in the league.
3. Cincinnati Bengals
Giovani Bernard has run for 5 or more yards on 40 of his 77 carries. He is the only running back to have 5 or more yards on over half of his carries.
4. Carolina Panthers
Jonathan Stewart has had 21 players miss tackles on his carries this year, second-most in the league.
5. Denver Broncos
When C.J. Anderson has rushed to the left or right end, he had 10 yards on 12 carries. When Ronnie Hillman has run to the left or right end, he has 120 yards on 13 carries.
6. Atlanta Falcons
No running back has more yards on pitch plays than Devonta Freeman at 93. He’s done that on 17 carries, which is seven more than any other back. Tevin Coleman has the third-most pitches received at nine, and he has 52 yards on those carries.
7. Arizona Cardinals
David Johnson has rushed for 7 or more yards on 38.1 percent of his carries, the highest rate in the league. No other back is above 30 percent.
8. Pittsburgh Steelers
When DeAngelo Williams faces five defensive backs, he averages 5.4 yards per carry; when he faces four he, averages just 0.7. On the flip side, Le’Veon Bell averages 6.4 yards per carry when facing four defensive backs, while only averaging 3.3 when facing five defensive backs.
9. Minnesota Vikings
Adrian Peterson has 13 carries within 10 yards of the goal line, tied for the most in the league. However, he’s managed just one touchdown and has -6 total yards on such plays.
10. New York Jets
On inside zone plays, Chris Ivory has 204 yards on 34 carries with two touchdowns. His 204 yards are second-most in the league on inside zone plays.
11. Philadelphia Eagles
Ryan Mathews has 3 or more yards after contact on 51 percent of his carries. He is the only one in the league to have over 50 percent.
12. Buffalo Bills
LeSean McCoy has run the ball 60 times this year, and 15 times he’s lost yards on his carries. That rate of 25 percent is the second-highest in the league.
13. Seattle Seahawks
On 42.6 percent of Marshawn Lynch’ carries, the first defender to contact him is not the man to tackle Lynch. That is the highest rate in the league.
14. Indianapolis Colts
No running back has carried the ball more on power plays than Frank Gore, at 31. On those carries, he has a league-leading 159 yards.
15. Dallas Cowboys
No running back has run for nearly as many yards as Joseph Randle in the first quarter of games. He has 196 yards on 37 carries and two touchdowns. No running back has more than 150 first-quarter yards.
16. Oakland Raiders
Latavius Murray has rushed for roughly the same number of carries in 2014 and 2015 (82 to 81), yet he has doubled the number of defenders who have missed tackles on him from six to 12.
17. Houston Texans
One in every three of Arian Foster’s carries has not gained positive yards this year. That is the third-worst rate in the league.
18. New York Giants
Of all the running backs with 20 or more carries, Shane Vereen is the only one to face five or more defensive backs on 100 percent of his carries.
19. Cleveland Browns
Isaiah Crowell has only forced 0.08 players to miss tackles on him per attempt, the second-lowest among running backs with 70 or more carries.
20. St. Louis Rams
In the fourth quarter, Todd Gurley has 179 yards on 16 carries. That is the second-highest yardage total in the fourth quarter in the league.
21. Baltimore Ravens
Justin Forsett has 14 carries when it’s 2nd- or 3rd-and-1. He has converted 11 of those into first downs. No other back has more than 11 attempts, or more than eight conversions.
22. Tennessee Titans
Dexter McCluster averages 6.6 yards per attempt on his first down carries, the second-highest rate in the league.
23. Kansas City Chiefs
Jamaal Charles’ replacement, Charcandrick West, has 3 or more yards after contact on just two of his 21 carries. That’s a rate of 9.5 percent, the lowest rate in the league.
24. New Orleans Saints
Halfback Mark Ingram has run the ball six times on 3rd-and-1 or 3rd-and-2, and has converted five of those attempts into first downs. That is the best conversion rate for those with six or more carries.
25. Jacksonville Jaguars
No rookie has more rushing attempts this season than T.J. Yeldon, at 81. He also has the most snaps, at 258, despite missing the Jaguars' last game.
26. Miami Dolphins
When Lamar Miller runs to the gaps directly to the left or right of the LT, he has 12 yards on 11 carries. When running to the same gaps relative to the RT, he has 90 yards on 15 carries.
27. Washington
Washington has run Matthew Jones between the guards 19 times this year, and on those carries, he has just 26 yards. That average of 1.37 is the worst for those with at least 10 carries down the middle. On the other hand, Alfred Morris has 4.17 yards per carry up the middle.
28. San Francisco 49ers
Carlos Hyde has run with the ball four times within 5 yards to go for a touchdown. One of those went for a touchdown, but the other three were for a loss, for a combined -12 yards.
29. Chicago Bears
Matt Forte has 126 rushing attempts, 20 more than any other back. Due to his high number of attempts, he leads the league in rushing yards at 507.
30. San Diego Chargers
The player with the most rushing yards on draw plays is Melvin Gordon with 106 on 15 carries. The player with the second-most yards is Danny Woodhead, at 79 on 17 carries. No other back in the league has more than 50 yards or more than 10 carries on draw plays.
31. Detroit Lions
Halfback Joique Bell has rushed for 2 or more yards on just 20 percent of his carries. Every other running back has 2 or more yards on 49 percent of their carries.
32. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Doug Martin has two carries from the 1-yard line; both were for touchdowns. He is one of only three players with more than one carry and a perfect touchdown conversion rate in that scenario.
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