In this century, only three players have single games with five rushing or receiving touchdowns: Shaun Alexander in 2002, Clinton Portis in 2003 and Jamaal Charles in 2013. It just doesn't really happen.
Fantasy football rankings 2015: Running backs for PPR leagues, Week 16
Let’s talk a little about that game Danny Woodhead just played. Here are our fantasy football running back rankings for PPR leagues in Week 16.
Four-touchdown games, though? While they aren’t common, they do happen often enough. Among active players, according to Pro Football Reference, the following players have done it:
- LeGarrette Blount, Jan. 11, 2014
- Ronnie Brown, Sept. 21, 2008
- Reggie Bush, Dec. 3, 2006
- Eric Decker, Dec. 1, 2013
- Jonas Gray, Nov. 16, 2014
- Steven Jackson, Dec. 31, 2006
- Marvin Jones, Oct. 27, 2013
- Marshawn Lynch, Nov. 9, 2014
- Doug Martin, Nov. 4, 2012
- Darren McFadden, Oct. 24, 2010
- DeAngelo Williams, Nov. 30, 2008
- DeAngelo Williams, Dec. 21, 2008
- Danny Woodhead, Sunday
First, a couple notes. Steven Jackson counts as active again after signing with the Patriots on Monday. And while I can find no reference to Ronnie Brown being on the Chargers' roster, practice squad, injured reserve, anything, he hasn't officially announced his retirement. Both Pro Football Reference and Wikipedia claim Brown as active, so whatever.
I’m here to talk running backs, so I can toss out Jones and Decker. That leaves me with 11 games by 10 guys (you do you, DeAngelo Williams’ ridiculous 2008 season). Add in Charles’ five-score game, and it’s 12 by 11 guys. Let’s see how they broke down:
| Player | Rush TDs | Pass TDs |
| LeGarrette Blount | 4 | 0 |
| Ronnie Brown | 4 | 0 |
| Reggie Bush | 4 | 0 |
| Jamaal Charles | 1 | 4 |
| Jonas Gray | 4 | 0 |
| Steven Jackson | 3 | 1 |
| Marshawn Lynch | 4 | 0 |
| Doug Martin | 4 | 0 |
| Darren McFadden | 3 | 1 |
| DeAngelo Williams | 4 | 0 |
| DeAngelo Williams | 4 | 0 |
| Danny Woodhead | 1 | 3 |
It seems to me that big-touchdown games end up as “stick with what works” propositions. No guy on the list split his rushing and receiving touchdowns evenly, with the vast majority coming from guys who could just knock it home. Williams’ first game there, for example, was four 1-yard runs for four touchdowns, which is bleedin’ amazing.
That’s why games like Woodhead’s Sunday are fun. We all know he’s a pass-catching back with 245 catches in a seven-year career. Yet he had only 14 career receiving touchdowns before Sunday. He had three receiving touchdowns in 2015 entering Week 15. He had three Sunday. Woodhead is third among running backs in targets, third in receptions and first in yards and touchdowns. He had a midseason lull a few weeks back, with six combined fantasy points in standard scoring from Week 11 to Week 14, but even then, he added 13 catches in the four weeks.
Woodhead is a fine occasional guy in standard leagues. He won’t often have four scores, but there’s enough occasional yardage that he’s worth a look in. In PPR, though, he’s a different animal. He had one point in PPR in that Week 11 game in which the Chargers just couldn’t do anything, but outside of that he’s had a minimum of five points every game. He has at least five catches in seven different games. PPR Woodhead is nigh-on a must-start.
On to our Week 16 running back rankings for PPR leagues:
Running backs for PPR leagues, Week 16
(DK: Daniel Kelley; DC: Dan Ciarrocchi; AM: Andrew Miller; JD: John Daigle; SK: Scott Kaliska)
| Rk | Consensus | Tm | Opp. | DK | DC | AM | JD | SK |
| 1 | David Johnson | ARI | GB | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| 2 | Devonta Freeman | ATL | CAR | 3 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 1 |
| 2 | DeAngelo Williams | PIT | @BAL | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| 4 | Adrian Peterson | MIN | NYG | 5 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 3 |
| 5 | Doug Martin | TB | CHI | 2 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| 6 | Matt Forte | CHI | @TB | 6 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 5 |
| 7 | Charcandrick West | KC | CLE | 12 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 8 |
| 8 | James White | NE | @NYJ | 11 | 8 | 14 | 7 | 6 |
| 9 | Latavius Murray | OAK | SD | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 |
| 10 | Darren McFadden | DAL | @BUF | 7 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 14 |
| 11 | Denard Robinson | JAC | @NO | 16 | 11 | 13 | 10 | 9 |
| 12 | Todd Gurley | STL | @SEA | 8 | 13 | 12 | 15 | 12 |
| 13 | Lamar Miller | MIA | IND | 13 | 9 | 23 | 11 | 11 |
| 14 | Bilal Powell | NYJ | NE | 19 | 19 | 10 | 13 | 13 |
| 15 | Danny Woodhead | SD | @OAK | 15 | 14 | 24 | 17 | 15 |
| 16 | Buck Allen | BAL | PIT | 14 | 16 | 21 | 20 | 18 |
| 17 | Eddie Lacy | GB | @ARI | 18 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 20 |
| 18 | Karlos Williams | BUF | DAL | 36 | 15 | 11 | 14 | 16 |
| 19 | Tim Hightower | NO | JAC | 23 | 17 | 15 | 19 | 19 |
| 20 | Giovani Bernard | CIN | @DEN | 21 | 20 | 16 | 21 | 22 |
| 21 | Frank Gore | IND | @MIA | 29 | 23 | 19 | 16 | 17 |
| 22 | Christine Michael | SEA | STL | 17 | 25 | 18 | 23 | 23 |
| 23 | Chris Ivory | NYJ | NE | 26 | 22 | 20 | 24 | 21 |
| 24 | Jeremy Hill | CIN | @DEN | 22 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 25 |
| 25 | Ryan Mathews | PHI | WAS | 20 | 32 | 29 | 22 | 24 |
| 26 | Rashad Jennings | NYG | @MIN | 10 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 30 |
| 27 | Cameron Artis-Payne | CAR | @ATL | 24 | 33 | 22 | 31 | 29 |
| 28 | Ronnie Hillman | DEN | CIN | 27 | 31 | 25 | 34 | 33 |
| 29 | Matt Jones | WAS | @PHI | -- | 24 | 27 | 26 | 26 |
| 30 | Shaun Draughn | SF | @DET | -- | 21 | 28 | 27 | 31 |
| 31 | Ameer Abdullah | DET | SF | 32 | 28 | 45 | 28 | 27 |
| 32 | James Starks | GB | @ARI | 25 | 39 | 40 | 29 | 28 |
| 33 | Darren Sproles | PHI | WAS | 30 | 27 | 44 | 33 | 34 |
| 34 | Jeremy Langford | CHI | @TB | 28 | 38 | 33 | 38 | 36 |
| 35 | Theo Riddick | DET | SF | 37 | 34 | 41 | 32 | 32 |
| 36 | Duke Johnson Jr. | CLE | @KC | 40 | 30 | 36 | 37 | 37 |
| 37 | Mike Gillislee | BUF | DAL | 39 | 42 | 31 | 40 | 43 |
| 37 | Charles Sims | TB | CHI | 38 | 35 | -- | 36 | 35 |
| 39 | Shane Vereen | NYG | @MIN | 42 | 37 | 46 | 35 | 39 |
| 40 | Brandon Bolden | NE | @NYJ | -- | 36 | 38 | 39 | 38 |
| 41 | C.J. Anderson | DEN | CIN | 34 | 46 | 42 | 41 | 40 |
| 42 | Alfred Morris | WAS | @PHI | 47 | 41 | 32 | 42 | 42 |
| 43 | Jay Ajayi | MIA | IND | 31 | -- | 34 | -- | 47 |
| 44 | Spencer Ware | KC | CLE | 41 | -- | 35 | 49 | 46 |
| 45 | Alfred Blue | HOU | @TEN | 45 | 43 | -- | 43 | 41 |
| 46 | Bryce Brown | SEA | STL | 44 | 45 | 48 | 44 | 45 |
| 47 | Joique Bell | DET | SF | 35 | -- | 47 | -- | 48 |
| 48 | Mike Tolbert | CAR | @ATL | 33 | 49 | -- | -- | -- |
| 48 | Antonio Andrews | TEN | HOU | 46 | -- | 37 | -- | 50 |
| 50 | DeMarco Murray | PHI | WAS | -- | -- | 43 | 47 | 44 |
| -- | Jerick McKinnon | MIN | NYG | 43 | 47 | -- | 46 | -- |
| -- | Donald Brown | SD | @OAK | -- | -- | 39 | 50 | 49 |
| -- | C.J. Spiller | NO | JAC | -- | 40 | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | Fozzy Whittaker | CAR | @ATL | -- | 48 | 49 | 48 | -- |
| -- | Kerwynn Williams | ARI | GB | -- | 44 | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | Joey Iosefa | NE | @NYJ | -- | -- | -- | 45 | -- |
| -- | DuJuan Harris | SF | @DET | 48 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | Kyle Juszczyk | BAL | PIT | 49 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | Isaiah Crowell | CLE | @KC | -- | 50 | 50 | -- | -- |
| -- | Marcel Reece | OAK | SD | 50 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
* * *
SB Nation presents: Odell Beckham Jr. deserved a suspension
