Fantasy Football: Recapping running back touches from key backfield splits from Week 11

We're almost into Week 12 of the 2025 NFL season and you'd think by now we'd have a better grasp on RB splits. Nope. Week 11 reminded us that anything can happen in fantasy football and it's incredibly difficult to project player performance week-to-week, no matter how much data we can gather.

There seemed to be an emphasis on the run game on Sunday, which allowed plenty of backup RBs to shine. Below we're going to take a look at RB touches for key backfield splits and what to make of them as we approach the fantasy football playoffs.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Player	Touches	Total Yards	Touchdowns
Travis Etienne Jr.	15	73	2
Bhayshul Tuten	19	74	1
LeQuint Allen Jr.	8	36	0

Early in the season, it was clear head coach Liam Coen wanted to get rookie RB Bhayshul Tuten involved. As a result, we saw Tuten turn in a few performances where he was flex-worthy, scoring twice in the first three weeks of the season. In the middle portion from Weeks 4-10, Tuten became more of an afterthought to Travis Etienne Jr. Things seemed to shift again in Week 11 vs. the Chargers with Tuten starting the game hot and riding that to 15 carries for 74 yards and a score.

That didn't stop Etienne from going off, posting 19 carries for 73 yards and two TDs. But in the first half, the two backs were in almost a pure split in terms of snaps:

Jaguars halftime RB snap count

Bhayshul Tuten 14
Travis Etienne Jr. 13
LeQuint Allen 2

Out of 29 plays

- Nathan Jahnke (@PFF_NateJahnke) November 16, 2025

It's also worth noting the game was 14-6 at halftime, so Los Angeles was still in it while Tuten was leading the backfield. Jacksonville would eventually pull away, which allowed LeQuint Allen Jr. to get some work. But it was interesting to see Tuten more involved in this spot. It almost felt like this was a week the team planned to get him more involved. So it's unfortunate that Tuten ended up leaving due to an ankle injury.

If Tuten can shake off the ankle injury, it's unclear how the workload will be distributed in Week 12 vs. the Cardinals. Allen had outsnapped Tuten in Weeks 9 and 10. On Sunday, Tuten looked like the best back of the trio. So this situation feels pretty volatile. But given the state of the Jags' passing game, two successful fantasy backs can exist in this offensive ecosystem. Things shouldn't drastically shift when Brian Thomas Jr. is healthy, too. Etienne will continue to be a decent RB2/3 option while Tuten jumps into flex consideration on a weekly basis, but remains risky.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Player	Touches	Total Yards	Touchdowns
Sean Tucker	21	140	3
Rachaad White	12	62	0

It was always confusing why the Bucs didn't lean more into Sean Tucker as the lead option in the backfield with Bucky Irving sidelined. Rachaad White had been the clear preferred option in terms of snaps and touches with Irving out since Week 5. We saw a drastic shift on Sunday when the Bucs took on the Bills.

Maybe it was Buffalo's Swiss cheese run defense but Tucker looked every bit like a starting RB, rushing 19 times for 106 yards and two scores while also adding two catches for 34 yards and another TD. At 33 fantasy points, Tucker has a good chance to finish as the RB1 overall in fantasy in Week 11. Who saw that coming? To be fair, we didn't see a lot coming from Sunday.

Tucker made multiple explosive plays, something White never really brought to the table. Yet the Bucs continued to give him the bulk of the work out of the backfield. You'd think after Sunday Tampa Bay will make it a priority to keep Tucker involved and getting touches. The issue there is Irving.

We could see Irving back on the field in Week 12. If that's the case, the Bucs have three healthy backs who have all proved to be effective. We also know that Week 11 may have just been a case of taking advantage of the matchup vs. a bad Bills run defense. We won't see Tampa Bay lean into the run every week. Which means we can't expect three backs to sustain production and be viable fantasy options.

I think the Bucs can't deny this performance from Tucker. If Irving returns, he'll be eased back into action and Tucker should still see some run. White could take a back seat with Irving getting the early-down work and Tucker mixing in as a change-of-pace back and on passing downs. If Tucker is available off the wire (he's 25% rostered), grab him just in case. We'll need to see how the split goes in Week 12 if Irving is back. If Irving remains out, Tucker can be fired up as an RB2/3.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Player	Touches	Total Yards	Touchdowns
Jaylen Warren	12	67	0
Kenneth Gainwell	16	105	2
Kaleb Johnson	5	15	0

In one of the best matchups for RBs, it was Gainwell - not Jaylen Warren - who took advantage going up against the Bengals. Warren still led the team in carries with 10 and finished with 67 total yards, but Gainwell reminded the coaching staff why he needs to be involved more. He finished with nine carries for 24 yards but did damage in the passing game with seven catches for 81 yards and two scores.

The Steelers lost QB Aaron Rodgers to a hand injury in the second half. Mason Rudolph took over and looked Gainwell's way a handful of times in the short passing game. Warren also went down with an ankle injury. Warren briefly returned but came off the field shortly after and didn't see the field again. That allowed rookie RB Kaleb Johnson to get some work. It also helped Pittsburgh built up a pretty big lead.

Gainwell's value feels more tired to Warren's health than anything. This is more of an outlier game against a bad defense coupled with Rodgers leaving. That forced the Steelers to adjust their offense and Rudolph funneled passes to Gainwell. We shouldn't see this moving forward unless Rodgers misses time. If both Rodgers and Warren were to miss time, Gainwell jumps into the RB2/3 conversation and is startable. For now, try and snag Gainwell off your waiver wire and see how things go in Week 12. The Steelers have some favorable matchups left on the schedule for RBs. Gainwell could be a viable option if you're strapped for a back.

New York Giants

Player	Touches	Total Yards	Touchdowns
Tyrone Tracy Jr.	23	139	0
Devin Singletary	17	47	2

Out of all these situations, the Giants feels like the easiest to get a grasp on. After Cam Skattebo went down and was ruled out of the season, we all expected Tyrone Tracy Jr. to take back his spot as the lead back. Devin Singletary said "Not so fast!" In Week 9, it was Singletary who led Giants RBs in snaps in a 56-44% split with Tracy. In Week 10, things swung back in favor of Tracy. On Sunday with winds gusting, we saw the Giants lean into the run game and both backs were effective.

Tracy led the way with 19 carries for 88 yards, plus four catches for 51 yards in the loss. Singletary only had one catch on a single target but had 16 carries for 44 yards and two scores. Tracy is very clearly the more dynamic back but Singletary brings experience and is the preferred goal-line and short-yardage option.

New York also had to adjust its game plan with rookie QB Jaxson Dart sidelined with a concussion. Jameis Winston was inserted over Russell Wilson at QB vs. the Packers. But the passing game was held in check thanks to the wind and Green Bay's secondary. With Winston under center, we can expect the run game to be heavily involved. Once Dart is back, expect things to shift back to a more balanced attack.

If Dart returns, we'll need to see how he's deployed. Clearly his rushing ability is elite but not sustainable from a health perspective. If the Giants ease up on the designed runs and tell Dart to be more cautious, perhaps that opens up more opportunities for Tracy/Singletary. But given the lack of talent at receiver, we can pencil in Tracy and Singletary for around 10 touches a piece. The goal-line equity makes Singletary an appealing TD-dependent FLEX. Tracy has more upside and a safer floor given his role in the passing game. Plus, the Giants will play from behind plenty the rest of the season. Both backs should be rostered in most 12-14 team leagues.