Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
After becoming one of the hottest waiver wire commodities a few weeks ago, Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Bobby Rainey hasn’t quite done what his owners were hoping for. Entering Week 14 of the NFL season, and for most the final week of the regular fantasy football season, Rainey is set to have a dark horse fantasy performance.
Back in Week 11, Rainey stepped onto the field as the starter for the Buccaneers and showed that he had what it takes to be a fantasy relevant player. The Buccaneers handed the rock to Rainey a remarkable 30 times and he was able to gain 163 yards and two touchdowns. Hoping he would continue to put up good sized numbers, fantasy players around the nation snatched up Rainey only to see him gain less than 100 yards rushing in his last two games combined and zero touchdowns.
While some fantasy owners may have jumped off the bandwagon, it may have been a little too early to pack up and ship out Rainey. In his subpar last two weeks, Rainey had some tough run defenses to go against in the Detroit Lions and the Carolina Panthers. Arguably, those two run defenses could be the best in the league at this point of the season, and no running backs have been able to give their fantasy owners a ton of points against the two teams.
Looking ahead to the Week 14 match-up against the Buffalo Bills, Rainey could easily once again give his owners a solid fantasy outing.
The Bills may appear to be in the top half of the NFL at stopping the run as they only allow an average of 14.5 fantasy points to opposing running backs, but that number has been deceiving as of late. In their last three games, the Bills have given up 100+ rushing yards each game and a score, not to mention the three scores the Atlanta Falcons were able to muster last week.
Rainey is without a doubt the starting running back for the Buccaneers, and they never shy away from putting the ball into his hands. Now he may not have the 30+ fantasy point performance we saw from Rainey back in that Week 11 game, but based on the way the Bills defense has been as of late, it’s a good bet to say Rainey will gather at least 100 yards on the ground and find the end zone for the first time since Week 11.
Tristen Challe is a Fantasy Writer for Rantsports. Follow him on Twitter @TristenChalle or on Google
