This article is part of our Red Zone Watch series.
Cincinnati Bengals
There wasn't much competition for goal-line carries in Cincinnati, as Jeremy Hill was dominating the touches from in close ahead of Giovani Bernard, who had just two carries inside the five-yard line this season. So, while Hill was already getting most of the looks, he's likely to get them all now with Bernard out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL. Additionally, with A.J. Green possibly out for the year as well, Hill could make an impact in the red-zone passing game, only enhancing his fantasy upside.
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys scored three red-zone touchdowns Sunday against the Ravens, but not a single one went to rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott. There have been worries, some as early as Week 3, that the Cowboys weren't going to turn to Elliott that often in the red zone, but he's still done plenty in the area this season. Here are the distances for all of his touchdowns this year:
Week 1 vs. New York Giants: Eight-yard run
Week 2 at Washington: One-yard run
Week 4 at San Francisco: One-yard run
Week 5 vs. Cincinnati: 13-yard run, 60-yard run
Week 9 at Cleveland: 10-yard run, eight-yard run
Week 10 at Pittsburgh: 83-yard pass, 14-yard run, 32-yard run
Oh, and he leads the NFL in rushing yards, so let's not go crazy complaining about a few missed red-zone touchdowns.
Green Bay Packers
The return of tight end Jared Cook was a pleasant addition to the Packers'
Cincinnati Bengals
There wasn't much competition for goal-line carries in Cincinnati, as Jeremy Hill was dominating the touches from in close ahead of Giovani Bernard, who had just two carries inside the five-yard line this season. So, while Hill was already getting most of the looks, he's likely to get them all now with Bernard out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL. Additionally, with A.J. Green possibly out for the year as well, Hill could make an impact in the red-zone passing game, only enhancing his fantasy upside.
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys scored three red-zone touchdowns Sunday against the Ravens, but not a single one went to rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott. There have been worries, some as early as Week 3, that the Cowboys weren't going to turn to Elliott that often in the red zone, but he's still done plenty in the area this season. Here are the distances for all of his touchdowns this year:
Week 1 vs. New York Giants: Eight-yard run
Week 2 at Washington: One-yard run
Week 4 at San Francisco: One-yard run
Week 5 vs. Cincinnati: 13-yard run, 60-yard run
Week 9 at Cleveland: 10-yard run, eight-yard run
Week 10 at Pittsburgh: 83-yard pass, 14-yard run, 32-yard run
Oh, and he leads the NFL in rushing yards, so let's not go crazy complaining about a few missed red-zone touchdowns.
Green Bay Packers
The return of tight end Jared Cook was a pleasant addition to the Packers' offense Sunday at Washington, as quarterback Aaron Rodgers targeted Cook a team-high 11 times, including five in the red zone and twice inside the 10-yard line. Cook rewarded Rodgers by catching a six-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, but what's especially notable is that wide receiver Jordy Nelson was targeted just once inside the 20, which resulted in a 13-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Despite the scoring play in the first half, Nelson wasn't given any more red-zone looks, and while some could certainly look at the fact that cornerback Josh Norman followed him for much of the game, Cook's presence allowed Rodgers to use another option instead of forcing passes to Nelson when they were close to the goal line.
Pittsburgh Steelers
It was mentioned just last week that no matter how the Steelers try to move the ball in the red zone, Le'Veon Bell was going to be involved. That was the case again in Week 11, as Bell co-led the NFL (with LeGarrette Blount) with six red-zone carries, though only two were inside the 10-yard line. Bell was also targeted twice in the red zone (none inside the 10), a total that was matched by Ladarius Green, Cobi Hamilton, Jesse James and Eli Rogers. That's right, Ben Roethlisberger threw 10 red-zone passes Sunday against the Browns but none went to Antonio Brown, who was targeted a game-high 10 times overall. Brown hasn't been much of an option from in close this season, despite the plethora of targets overall, and while he still has tons of fantasy value, particularly in PPR formats, this continues to be Le'Veon Bell's offense.
Seattle Seahawks
The return of Thomas Rawls went about as expected, as he got a majority of the carries ahead of C.J. Prosise, despite the latter dashing for a 72-yard touchdown in the first quarter Sunday against the Eagles. However, with Prosise likely to miss the rest of the regular season with a shoulder injury, Rawls will get a full workload all over the field, including inside the 10-yard line, where they had been rushing the ball 65 percent of the time.
Washington Redskins
If there was any question as to who runs the backfield in Washington, Rob Kelley answered it wholeheartedly Sunday against the Packers, rushing 24 times for 137 yards and three touchdowns, all from inside the red zone. Kelley scored on a 10-yard run in the second quarter, before banging in a one-yarder and a four-yarder in the fourth quarter. Kelley has four red-zone carries in each of the last two games, and he was clearly the preferred option Sunday, as quarterback Kirk Cousins threw only two passes in the red zone, both of which were outside the 10-yard line, though one was a 17-yard touchdown to DeSean Jackson. Washington uses a fairly even run/pass split overall, but when they run, the ball is in Kelley's hands.
