Jackie Battle rushed three times for two yards and caught two passes for 12 yards in San Diego's Week 15 blowout loss to Carolina. Battle saw a slight uptick in usage because Ryan Mathews left with an early second-quarter shoulder injury. Curtis Brinkley played more of the snaps, however, because he's a superior passing-down option and San Diego was in passing situations all day due to a huge deficit. Should Mathews and Ronnie Brown (hamstring) not play in Week 16, Battle would figure to be the primary early-down back against the Jets.

Jackie Battle rushed just twice for two yards and caught one pass for 10 yards in Week 12 against the Ravens. Ryan Mathews got the start in Week 12, rightfully so, and Battle was a non-factor. He'll never have fantasy value unless Mathews gets hurt, and even then it wouldn't be very high.

Jackie Battle started the Chargers' Week 11 loss to the Broncos. Battle was the feature back on the Chargers' first two possessions. Then Ryan Mathews, who had been nursing a stiff neck, came on and carried the load the rest of the way. Battle finished with four carries for just negative-three yards. There's no real explanation for why Norv Turner started Battle if Mathews was healthy enough to play.

Jackie Battle rushed just two times for three yards in Week 6 against the Broncos. Battle received scant work, and worked as an occasional short-yardage back on Monday night. The mirage as San Diego's lead back has finally been put to bed and out of the picture. Battle didn't enter the contest until right before halftime. Ryan Mathews is the lead back moving forward and is going to play all three downs much of the time. Battle should have already been placed on waiver wires after Week 5.

Jackie Battle "started" San Diego's Week 5 loss to the Saints, but ended up with just four carries for 10 yards. He added two catches for seven yards. Battle was the every-down back on San Diego's first two drives, but became an afterthought after Ryan Mathews entered on series three and promptly began dominating the Saints' 32nd ranked run defense. Battle didn't touch the ball the game's final 41 minutes, and was clearly behind both Mathews and Ronnie Brown in the passing game. His three-week moment in the sun has come and gone. Hopefully you didn't blow your entire free-agent budget.

The Union-Tribune San Diego reports Jackie Battle is expected to start over Ryan Mathews against the Saints on Sunday Night Football. Per beat writer Michael Gehlken, Mathews will enter "based on game flow," and could still "finish with more touches." Nevertheless, it's unwelcome news for those hoping Mathews' demotion was a one-week occurrence, especially considering the Chargers are taking on the Saints' 32nd ranked run defense. Mathews maintains a massive talent advantage over his 29-year-old backfield mate, but he's going to be in at least a semi-timeshare until he regains the coaching staff's trust. All that being said, Mathews might need only a few big early carries against Steve Spagnuolo's disastrous run unit to get himself back in coach Norv Turner's good graces.

Chargers coach Norv Turner was noncommittal Friday when asked who he'll start at running back in Week 5 against the Saints. "The starter, we'll find out on the first play of the game," Turner said. If the Chargers had truly had a permanent depth-chart change, it stands to reason Turner wouldn't have been so evasive and named Jackie Battle the starter as he was last week. But that's not the case. Turner did indicate that Battle and Mathews will form a Week 5 timeshare. "It's not a big deal," said Turner. "One had 14 carries and one had 15 carries (last week), and if we can get that done again, it'll be outstanding."

The Chargers.com depth chart now lists Jackie Battle as San Diego's first-team tailback, ahead of Ryan Mathews. And fantasy land loses its mind in 3 ... 2 ... 1 ... We'll give the Chargers this: if this is all part of a message-sending process aimed at Mathews, it's certainly elaborate. Mathews was mistake free on 16 touches in Week 4 aside from one dropped pass on an apparent miscommunication with Philip Rivers. In Week 3, his red-zone fumble occurred on the third possession of the game after Mathews missed the previous six weeks with a collarbone fracture. Against the Chiefs last week, Battle was the primary back until the blowout win got out of hand. We'll have more on the Battle-Mathews situation as the week moves forward, but for now the tea leaves suggest this will be a timeshare backfield until something changes, despite a major talent disparity between the two runners.

Jackie Battle admits he was shocked to receive the bulk of the Chargers' running back load in Week 4 against the Chiefs. In other words, the Chargers didn't use Battle as the first-team back in practice to prepare him for the role. There's no depth-chart switch. They were sending Ryan Mathews a message. "I had no idea I was going to get that much work," Battle said. "They kept sending me back out and calling my number, so I figured I was doing something right." Since Mathews handled 16 touches without fumbling, look for him to handle the majority of work in Week 5 against New Orleans.

Jackie Battle rushed for 39 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries and caught four passes for 42 yards and another touchdown in Week 4 against the Chiefs. Battle drew the start in place of Ryan Mathews, who was being punished for his Week 3 fumble. Battle played the entire first series and led the Chargers down the field for an opening drive touchdown, while he also handled all work inside the twenties. Mathews should supplant Battle as the workhorse back in the very near future, but as long as Battle keeps scoring touchdowns, the coaching staff will keep using him. Ronnie Brown worked in as the team's third-down back. Battle isn't a real fantasy option.