Who Should I Start? Christian McCaffrey or Bucky Irving

Saturday, January 17, 10:30 PM

San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (shoulder) exited with a stinger during the third quarter of Saturday's Divisional Round contest against the Seattle Seahawks. He was briefly listed as questionable to return, but he checked back into the game midway through the third quarter. The superstar running back took multiple hits throughout the first 30-plus minutes of game action, and he was seeing testing his injury on the sideline. At the time of his initial departure, McCaffrey had totaled nine carries, 29 rushing yards, five catches, and 39 receiving yards. Bad injury news has plagued the 49ers left and right. In addition to various defensive injuries throughout the regular season, San Francisco lost George Kittle (Achilles) last week, and Jake Tonges (foot) is currently listed as questionable to return against Seattle. For the time being, McCaffrey will try to play through his injury with the 49ers' season on the line. However, we wouldn't be surprised to see No. 2 running back Brian Robinson Jr. earn more snaps while McCaffrey manages his injury.

Wednesday, December 17, 10:13 AM

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Bucky Irving took on the majority of the workload in Week 15, totaling just 71 scrimmage yards on 17 attempts. Since returning from shoulder and foot injuries in Week 13, Irving has totaled 233 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns on 53 attempts, averaging 13.4 PPR points per game. While he started the season as the primary workhorse in this Buccaneers' offense, Irving has been limited to just 54% of the snaps, while backups Rachaad White (43% and Sean Tucker (14%) have been factors. Irving faces the Carolina Panthers defense in Week 16, which has allowed the tenth-most fantasy points to running backs this season. In his only two games against the Panthers in his career, he has had over 185 scrimmage yards in both outings. In a must-win game for the Buccaneers and with his favorable history against Carolina, look for Irving to unleash in Week 16.