The Worksheet, a comprehensive fantasy football preview by Rich Hribar, breaks down everything you need to know about the AFC and NFC Championship Games.
Full AFC & NFC Championship Game Fantasy Football Previews
| Matchup | Time |
|---|---|
| Patriots @ Broncos | Sunday -- 3:00 p.m. ET |
| Rams @ Seahawks | Sunday -- 6:30 p.m. ET |
Kenneth Walker
Walker will have control of this backfield on Sunday with Zach Charbonnet suffering an ACL injury last week.
The Seattle running game has ramped up to close the season.
They have rushed for 171, 163, 180, and 175 yards over the past four games after averaging 113.0 rushing yards per game prior (22nd).
Walker has posted games with 164, 133, and 145 total yards over that stretch, which includes rushing 11 times for 100 yards and a touchdown with 3 catches for 64 yards against the Rams in Week 16.
In the Week 11 matchup between these teams, Walker rushed 16 times for 67 yards and a touchdown, catching 3 passes for 44 yards.
Walker worked as the clear lead back with Charbonnet inactive in Week 3.
Before that game got out of hand against the Saints, Walker handled 8 of 9 backfield touches in the first half and 17 of 18 through three quarters.
In the third quarter and first drive of the fourth quarter last week, following Charbonnet’s injury, Walker accounted for 12 of 12 backfield touches and played 75% of the offensive snaps.
The Seattle depth chart at running back is down to Velus Jones and Cam Akers, with George Holani potentially coming off injured reserve.
In a win-or-go-home game, I would expect Seattle to ask a lot of Walker on Sunday.
The Rams held Walker to a 33.3% success rate as a rusher in the two games between these teams, but Walker found his way to big gains.
He had runs of 17, 25, and 55 yards (TD) in those games.
Walker has been his best this season on outside zone runs, which account for 38.8% of his attempts (12th).
On those outside zone runs, Walker has rushed for 5.1 yards per carry with a run of 10 or more yards on 18.3% of those attempts.
Walker rushed for 5.3 YPC on 11 outsize zone runs against the Rams this season.
Walker’s two highest yardage totals through the air this season came in the two matchups against the Rams, anchored by receptions of 23 and 46 yards.
He has at least 3 receptions in six of his past nine games while running a route on 39.4% of the dropbacks.
In that Week 3 game without Charbonnet, Walker was on the field for 55.6% of the team's dropbacks through three quarters.
We highlighted Darnold’s reduction in depth of target to close the season.
That has increased the usage of the running backs in the passing game.
Darnold has thrown to running backs 19.5% of the time over the back half of that split (13th) compared to a league-low 10.3% rate before.
Darnold threw to his running backs 11.9% of the time in Week 11, then 22.6% of the time in the Week 16 matchup.
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