When you're putting together your Week 19 playoff lineups, you may be mulling which Broncos running back to start. C.J. Anderson and Ronnie Hillman were a committee during the season, and it went back and forth as to which one was better. At the end of the year, their numbers were very similar: rushing yards, receptions, touchdowns .
Then in Week 17, they both had big games against San Diego. Both rushed for at least 95 yards, and both scored. That, however, was against a very poor Chargers run defense, while Pittsburgh has a top-5 defense in that regard.
In terms of effectiveness, Anderson looks like the best bet. Hillman was better in the first half of the season, when Anderson held (and then lost) the starting job. But in the second half of the season, Anderson was better in almost every game.
The numbers below highlight yards per carry for the two backs in each game both played in. The superior back each week is in bold. In all but two of the team's last nine games, Anderson was better.
| ANDERSON VERSUS HILLMAN, YARDS PER CARRY | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opp | RB | Att | Yds | Avg | RB | Att | Yds | Avg |
| BAL | Anderson | 12 | 29 | 2.4 | Hillman | 12 | 41 | 3.4 |
| @ KC | Anderson | 12 | 27 | 2.3 | Hillman | 9 | 34 | 3.8 |
| @ DET | Anderson | 8 | 18 | 2.3 | Hillman | 7 | 13 | 1.9 |
| MIN | Anderson | 11 | 43 | 3.9 | Hillman | 11 | 103 | 9.4 |
| @ OAK | Anderson | 11 | 22 | 2 | Hillman | 7 | 21 | 3 |
| @ CLE | Anderson | 13 | 41 | 3.2 | Hillman | 20 | 111 | 5.6 |
| GB | Anderson | 14 | 101 | 7.2 | Hillman | 19 | 60 | 3.2 |
| @ IND | Anderson | 7 | 34 | 4.9 | Hillman | 7 | 1 | 0.1 |
| KC | Anderson | 2 | 9 | 4.5 | Hillman | 11 | 42 | 3.8 |
| @ CHI | Anderson | 12 | 59 | 4.9 | Hillman | 21 | 102 | 4.9 |
| NE | Anderson | 15 | 113 | 7.5 | Hillman | 14 | 59 | 4.2 |
| @ SD | Anderson | 7 | 42 | 6 | Hillman | 19 | 56 | 2.9 |
| @ PIT | Anderson | 4 | 14 | 3.5 | Hillman | 14 | 48 | 3.4 |
| CIN | Anderson | 9 | 73 | 8.1 | Hillman | 9 | 35 | 3.9 |
| SD | Anderson | 15 | 95 | 6.3 | Hillman | 15 | 117 | 7.8 |