Running back Rob Kelley started the first two games for the Washington Redskins, but an injury sidelined him. Then came Samaje Perine before an injury knocked him aside. And then it was fan favorite Mack Brown's turn. Amid all of this, Chris Thompson kept doing what he's been doing since the start of last season: Making big plays.
But because of the injuries, it's a necessary time to review the Redskins' running back situation moving forward:
Rob Kelley: He's still nursing sore ribs stemming from the Week 2 win over the Rams. Kelley had expressed confidence last week that he would play vs. the Raiders, but the team decided otherwise and shut him down. But when he returns, Kelley will be the No. 1 back. He'll practice Wednesday, albeit in a limited role. The Redskins don't play again until Monday night at Kansas City.
"He got [78] yards rushing in a quarter and a half last week, so he's still our No. 1 lead dog," Redskins coach Jay Gruden said.
Kelley isn't the flashiest back, but he takes care of the ball and he's more consistent with his assignments.
Samaje Perine: He bruised his hand in Sunday night's win over the Raiders -- and fumbled on the same play. The latter might do more damage than the former, considering he also lost a fumble in the preseason. Coaches have long memory on such plays. But the injury is not serious and there's hope that he'll be OK sooner rather than later. He might not miss any time.
When healthy, he's still the No.2 back behind Kelley. Perine remains on a learning curve as he adjusts to running with the quarterback under center. In his two games, Perine has carried 14 times when quarterback Kirk Cousins is in shotgun formation. He's gained 70 yards on those plays and averaged 5.0 yards per carry. When Cousins is under center, Perine has gained 46 yards and averaged 1.77 per carry. Perine ran mostly from shotgun while at Oklahoma.
Sunday, the Raiders did a good job controlling him. Often, they'd use seven or eight in the box and play the linebackers a yard or two closer to the line when he was in the game, allowing them to stuff him sooner. That's one reason he managed only 20 yards on 10 carries with Cousins under center (and nine for 29 when in shotgun).
Mack Brown: When Perine was injured, Brown took over the full-time duties and rushed six times for 27 yards. Brown has excellent burst and managed to squeeze out extra yards because of his ability to turn the corner, then hit it up fast. Coaches have wanted to see more consistency from him in all phases before moving him up the depth chart.
Gruden said he'd like to get Brown more work, but that's hard to do considering he'll be the fourth running back unless someone is injured. And the fourth back often isn't active for game days.
Chris Thompson: Once more he stood out and showed why he's their best offensive weapon in the early part of the season. He caught six passes for 150 yards and ran the ball eight times for 38 more. The 14 touches is probably on the higher end of how much work they want to give Thompson. They're well aware of his value, which is why they want to make sure he plays 16 games. Running him between the tackles vs. heavy fronts is not the way to accomplish that goal.
Yes, Thompson would love more work.
"He's going to keep pushing me for them, but he's not going to get them," Gruden said.