Here are this week’s passing matchups.

Top 5 rushing matchups

Arizona in Carolina

James Conner had a late-season surge that propelled the Cardinals over the last three weeks and was a big reason for their much-needed win over New England to keep Arizona’s playoff chances alive. Conner has averaged 5.3 yards per carry in his last three games and capped that number last week with 110 yards and two touchdowns. Meanwhile, Kyler Murray has all but given up on the rushing attack as he doesn’t appear to be 100 percent healthy and left last week’s game while driving due to a head injury. Murray has rushed for 25 yards just once in his last seven games, compared to five times in his first seven games. This should further increase the volume towards James Conner this week, as Conner averaged 17 carries per game over the last three weeks.

Carolina’s run defense continues to be the worst in the NFL. They have now allowed opposing running backs to rush for over 100 yards in five of their last six games, as Rico Dowdle had 149 yards on 25 carries last week. This team still had a solid performance; They lacked talent, but the effort dropped last week. Now we see a team where almost all of the defensive players miss Wednesday’s practice because of the rest. There really is no saving grace for this team this season as they simply lack the depth to improve this run defense. The Panthers lost another linebacker in last week’s game, and they have now lost two in the last two weeks. Trevin Wallace and Claudin Cherelus were placed on IR to join Shaq Thompson, who opted out earlier this season. They’ll start with Jon Rhattigan, who is in his fourth season in the NFL but has been just a special teams player in his entire career, along with an undrafted rookie, Jacoby Windmon, who has just three tackles all season has, as a backup to Rhattigan. Already the league’s worst defensive line, this is a situation you’ll want to look to take advantage of over the next three weeks.

Detroit in Chicago

The Lions will be without David Montgomery for the remainder of the season as the running back suffered an MCL injury last week that required surgery. This should mean that the Lions will pass the ball to Jahmyr Gibbs as often as possible, with Craig Reynolds serving as the backup this week. The big question will be how much volume Gibbs can handle, as he is only averaging 16.0 touches per game, but has seen a slight increase over the last four games, averaging 17.25. It seems unlikely that Gibbs will have Alvin Kamara-like volume, averaging nearly 30 touches, so Reynolds will likely play a role here as the Lions look ahead to the playoffs. This is a team that boasts one of the best offensive lines in football, led by their tackles as Taylor Decker and Penei Sewell are having outstanding seasons while 34-year-old Kevin Zeitler is enjoying a career resurgence alongside center Frank Ragnow and Sewell .

Chicago simply looks lost without Matt Eberflus. Since Eberflus was fired, the Bears have allowed 34 points per game while losing both games by an average of 21.5 points. This run defense has struggled for much longer than it did in the two games without their head coach, but now let’s add the negative game script that only encourages their opponents to rush even more. While Chicago hasn’t allowed massive rushing yard performances over 150 yards, thanks largely to their strong safety game, they are a unit that allows plenty of yards to any team they face. Since Week 9, the Bears have allowed the most fantasy points to opposing running backs, the second-most rushing yards per game, and every running back they have faced has surpassed at least 70 yards. This is an issue where they lack the defensive front seven to consistently win in the trenches. The interior of the defensive line has significant issues, while the linebackers who had hoped to be a strength early this season have been disappointed, as TJ Edwards is having the worst season of his career while Tremaine Edmunds has struggled over the past two seasons with Chicago had since they signed him from Buffalo.

Denver at LA Chargers

Denver’s running back room is a complete mess. Jahleel McLaughlin will be out this week with a quadriceps injury, leaving Javonte Williams and Audric Estime as the two running backs for Denver. It seems likely that Estime would receive the bulk of the volume here as Williams has struggled in recent weeks. In his last three games, he averaged just six carries, totaling 4.7 yards per game, less than a yard per carry. Meanwhile, Estime hasn’t seen much volume but has been slightly better, averaging 3.6 carries and 13.3 yards per game. Either way, neither running back inspires much confidence here, as the Broncos’ offensive line’s strength lay in its tackles, while it had some glaring holes at interior and left guard in Luke Wattenberg and Ben Powers. McLaughlin excelled at off-tackle runs, but neither Estime nor Williams fit the speed and cut-back running back profile. We could see Marvin Mims Jr. get multiple carries on jet sweep plays this week.

The Chargers are a difficult team to understand. They were one of the best defenses in the league to start the year, but as of Week 9 they are allowing the fifth-most rushing yards per game. More recently, the Chargers have allowed three 100-yard rushers in the last four games as Derrick Henry, Bijan Robinson and the injured Bucky Irving have all been able to run on this defense. The most concerning thing isn’t that Irving passed the 100-yard mark. Rather, Sean Tucker and Rachaad White also had success, as Tampa Bay had 198 rushing yards. A big reason for the decline was injuries in the secondary that forced the Chargers to place more emphasis on pass stopping, leaving their run defense vulnerable. Los Angeles suffered two more serious injuries last week. Safety Elijah Molden and cornerback Cam Hart will both miss this week. With the loss of Molden, the Chargers are now only without Marcus Maye, the only free safety left on the team for only three weeks, while both Molden and Alohi Gilman are injured.

Miami in San Francisco

De’Von Achane has problems. After averaging an unsustainable 7.8 yards per carry, Achane has declined sharply to just 3.9 yards per carry this season. More recently, the running back has surpassed 50 yards rushing just once in his last six games while averaging 36.8 yards per game and averaging just 3.1 yards per carry. It is very unlikely that Achane will reduce his role, because although the team has increased Raheem Mostert’s role over the last three weeks, he has shown nothing that would give the Dolphins the confidence to make the transition to a more committee-oriented approach , which we saw last season. Part of the problem for the Dolphins has been issues on the offensive line with Terron Armstead missing the last two weeks. Even though he is questionable, there seems to be a strong chance he can play this week, which would mean rookie Patrick Paul would be in the starting lineup again. Paul has been one of the worst run blockers in the NFL this season due to his limited playing time.

How motivated is San Francisco to finish the last three games? With absolute turmoil In the building related to De’Vondre Campbell refusing to get into the game, the 6-8 49ers have struggled, which is nothing we are used to seeing. This defense has allowed three 100-yard rushers in the last four games in Kyren Williams, James Cook and Josh Jacobs. The problem for the 49ers is their defensive line. Both Maliek Collins and Jordan Elliott were significant downgrades from the elite defensive lineman we’ve seen over the past few seasons, while Leonard Floyd plays a significant number of snaps on the sidelines when he’s unable to do so at the time Run stopping career and is primarily just a pass rusher. If there’s any good news for the 49ers, it’s that they get another week with former All-Pro safety Talanoa Hufanga, who returned in Week 15, along with linebacker Dre Greenlaw. While neither player was a standout in Week 15, the return of their regular starters for another week should be signs of improvement for this struggling defense.

Photos provided by Imagn Images