Who Should I Start? Rico Dowdle or Tahj Brooks

Tuesday, November 25, 1:07 AM

Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle recorded six carries for 38 yards to go along with four receptions (four targets) for 36 yards in Monday night's loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Dowdle was one of the few players who the Panthers could rely on to move the ball. The Panthers ran just 43 plays in the game, which limited their opportunities to get Dowdle a big workload. His 10 touches were his fewest in a game since their blowout loss to the Bills in Week 8, where he had only eight touches. The former Dallas Cowboy was still quite productive with his opportunities, leading the team in rushing and receiving yards. Backup Chuba Hubbard was also more involved than expected in this game, handling three carries for 15 yards and four catches for 27 yards. Dowdle has been more active as a receiver to offset some rushing inefficiencies lately, adding 12 receptions in the last three games, fifth most among running backs in that span. Dowdle has another tough matchup against an NFC West opponent in Week 13 against the Los Angeles Rams.

Monday, November 24, 1:36 PM

Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor has ruled out rookie running back Tahj Brooks (concussion) for this Thursday's Thanksgiving Day game against the division-rival Baltimore Ravens in Week 13, according to Jay Morrison of SI.com. Brooks suffered a concussion in Sunday's loss to the New England Patriots, and on a short week, the 23-year-old won't be able to clear the league's concussion protocol. Veteran Samaje Perine (ankle) has missed the last two games due to injury and might not be available this week, either, so the Bengals' backfield could be extremely thin behind Chase Brown this week versus Baltimore. If Perine ends up missing a third straight game, expect Gary Brightwell to operate as Cincy's RB2 behind Brown on Turkey Day. Brooks has only nine rushing attempts in 11 games this year for 28 rushing yards.