Bilal Powell at Bucs: Matt Forte out-snapped Powell 32-15 last week against the Bills, and Forte exploded for two touchdowns and 96 yards on 18 touches while Powell went for 74 yards on nine carries. Both obviously had strong games, but this backfield is real tough to predict on a week-to-week basis. Things may be easier this time around, as Forte’s knee swelled up this week, and he didn’t practice Wednesday or Thursday. If Forte sits, which seems likely at this point, Powell should slide right into lead-back duties. In Week 4 when Powell was healthy and Forte missed, Powell played 46-of-70 snaps and ran for 163 yards and one touchdown on 21 carries against the Jaguars, adding four catches for 27 yards. Rookie Elijah McGuire played 19 snaps that day and managed 131 yards and one score on 12 touches. Expect a similar situation this week against the Bucs if Forte misses. Tampa Bay has been dreadful defensively, checking in at 29th in fantasy points allowed to running backs and 22nd in run-defense DVOA. Saints rookie Alvin Kamara was the overall RB1 against the Bucs last week, both Christian McCaffrey and Jonathan Stewart were top-30 RBs in Week 8, and LeSean McCoy was the overall RB2 in Week 6. This defense is brutal, and word out of Tampa Bay is the Bucs’ players are already giving up on the season. Powell has RB1 upside if Forte sits.
