Who Should I Start? Alvin Kamara or Rico Dowdle

Friday, December 5, 2:59 PM

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara (ankle, knee) has been ruled out for Sunday's Week 14 divisional matchup with the Buccaneers. Kamara was held out of practice with ankle and knee injuries and will now miss his second consecutive game. After a slow start in a Week 13 loss to the Dolphins, sixth-round rookie Devin Neal finished with 47 rushing yards on 14 carries while adding three catches for another 22 yards. He showed good decisiveness and burst, but struggled to find any space behind a banged-up and overmatched offensive line, evidenced by almost 94% of his rushing yardage coming after contact. Tampa Bay has been uncharacteristically soft against the run this season, so Neal remains a low-end RB2/flex play, especially in PPR formats, having earned 10 targets over the past two weeks.

Wednesday, December 3, 1:59 PM

Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle was outproduced by Chuba Hubbard in last week's upset win over the Los Angeles Rams, as Hubbard finished with 17 carries for 83 yards while also catching two passes for 41 yards and a touchdown. Dowdle had 18 rushing attempts for 58 yards and added two receptions for 21 yards. It was the first time the Panthers had two RBs each record at least 75 scrimmage yards in a game since Dec. 24 of 2022. "And for Rico, you know, giving him the lion's share of some of those first and second down, those early series and all that is a great way to just get him the ball," head coach Dave Canales said. With Hubbard getting his legs back under him after missing some time with injury, the Panthers appear to be reaching a more effective, balanced approach between the two RBs, with Dowdle becoming the early-down back, and Hubbard working more on passing downs.