{"id":120679,"date":"2026-01-16T16:38:38","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T21:38:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sharpfootballanalysis.com\/?p=120679"},"modified":"2026-01-16T16:38:38","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T21:38:38","slug":"nfl-divisional-round-running-back-fantasy-football-outlook-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sharpfootballanalysis.com\/fantasy\/nfl-divisional-round-running-back-fantasy-football-outlook-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Best Divisional Round Running Backs: Fantasy Outlook for Every RB"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><em>The Worksheet, a comprehensive fantasy football preview by Rich Hribar, breaks down everything you need to know about the Divisional Round. <\/em><em>Find a breakdown of every Divisional Round NFL game in our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sharpfootballanalysis.com\/fantasy\/nfl-divisional-round-preview-fantasy-football-worksheet-rich-hribar-2025\/\">Worksheet Hub<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3>Full Game Divisional Round Fantasy Football Previews<\/h3>\n<div class='jtrt_table_MotherShipContainer'><div class='jtTableContainer jtrespo-scroll  ' ><div class='jtsettingcontainer' style='display:none;position:absolute;left:-9999px;'><textarea data-jtrt-table-id='120490' id='jtrt_table_settings_120490' cols='30' rows='10'>[[[\"Matchup\",\"Time\"],[\"<a href='https:\\\/\\\/www.sharpfootballanalysis.com\\\/fantasy\\\/bills-broncos-divisional-round-fantasy-football-preview-nfl-worksheet-rich-hribar-2025\\\/'>Bills @ Broncos<\\\/a>\",\"Saturday -- 4:30 p.m. ET\"],[\"<a href='https:\\\/\\\/www.sharpfootballanalysis.com\\\/fantasy\\\/49ers-seahawks-divisional-round-fantasy-football-preview-nfl-worksheet-rich-hribar-2025\\\/'>49ers @ Seahawks<\\\/a>\",\"Saturday -- 8:00 p.m. ET\"],[\"<a href='https:\\\/\\\/www.sharpfootballanalysis.com\\\/fantasy\\\/texans-patriots-divisional-round-fantasy-football-preview-nfl-worksheet-rich-hribar-2025\\\/'>Texans @ Patriots<\\\/a>\",\"Sunday -- 3:00 p.m. ET\"],[\"<a href='https:\\\/\\\/www.sharpfootballanalysis.com\\\/fantasy\\\/rams-bears-divisional-round-fantasy-football-preview-nfl-worksheet-rich-hribar-2025\\\/'>Rams @ Bears<\\\/a>\",\"Sunday -- 6:30 p.m. ET\"]],[{\"row\":0,\"col\":0,\"visualRow\":0,\"visualCol\":0,\"prop\":0},{\"row\":0,\"col\":1,\"visualRow\":0,\"visualCol\":1,\"prop\":1},{\"row\":1,\"col\":0,\"visualRow\":1,\"visualCol\":0,\"prop\":0,\"jtcellstyle\":{\"font-weight\":\"bold\"}},{\"row\":1,\"col\":1,\"visualRow\":1,\"visualCol\":1,\"prop\":1},{\"row\":2,\"col\":0,\"visualRow\":2,\"visualCol\":0,\"prop\":0,\"jtcellstyle\":{\"font-weight\":\"bold\"}},{\"row\":2,\"col\":1,\"visualRow\":2,\"visualCol\":1,\"prop\":1},{\"row\":3,\"col\":0,\"visualRow\":3,\"visualCol\":0,\"prop\":0,\"jtcellstyle\":{\"font-weight\":\"bold\"}},{\"row\":3,\"col\":1,\"visualRow\":3,\"visualCol\":1,\"prop\":1},{\"row\":4,\"col\":0,\"visualRow\":4,\"visualCol\":0,\"prop\":0,\"jtcellstyle\":{\"font-weight\":\"bold\"}},{\"row\":4,\"col\":1,\"visualRow\":4,\"visualCol\":1,\"prop\":1}],[],[]]<\/textarea><textarea data-jtrt-table-id='120490' id='jtrt_table_bps_120490' cols='30' rows='10'>[]<\/textarea><\/div><table id='jtrt_table_120490' data-sorting='false' data-paging='false' data-paging-size='10' data-paging-menu='10,20,50,100' data-filtering='false' data-jtrt-table-id='120490' class='jtrt-table  ' ><thead><tr><th>Matchup<\/th><th>Time<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td><a href='https:\/\/www.sharpfootballanalysis.com\/fantasy\/bills-broncos-divisional-round-fantasy-football-preview-nfl-worksheet-rich-hribar-2025\/'>Bills @ Broncos<\/a><\/td><td>Saturday -- 4:30 p.m. ET<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><a href='https:\/\/www.sharpfootballanalysis.com\/fantasy\/49ers-seahawks-divisional-round-fantasy-football-preview-nfl-worksheet-rich-hribar-2025\/'>49ers @ Seahawks<\/a><\/td><td>Saturday -- 8:00 p.m. ET<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><a href='https:\/\/www.sharpfootballanalysis.com\/fantasy\/texans-patriots-divisional-round-fantasy-football-preview-nfl-worksheet-rich-hribar-2025\/'>Texans @ Patriots<\/a><\/td><td>Sunday -- 3:00 p.m. ET<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><a href='https:\/\/www.sharpfootballanalysis.com\/fantasy\/rams-bears-divisional-round-fantasy-football-preview-nfl-worksheet-rich-hribar-2025\/'>Rams @ Bears<\/a><\/td><td>Sunday -- 6:30 p.m. ET<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div><\/div>\n<!--TOC-->\n<h2>James Cook<\/h2>\n<p>Cook came into last week with a tough draw against the league\u2019s best run defense, and that played out on the field.<\/p>\n<p>Cook ran 15 times for 46 yards (3.1 YPC).<\/p>\n<p>We knew Cook was going to have a tough matchup as a rusher, but his lack of involvement in the passing game (2 catches for 5 yards) was a letdown with <strong>Ty Johnson<\/strong> inactive with an ankle injury.<\/p>\n<p>Cook only ran a route on 43.6% of the dropbacks despite Johnson being inactive.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ray Davis<\/strong> absorbed the vacant routes from Johnson.<\/p>\n<p>Cook\u2019s 3.0 yards per touch were his fewest in a game this season.<\/p>\n<p>This is another tough matchup based on top-down production allowed.<\/p>\n<p>Denver has allowed 4.4 yards per touch to running backs (4th) and a league low 96.1 yards from scrimmage per game to running backs.<\/p>\n<p>The Broncos have allowed 3.9 YPC to backs (4th) with a league-high 67% success rate against those runs.<\/p>\n<p>Only 6.6% of those runs have gained 10 or more yards, third in the league.<\/p>\n<p>Buffalo has faced seven top-10 run defenses this season.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Week 1 vs. BAL: 13 attempts for 44 yards (3.4 YPC) 1 TD<\/li>\n<li>Week 5 vs. NE: 15 attempts for 49 yards (3.3 YPC)<\/li>\n<li>Week 9 vs. KC: 27 attempts for 114 yards (4.2 YPC)<\/li>\n<li>Week 11 vs. TB: 16 attempts for 48 yards (3.0 YPC)<\/li>\n<li>Week 12 vs. HOU: 17 attempts for 116 yards (6.8 YPC) 1 TD<\/li>\n<li>Week 15 vs. NE: 22 attempts for 107 yards (4.9 YPC) 2 TD<\/li>\n<li>Wild Card vs. JAX: 15 attempts for 46 yards (3.1 YPC)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>However, Buffalo has a size advantage up front, and had a lot of success running against Denver in this matchup last season.<\/p>\n<p>In that game, Buffalo running backs combined for 33 attempts for 167 yards (5.1 YPC).<\/p>\n<p>Cook rushed 23 times for 120 yards and a touchdown.<\/p>\n<p>Cook was not involved as a pass catcher, but only 13.9% of the receptions against Denver have been to running backs, the lowest rate in the league.<\/p>\n<p>He did not catch a pass in the playoff game last season, but Johnson caught 2 passes for 26 yards and a touchdown.<\/p>\n\t<div class=\"sf_postarticle_read\">\n\t\t<h3 class=\"title-heading-center\">To continue reading this article<\/h3>\n\t\t<div>\n\t\t\t<p><p>and gain access to The Worksheet as well as all of our postseason betting recommendations, click below to learn more about our Postseason Package.<\/p>\n<\/p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sharpfootballanalysis.com\/postseason-betting\/?utm_source=site&utm_medium=article-paywall\" class=\"fusion-button fusion-button-pill button-large button-1 pink-border-button custurl_metabtn\"><span>Learn More<\/span><\/a><\/div>\t\t<div class=\"sflogintext\">\n\t\t\tAlready a Subscriber?<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sharpfootballanalysis.com\/login\/?redurl=https:\/\/www.sharpfootballanalysis.com\/fantasy\/nfl-divisional-round-running-back-fantasy-football-outlook-2025\/\">Log In<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\"sf_image_divider\">\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sharpfootballanalysis.com\/wp-content\/themes\/Avada-child\/img\/red_lines-separate.png\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t<div class='sfa-image-adds' style=\"margin-bottom: 20px;\">\n\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.sharpfootballanalysis.com\/newsletter\/'>\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sharpfootballanalysis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Sharp-Football-Analysis-Newsletter-Ad.jpg\" class=\"attachment-size-full size-size-full\" alt=\"Sharp Football Analysis Newsletter\" \/>\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Worksheet, a comprehensive fantasy football preview by Rich Hribar,  [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":120691,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"Best Divisional Round Running Backs: Fantasy Outlook for Every RB","_seopress_titles_desc":"Rich Hribar runs down the best fantasy football running backs for the NFL Divisional Round. Fantasy outlook for every Divisional Round running back.","_seopress_robots_index":"","mc4wp_mailchimp_campaign":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[14],"class_list":["post-120679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fantasy","tag-articles"],"acf":[],"featured_image_urls":{"medium":"https:\/\/www.sharpfootballanalysis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/James-Cook-Divisional-Round-2025-300x194.jpg","thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.sharpfootballanalysis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/James-Cook-Divisional-Round-2025-150x150.jpg","medium_large":"https:\/\/www.sharpfootballanalysis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/James-Cook-Divisional-Round-2025-768x497.jpg","custom-size":"https:\/\/www.sharpfootballanalysis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/James-Cook-Divisional-Round-2025-694x663.jpg","custom-size-content":"https:\/\/www.sharpfootballanalysis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/James-Cook-Divisional-Round-2025-300x300.jpg","podcast-custom-size":"https:\/\/www.sharpfootballanalysis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/James-Cook-Divisional-Round-2025-350x350.jpg","homecustom-size-content":"https:\/\/www.sharpfootballanalysis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/James-Cook-Divisional-Round-2025-500x500.jpg","viz-thumb":"https:\/\/www.sharpfootballanalysis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/James-Cook-Divisional-Round-2025-255x140.jpg","amp-wp-small":"https:\/\/www.sharpfootballanalysis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/James-Cook-Divisional-Round-2025-100x100.jpg","amp-wp-large":"https:\/\/www.sharpfootballanalysis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/James-Cook-Divisional-Round-2025-738x430.jpg","amp-wp-normal":"https:\/\/www.sharpfootballanalysis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/James-Cook-Divisional-Round-2025-230x160.jpg","blog-large":"https:\/\/www.sharpfootballanalysis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/James-Cook-Divisional-Round-2025-669x272.jpg","blog-medium":"https:\/\/www.sharpfootballanalysis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/James-Cook-Divisional-Round-2025-320x202.jpg","recent-posts":"https:\/\/www.sharpfootballanalysis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/James-Cook-Divisional-Round-2025-700x441.jpg"},"appp_media":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sharpfootballanalysis.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120679","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sharpfootballanalysis.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sharpfootballanalysis.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sharpfootballanalysis.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sharpfootballanalysis.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120679"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.sharpfootballanalysis.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120679\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":120697,"href":"https:\/\/www.sharpfootballanalysis.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120679\/revisions\/120697"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sharpfootballanalysis.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/120691"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sharpfootballanalysis.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sharpfootballanalysis.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sharpfootballanalysis.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}