It’s early. No need to draw conclusion too dramatic. But have gotten an early look at how running backs are performing in short-yardage situations – who’s getting the most carries, and who’s converting them.
On this one, I’m looking only at plays where teams needed 1 yard to either score or to keep a drive alive on third down or fourth down. The thinking being that these are the kind of formations and plays that are used at the goal line, and a huge portion of rushing touchdowns occur at the 1- and 2-yard line.
Three backs have carried the ball 6 times on these kind of plays, and all are guys who were among the first five running backs selected in fantasy football drafts – Ezekiel Elliott, Todd Gurley and David Johnson. Three others have five of those carries, and they all come from the AFC West: Melvin Gordon, Spencer Ware and C.J. Anderson.
Below I’m listing everyone who’s gotten even 1 of those carries. That’s regardless of position.
There are 35 players with at least 2 of these carries, and only five have converted under 50 percent of their attempts: Anderson, LeSean McCoy, Derrick Henry, Dwayne Washington and Frank Gore.
The numbers below do not include the early Week 4 game. Players successful on under half of their attempts are in bold.
| "AND-ONE" RUSHING THRU WEEK 3 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Good | Att | Pct |
| E.Elliott, DAL | 5 | 6 | .833 |
| T.Gurley, LA | 4 | 6 | .667 |
| D.Johnson, ARZ | 3 | 6 | .500 |
| M.Gordon, SD | 4 | 5 | .800 |
| S.Ware, KC | 4 | 5 | .800 |
| C.Anderson, DEN | 2 | 5 | .400 |
| S.Vereen, NYG | 2 | 4 | .500 |
| L.McCoy, BUF | 1 | 4 | .250 |
| R.Mathews, PHI | 3 | 3 | 1.000 |
| A.Luck, IND | 3 | 3 | 1.000 |
| J.Langford, CHI | 3 | 3 | 1.000 |
| C.Sims, TB | 2 | 3 | .667 |
| C.Hyde, SF | 2 | 3 | .667 |
| C.Michael, SEA | 2 | 3 | .667 |
| D.Williams, PIT | 2 | 3 | .667 |
| L.Blount, NE | 2 | 3 | .667 |
| L.Miller, HST | 2 | 3 | .667 |
| C.Newton, CAR | 2 | 3 | .667 |
| D.Henry, TEN | 1 | 3 | .333 |
| D.Washington, DET | 1 | 3 | .333 |
| D.Brees, NO | 2 | 2 | 1.000 |
| A.Peterson, MIN | 2 | 2 | 1.000 |
| R.Turbin, IND | 2 | 2 | 1.000 |
| B.Osweiler, HST | 2 | 2 | 1.000 |
| T.Coleman, ATL | 2 | 2 | 1.000 |
| C.Johnson, ARZ | 2 | 2 | 1.000 |
| C.Thompson, WAS | 1 | 2 | .500 |
| T.Rawls, SEA | 1 | 2 | .500 |
| W.Smallwood, PHI | 1 | 2 | .500 |
| E.Lacy, GB | 1 | 2 | .500 |
| J.Hill, CIN | 1 | 2 | .500 |
| M.Forte, CHI | 1 | 2 | .500 |
| E.Manuel, BUF | 1 | 2 | .500 |
| T.West, BAL | 1 | 2 | .500 |
| F.Gore, IND | 0 | 2 | .000 |
| M.Jones, WAS | 1 | 1 | 1.000 |
| M.Mariota, TEN | 1 | 1 | 1.000 |
| J.Rodgers, TB | 1 | 1 | 1.000 |
| B.Gabbert, SF | 1 | 1 | 1.000 |
| R.Wilson, SEA | 1 | 1 | 1.000 |
| L.Murray, OAK | 1 | 1 | 1.000 |
| J.Olawale, OAK | 1 | 1 | 1.000 |
| R.Fitzpatrick, NYJ | 1 | 1 | 1.000 |
| B.Powell, NYJ | 1 | 1 | 1.000 |
| R.Jennings, NYG | 1 | 1 | 1.000 |
| K.Smith, NYG | 1 | 1 | 1.000 |
| T.Hightower, NO | 1 | 1 | 1.000 |
| J.Kuhn, NO | 1 | 1 | 1.000 |
| J.Brissett, NE | 1 | 1 | 1.000 |
| J.Ajayi, MIA | 1 | 1 | 1.000 |
| C.Keenum, LA | 1 | 1 | 1.000 |
| T.Yeldon, JAC | 1 | 1 | 1.000 |
| B.Bortles, JAC | 1 | 1 | 1.000 |
| J.Prosch, HST | 1 | 1 | 1.000 |
| A.Rodgers, GB | 1 | 1 | 1.000 |
| T.Riddick, DET | 1 | 1 | 1.000 |
| A.Abdullah, DET | 1 | 1 | 1.000 |
| T.Siemian, DEN | 1 | 1 | 1.000 |
| K.Bibbs, DEN | 1 | 1 | 1.000 |
| A.Janovich, DEN | 1 | 1 | 1.000 |
| L.Dunbar, DAL | 1 | 1 | 1.000 |
| D.Prescott, DAL | 1 | 1 | 1.000 |
| I.Crowell, CLV | 1 | 1 | 1.000 |
| G.Bernard, CIN | 1 | 1 | 1.000 |
| A.Dalton, CIN | 1 | 1 | 1.000 |
| P.Lasike, CHI | 1 | 1 | 1.000 |
| J.Howard, CHI | 1 | 1 | 1.000 |
| J.Stewart, CAR | 1 | 1 | 1.000 |
| J.Forsett, BAL | 1 | 1 | 1.000 |
| C.Palmer, ARZ | 1 | 1 | 1.000 |
| R.Tannehill, MIA | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| K.Drake, MIA | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| A.Foster, MIA | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| A.Morris, DAL | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| T.Taylor, BUF | 0 | 1 | .000 |
—Ian Allan