Fantasy football start/sit advice, Week 10: Running backs

We are in Week 10 of the fantasy football season and the playoff races are now getting serious. There are also a handful of bye week teams owners still have to account for. These next few weeks will make or break your season, so choose your starters wisely.

This week’s bye teams are the Buffalo Bills, Oakland Raiders, Indianapolis Colts, and Detroit Lions. That leaves the running back position a little thin with LeSean McCoy, Latavius Murray, and Frank Gore unavailable. With all that in mind, which RBs should fantasy owners start this week, and which ones should they avoid? Let’s take a closer look.

Mark Ingram/Tim Hightower, New Orleans Saints (vs. Denver Broncos)

Ingram sure got out of the dog house in a hurry, racking up 158 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries last week. That said, Hightower still got the bulk of the workload, taking 23 carries for 87 yards and a touchdown of his own. It’s worth noting that they played the San Francisco 49ers’ embarrassing run defense last week, but the Broncos aren’t much better on the ground (29th in running yards allowed per game) and will be without Derek Wolfe. With the game being played in the Superdome, both men are worth using as a flex play this week.

Chris Ivory, Jacksonville Jaguars (vs. Houston Texans)

Ivory is finally healthy after an undisclosed illness slowed him at the beginning of the season. He had his best performance last week, going off for 107 yards on 18 carries. The Jaguars are trying to re-establish the running game to hide Blake Bortles and his disintegrating mechanics, so Ivory will be on the RB2 radar against the Texans’ 28th-ranked run defense.

Jordan Howard, Chicago Bears (@ Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

Howard enjoyed a coming-out party in Week 8, gashing the Minnesota Vikings for 202 total yards and putting to bed any worries about a committee with Jeremy Langford. Now fresh off the bye week, he gets the Bucs and their 25th-ranked run defense. Howard’s rest-of-season value might be iffy (he went through a pretty bad slump before blowing up against the Vikings), but fantasy owners can fire up Howard with confidence this week.

Todd Gurley, Los Angeles Rams (@ New York Jets)

I’m normally a big advocate of the “don’t sit your studs” philosophy, but Gurley has been anything but a stud this year. The Rams’ offense is in shambles and it’s taking Gurley down with them. He has yet to reach 100 yards in a game, topped 70 yards just twice, and hasn’t scored a touchdown since Week 5. Oh, and he faces the Jets’ fourth-ranked run defense on the road this week. Hard pass.

Christine Michael, Seattle Seahawks (@ New England Patriots)

Michael’s touchdown was the only saving grace of a disastrous Monday night performance, where he finished with one yard on five carries. He’s also a late addition to the injury report this week, being questionable with a hamstring injury. That uncertainty makes it even harder to trust him with the Seahawks playing on Sunday Night Football -- if he’s in your lineup when rosters lock at 1 p.m. ET and ends up being inactive, you’re plum out of luck. Combine that with Pete Carroll’s promises to get C.J. Prosise more involved, and the C-Mike Awakening might be over.

Every RB on the Minnesota Vikings (@ Washington)

Washington is a beatable defense on paper, ranking just 26th in rushing yards allowed per game. That would normally be enough to get its opponents’ RBs on the streaming radar, but nobody on Minnesota is usable right now. The Vikings’ three-headed monster of Matt Asiata, Jerick McKinnon, and Ronnie Hillman is a poor substitute for Adrian Peterson, and they’re still running behind arguably the worst offensive line in football. Look elsewhere for your RB3 dart throws.