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Samaje Perine is pushing to be RB1 after out-carrying Chase Brown vs. Dolphins
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- Samaje Perine is pushing to be RB1 after out-carrying Chase Brown vs. Dolphins
The Cincinnati Bengals found themselves back in the win column after a hot one in Miami against the Dolphins.
Some were worried this could be a trap game for the Bengals, but the team controlled the game from start to finish.
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One interesting storyline that came to light this past weekend was the running back situation between Chase Brown and Samaje Perine.
Brown has been good for the Bengals since being drafted but has struggled to find his groove through five games so far in 2026.
The run game has really struggled in general this season, but Perine has added a much-needed spark each time he enters the game. That consistent spark has given Perine more snaps, and he officially surpassed Brown in carries against the Dolphins.
Perine finished the day with 14 carries for 68 yards while Brown tallied 39 yards on 13 carries.
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Brown also coughed up the football inside the red zone while Perine found the end zone on a touchdown pass from Joe Burrow.
A big part of why Perine played more appeared to be due to Brown's fumble in the first half. Prior to that, Brown had more than double the number of snaps that Perine had. But after the fumble, Perine ended up getting five more snaps the rest of the game than Brown did.
When asked this week about the usage, here's what offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher told Paul Dehner of the Athletic :
"I think we'll continually assess how that touch share between (Perine) and Chase Brown should play out," Pitcher said. "Every game's different. What type of scheme we lean into is going to factor into that. Obviously, what we ran more of yesterday leans into what Samaje does well, which is get downhill and run through contact."
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It is also interesting to see that the Bengals offense has the highest EPA without Chase Brown on the field and then ranks 26th when Brown is on the field, according to Fantasy Points' Scott Barrett.
The running game will be something to monitor more and more this season, and looking to add a running back before the trade deadline shouldn't be off the table.
