After back-to-back weeks of lighting the fantasy football world on fire, all eyes were on Carolina Panthers RB Rico Dowdle with starter Chuba Hubbard back from injury. The Panthers entered the week with a good setup against a New York Jets team that was (and remained) winless on the season. We knew Carolina would get Hubbard back into the mix, but to what degree? And how would that impact production for Dowdle, who was looking like a player who could unlock the potential of your fantasy team. Let’s take a look at how touches shook out for the Panthers and other key backfield splits in Week 7.

Carolina Panthers

This was a pretty clean split in Week 7 with Hubbard back, which is what we had expected. We also figured that Dowdle would continue to play well while Hubbard may need a few games to get back up to speed. Dowdle was the more explosive back and it was apparent with the two rotating series early in the game. Hubbard had a weak series and Dowdle came in legs-a-blazing. Neither player got into the end zone. Overall, the Panthers stuck with Hubbard, who saw more snaps and ran more routes.

So how do we approach this moving forward? If you don’t have any other options, you kind of have to ride the wave. It’s good that each back is getting plenty of touches. Dowdle may not give you 30+ fantasy points or 200+ yards (not even 100+ yards) again this season. But as long as the Carolina passing game is mid, expect both backs to get plenty of work. Hubbard appears to be the passing-down back, which is a positive for PPR formats. One potential issue is the Panthers schedule is pretty brutal — the team will likely be favorites in one of its next six games. It could force Carolina to throw more or it could mean the running game gets shut down.

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For now, it’s tough to trust either back outside of a flex play until we gather more info on the split the next few weeks. It appears QB Bryce Young has a sprained ankle. If Andy Dalton is going to see any run under center, that could end up being a plus for the running game and both Hubbard and Dowdle.

Kansas City Chiefs

This was a gong show of a game so it’s hard to take much out of the backfield split. The Chiefs jumped on the Raiders early and never looked back in a 31-0 shellacking of the Raiders. Kareem Hunt appeared to injure his ankle or lower leg early in the contest but was able to return briefly. It didn’t seem like he saw much work after the injury, however. It’s something to monitor moving forward.

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Pacheco was the clear leader on the ground for most of the contest but Smith had some notable work in the passing game. Once Kansas City was up big, Pacheco took a backseat to Smith, who saw a lot of garbage-time carries. Pacheco scored to give the Chiefs a 28-0 lead and that was about it for him, finishing with 11.9 fantasy points. Smith would end his day in double digits with just over 10 FP.

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Again, see what the deal is with Hunt. If he’s banged up, Smith becomes the clear backup to Pacheco and we could see more of a split in competitive games. Smith also appears to be the passing-down back, which is a plus. The rookie could have some flex appeal in deeper formats. It also isn’t like Pacheco is lighting up the box score. Smith feels like a strong stash if you can afford the bench spot.

New England Patriots

This may be the official end for the TreVeyon Henderson hype train. The rookie saw his fewest touches in a game all season. Meanwhile, the Patriots are clearly OK with Stevenson’s fumbling issues and will just live with it. For what it’s worth, the veteran has lost a fumble just once in the past four games since that two-fumble performance against the Steelers earlier in the season.

We can retire the Patriots from this article series for the time being. This is Stevenson’s backfield until an injury happens. You can comfortably start Stevenson as a decent RB2/3 option in most formats. The running game should remain secondary to the passing game with Drake Maye playing out of his skull. Plus, Maye had eight carries for 62 yards in Week 7 vs. the Titans. Also, shoutout to Terrell Jennings (?), a second-year back out of Texas A&M. He had five carries for 18 yards in garbage time for New England. Something to note.

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Tennessee Titans

The Titans aren’t a very good football team, which is never helpful for fantasy football. Yet, in a season with plenty of injuries, we have to always consider our options. So while it feels gross, you may still need to rely on Pollard or Spears on your team.

Pollard actually got you there in full PPR formats thanks to the catches. This is a bit odd because Spears had been the pass-down specialist. We’re not sure if that will continue to be the case. There’s just no way we can expect much from Pollard or Spears on the ground with a passing game this bad. Similar to the Panthers up top, the Titans have a brutal schedule the rest of the season. Tennessee may struggle to win a game the rest of the way let alone put up any significant points.

You can’t feel good playing either back. But you can still roster them with hopes something could turn around. It isn’t likely, but crazier things have happened. One good thing is Cam Ward should continue to target his RBs as a safety valve. So if you’re desperate in deeper PPR formats, Pollard and/or Spears can maybe be OK flex plays. Maybe …