New York Jets running back Bilal Powell rushed for more than 100 yards in Week 3 against the Buffalo Bills. Teammate Chris Ivory turned the trick in Week 7 against the New England Patriots. Sunday, the two rushes will try to tally big yardage as the Jets take on the New Orleans Saints.
Fantasy football start/sit advice, Week 9: Chris Ivory/Bilal Powell
Each running back has a hundred-yard rushing game under his belt this season. Which one is more likely to do it Sunday? We break down the fantasy implications.
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Ivory rushed for 104 yards on 34 carries two weeks ago, his only game of the season with more than 12 carries. On the year, he has 230 rushing yards on 74 carries, good for a yards-per-carry average of 3.1. He is still seeking his first score. Powell, meanwhile, had a 149-yard rushing game in Week 3, and followed it up with 108 all-purpose yards against the Tennessee Titans in Week 4. He has 385 rushing yards and 157 receiving yards on the season, with one touchdown.
Fantasy impact: It’s hard to get excited about either Jets running back, given the uncertainty over which one will have more carries and the fact that the New Orleans Saints are a good run defense.
That said, Ivory’s lone hundred-yard game came by virtue of 34 carries, a ridiculously high number that the brittle Ivory is unlikely going to be able to repeat very often. Combine that with the fact that Ivory is a virtual non-factor in the receiving game (he has one catch on the season for minus-2 yards), and if one running back is going to do much in this game, it’s more likely to be Powell.
The main point in Ivory’s favor is that the Jets are facing his ex-team in the Saints, and team’s tend to try to work with their players in those such games. Regardless, Powell seems more likely to have a big game, though neither one is worth much more than a flex play, if that.
• Week 9 fantasy football rankings: QB | RB | WR | TE | D/ST
• Week 9 fantasy football waiver wire: QB | RB | WR | TE | D/ST
