NFL Power Rankings 2020: Ranking every starting running back

8. Joe Mixon, Cincinnati Bengals

Mixon and the running backs ranked in the seventh and sixth spots all fit into the same category, and you can rearrange them in any given order depending on the day. Mixon falls to eighth after failing to improve on a borderline Pro Bowl campaign in 2018, but the Bengals deserve a lot of blame for his shortcomings in 2019.

The Bengals easily won the Joe Burrow sweepstakes in 2019, going 2-14 in their first season under head coach Zac Taylor. The offense played horribly, with the exceptions of Tyler Boyd and Mixon. Behind one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL, Mixon still ground out 1,137 yards and five touchdowns. He also added 287 yards and three touchdowns through the air.

Behind a better offensive line and a balanced attack, Mixon averaged 83.4 rushing yards per game in 2018. That average dipped to 71.1 yards this past season, but it’s still impressive considering the pieces around Mixon. Remember, the Bengals even benched Andy Dalton for Ryan Finley for three games in the middle of the season.

In the first eight games of the 2019 season, Mixon averaged roughly 3.2 yards per attempt and 40 yards per game. In contrast, he caught fire during Cincinnati’s final eight games. During that stretch, Mixon averaged 4.6 yards per attempt and 102 yards per game. He ran for over 130 yards three times in the season’s final four weeks.