Who Should I Start? Travis Etienne Jr. or James Cook

Monday, January 5, 9:11 PM

Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. struggled to find much success on the ground during the regular-season finale. He rushed 14 times for 32 yards in the blowout win over the Tennessee Titans. It was an ugly performance, but it has been a strong season for Etienne so far. He rushed for 1,107 yards on 260 attempts with seven touchdowns in 17 games. The 26-year-old now heads into a plus matchup against the Buffalo Bills' defense for the Wild-Card round of the playoffs. He'll go against a Bills defense that is near the bottom of the league in terms of rushing yards allowed this season. The Bills' defensive unit has allowed an average of 5.1 yards per carry to running backs this season. Etienne is looking like a strong bounce-back candidate for this weekend.

Tuesday, January 13, 7:00 PM

After finishing the regular season with an NFL-best 1,621 rushing yards, Buffalo Bills running back James Cook had an underwhelming outing in his first game of the postseason. The 26-year-old was held to just 46 rushing yards on 15 carries and five receiving yards on two catches by the Jacksonville Jaguars. Cook's regular-season track record should afford him the benefit of the doubt from fantasy managers. However, he will face another very difficult run defense in the Divisional round when Buffalo travels to Denver to take on the Broncos. The Broncos defense finished the regular season ranked third in the NFL in yards per carry allowed (3.9) and tied for fourth in rushing touchdowns allowed (11). Additionally, Buffalo's already depleted pass-catching corps lost another two wide receivers in Gabe Davis (knee) and Tyrell Shavers (knee), who both suffered season-ending knee injuries in the Wild Card round. As a result, Denver could be even more geared up to stop Cook and take away the run. Cook remains a high-end running back option, but fantasy managers may want to downgrade expectations heading into the Divisional round.