Picking the best running backs for your starting lineup is hard enough, so in a week where it's necessary to get a win in order to continue your season, I can only imagine the pressure. Just remember: the process doesn't change even though the circumstances have. Choose whomever gives you the best chance to win, don't get too cute, and whatever you do, do not over-think it at the last second (all my daily lineups are nodding their heads.)
I'll even help you with that last part. The following names are a few dependable players that, despite their matchup, should not be overlooked.
Andre Ellington - His 1.96 yards per carry over the last three games is certainly worrisome, but against the Atlanta Falcons, Ellington should be started in most formats. Though he only received 10 carries last week, Ellington accumulated eight targets. And against the Falcons, who have allowed the most rushing touchdowns to opposing running backs, Ellington should once again produce RB2 numbers.
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Marshawn Lynch - Another distraction to eliminate during the waning weeks of the season is the outside noise. For instance, remember when Jim Harbaugh was supposed to be fired? Yeah, me neither. Forget about one-worded press conferences and instead, focus on the fact that Lynch hasn't received less than 18 touches since Week 7.
Matt Forte - The Detroit Lions have yet to allow an opposing running back to rush for over 100 yards in a single game, but that shouldn't stop you from rolling out Forte as your RB1. Even during his least productive game of the season (21 rushing yards during Week 2), Forte still caught five passes. The matchup is terrifying, sure, but as stated previously: don't get too cute.
Now isn't the time to start over-thinking.
Running back rankings (standard), Week 13
(DK: Daniel Kelley; DC: Dan Ciarrocchi; JD: John Daigle; SK: Scott Kaliska)
| Rank | Consensus | Team | Opponent | DK | DC | JD | SK |
| 1 | DeMarco Murray | DAL | PHI | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 2 | Le'Veon Bell | PIT | NO | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
| 3 | Matt Forte | CHI | @DET | 4 | 4 | 8 | 2 |
| 4 | Jamaal Charles | KC | DEN | 5 | 3 | 9 | 4 |
| 5 | Eddie Lacy | GB | NE | 6 | 5 | 3 | 11 |
| 6 | Arian Foster | HOU | @TEN | 3 | 15 | 4 | 7 |
| 7 | LeSean McCoy | PHI | @DAL | 11 | 8 | 5 | 5 |
| 8 | Andre Ellington | ARI | @ATL | 9 | 7 | 12 | 3 |
| 9 | C.J. Anderson | DEN | @KC | 14 | 6 | 7 | 6 |
| 10 | Rashad Jennings | NYG | @JAC | 13 | 6 | 10 | 10 |
| 11 | Justin Forsett | BAL | SD | 7 | 10 | 6 | 17 |
| 12 | Marshawn Lynch | SEA | @SF | 10 | 9 | 11 | 12 |
| 13 | Alfred Morris | WAS | @IND | 8 | 13 | 13 | 23 |
| 14 | Mark Ingram | NO | @PIT | 18 | 12 | 21 | 8 |
| 15 | Ryan Mathews | SD | @BAL | 17 | 14 | 16 | 14 |
| 16 | Denard Robinson | JAC | NYG | 12 | 16 | 19 | 21 |
| 17 | Tre Mason | STL | OAK | 15 | 20 | 18 | 16 |
| 18 | Jeremy Hill | CIN | @TB | 16 | 17 | 14 | 24 |
| 19 | Isaiah Crowell | CLE | @BUF | 19 | 18 | 17 | 19 |
| 20 | Giovani Bernard | CIN | @TB | 22 | 19 | 20 | 13 |
| 21 | Lamar Miller | MIA | @NYJ | 24 | 22 | 22 | 18 |
| 22 | Latavius Murray | OAK | @STL | 25 | 24 | 23 | 25 |
| 23 | Joique Bell | DET | CHI | 21 | 23 | 25 | 32 |
| 24 | Fred Jackson | BUF | CLE | 20 | 26 | 31 | 28 |
| 25 | Jerick McKinnon | MIN | CAR | 29 | 21 | 24 | 37 |
| 26 | Frank Gore | SF | SEA | 28 | 27 | 29 | 27 |
| 27 | Terrance West | CLE | @BUF | 39 | 36 | 27 | 15 |
| 28 | Chris Ivory | NYJ | MIA | 31 | 32 | 36 | 20 |
| 29 | Steven Jackson | ATL | ARI | 26 | 33 | 28 | 35 |
| 30 | LeGarrette Blount | NE | @GB | 30 | 28 | 15 | -- |
| 31 | Shane Vereen | NE | @GB | 27 | 25 | 40 | 33 |
| 32 | Dan Herron | IND | WAS | 23 | 29 | 26 | -- |
| 33 | Trent Richardson | IND | WAS | 33 | 30 | 42 | 30 |
| 34 | Bishop Sankey | TEN | @HOU | 32 | 35 | 39 | 31 |
| 35 | Jonas Gray | NE | @GB | 34 | -- | 32 | 22 |
| 36 | Darren Sproles | PHI | @DAL | 38 | 34 | 41 | 26 |
| 37 | Pierre Thomas | NO | @PIT | 45 | 39 | 34 | 29 |
| 38 | Anthony Dixon | BUF | CLE | 41 | 46 | 30 | 34 |
| 39 | DeAngelo Williams | CAR | @MIN | 36 | 41 | 46 | 43 |
| 40 | Alfred Blue | HOU | @TEN | 42 | 31 | 45 | -- |
| 41 | Doug Martin | TB | CIN | -- | 44 | 37 | 41 |
| 42 | Jonathan Stewart | CAR | @MIN | 48 | 37 | 43 | 46 |
| 43 | Carlos Hyde | SF | SEA | 43 | 49 | 35 | 48 |
| 44 | Toby Gerhart | JAC | NYG | 40 | -- | -- | 36 |
| 45 | Reggie Bush | DET | CHI | -- | 38 | 38 | -- |
| 46 | Charles Sims | TB | CIN | -- | -- | 33 | 45 |
| 47 | Roy Helu Jr. | WAS | @IND | -- | 40 | -- | 39 |
| 48 | Chris Johnson | NYJ | MIA | 44 | 47 | 49 | 42 |
| 49 | Darren McFadden | OAK | @STL | -- | 48 | 48 | 38 |
| 50 | Ben Tate | MIN | CAR | 35 | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | Branden Oliver | SD | @BAL | 37 | 50 | -- | -- |
| -- | Benny Cunningham | STL | OAK | -- | -- | -- | 40 |
| -- | Matt Asiata | MIN | CAR | -- | 42 | -- | -- |
| -- | Theo Riddick | DET | CHI | -- | 43 | -- | -- |
| -- | Bryce Brown | BUF | CLE | 49 | 45 | -- | -- |
| -- | Andre Williams | NYG | @JAC | -- | -- | 44 | -- |
| -- | Shonn Greene | TEN | @HOU | -- | -- | -- | 44 |
| - | Juwan Thompson | DEN | @KC | 46 | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | Jacquizz Rodgers | ATL | ARI | 47 | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | Knile Davis | KC | DEN | -- | -- | 47 | -- |
| -- | Maurice Jones-Drew | OAK | @STL | -- | -- | -- | 47 |
| -- | Travaris Cadet | NO | @PIT | -- | -- | -- | 49 |
| -- | Marcel Reece | OAK | @STL | 50 | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | Robert Turbin | SEA | @SF | -- | -- | 50 | -- |
| -- | Bernard Pierce | BAL | SD | -- | -- | -- | 50 |
Running back rankings (PPR), Week 13
(DK: Daniel Kelley; DC: Dan Ciarrocchi; JD: John Daigle; SK: Scott Kaliska)
| Rank | Consensus | Team | Opponent | DK | DC | JD | SK |
| 1 | Le'Veon Bell | PIT | NO | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 2 | DeMarco Murray | DAL | PHI | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Arian Foster | HOU | @TEN | 5 | 9 | 4 | 1 |
| 4 | Matt Forte | CHI | @DET | 2 | 3 | 8 | 6 |
| 5 | Jamaal Charles | KC | DEN | 4 | 4 | 9 | 4 |
| 6 | Eddie Lacy | GB | NE | 7 | 6 | 3 | 11 |
| 7 | Justin Forsett | BAL | SD | 6 | 12 | 5 | 10 |
| 8 | Andre Ellington | ARI | @ATL | 8 | 7 | 11 | 7 |
| 9 | Rashad Jennings | NYG | @JAC | 12 | 11 | 10 | 5 |
| 10 | C.J. Anderson | DEN | @KC | 13 | 5 | 6 | 15 |
| 11 | LeSean McCoy | PHI | @DAL | 10 | 8 | 7 | 19 |
| 12 | Marshawn Lynch | SEA | @SF | 9 | 10 | 12 | 13 |
| 13 | Alfred Morris | WAS | @IND | 11 | 16 | 13 | 18 |
| 14 | Mark Ingram | NO | @PIT | 16 | 15 | 14 | 16 |
| 15 | Denard Robinson | JAC | NYG | 14 | 13 | 21 | 14 |
| 16 | Tre Mason | STL | OAK | 19 | 22 | 16 | 9 |
| 17 | Giovani Bernard | CIN | @TB | 22 | 18 | 19 | 8 |
| 18 | Jeremy Hill | CIN | @TB | 15 | 17 | 15 | 30 |
| 19 | Lamar Miller | MIA | @NYJ | 25 | 21 | 22 | 17 |
| 20 | Ryan Mathews | SD | @BAL | 23 | 14 | 17 | 32 |
| 21 | Shane Vereen | NE | @GB | 18 | 19 | 27 | 23 |
| 22 | Isaiah Crowell | CLE | @BUF | 20 | 23 | 18 | 26 |
| 23 | Jerick McKinnon | MIN | CAR | 27 | 20 | 25 | 20 |
| 24 | Fred Jackson | BUF | CLE | 17 | 26 | 33 | 22 |
| 25 | Joique Bell | DET | CHI | 21 | 25 | 28 | 24 |
| 26 | Latavius Murray | OAK | @STL | 26 | 24 | 23 | 28 |
| 27 | Frank Gore | SF | SEA | 29 | 27 | 37 | 21 |
| 28 | Trent Richardson | IND | WAS | 30 | 30 | 45 | 12 |
| 29 | Dan Herron | IND | WAS | 24 | 28 | 24 | 41 |
| 30 | Steven Jackson | ATL | ARI | 28 | 33 | 32 | 29 |
| 31 | Bishop Sankey | TEN | @HOU | 33 | 35 | 36 | 25 |
| 32 | LeGarrette Blount | NE | @GB | 38 | 29 | 20 | -- |
| 33 | Darren Sproles | PHI | @DAL | 32 | 32 | 26 | 48 |
| 34 | Terrance West | CLE | @BUF | 42 | 34 | 29 | 33 |
| 35 | Pierre Thomas | NO | @PIT | 41 | 37 | 30 | 31 |
| 36 | Chris Ivory | NYJ | MIA | 31 | 31 | 43 | 36 |
| 37 | Reggie Bush | DET | CHI | -- | 36 | 35 | 27 |
| 38 | Charles Sims | TB | CIN | -- | 49 | 31 | 34 |
| 39 | Jonas Gray | NE | @GB | 43 | -- | 34 | 37 |
| 40 | DeAngelo Williams | CAR | @MIN | 34 | 43 | 49 | 46 |
| 41 | Ben Tate | MIN | CAR | 35 | -- | -- | 38 |
| 42 | Branden Oliver | SD | @BAL | 36 | 48 | -- | 40 |
| 43 | Jonathan Stewart | CAR | @MIN | 48 | 39 | 44 | 44 |
| 44 | Chris Johnson | NYJ | MIA | 37 | 47 | 46 | 47 |
| 45 | Roy Helu Jr. | WAS | @IND | -- | 38 | -- | 42 |
| 46 | Doug Martin | TB | CIN | -- | -- | 41 | 39 |
| 47 | Alfred Blue | HOU | @TEN | -- | 40 | 42 | -- |
| 48 | Benny Cunningham | STL | OAK | 49 | -- | -- | 35 |
| 49 | Bryce Brown | BUF | CLE | 47 | 44 | 50 | 45 |
| 50 | Anthony Dixon | BUF | CLE | -- | 46 | 39 | -- |
| -- | Darren McFadden | OAK | @STL | 45 | 45 | 48 | -- |
| -- | Carlos Hyde | SF | SEA | 50 | -- | 38 | -- |
| -- | Toby Gerhart | JAC | NYG | 39 | -- | -- | 50 |
| -- | Marcel Reece | OAK | @STL | 40 | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | Andre Williams | NYG | @JAC | -- | -- | 40 | -- |
| -- | Theo Riddick | DET | CHI | -- | 41 | -- | -- |
| -- | Matt Asiata | MIN | CAR | -- | 42 | -- | -- |
| -- | Mike Tolbert | CAR | @MIN | -- | -- | -- | 43 |
| -- | Jacquizz Rodgers | ATL | ARI | 44 | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | Travaris Cadet | NO | @PIT | 46 | 50 | -- | -- |
| -- | Knile Davis | KC | DEN | -- | -- | 47 | -- |
| -- | Juwan Thompson | DEN | @KC | -- | -- | -- | 49 |
★★★