Kansas City Chiefs @ Denver Broncos
Final Score: Broncos 28, Chiefs 24
Writer: Pranav Babarjung
Three Up
- Rashee Rice – Rice’s return from injury started off with a bang as he led the team in receptions and targets.
- Jonah Coleman – RJ Harvey’s sudden IR stint gave Coleman the opportunity he needed to take over this backfield.
- Emmett Johnson – The rookie racked up 143 all purpose yards off just six touches. Premium handcuff.
Two Down
- J.K. Dobbins – Another inefficient performance from Dobbins opened the door for Coleman to flourish.
- Evan Engram – Engram ended with no production despite leading the TE room in targets.
Kansas City Chiefs
Quarterback
Patrick Mahomes : 30/41, 321 Yards, 3 TDs | 2 Carries, 6 Yards
With his number one receiver back in action, Mahomes looks back to form. He was pressured often, taking 10 hits in contrast to the two sacks he took (one of which was on the very last play of the game). The expected decisiveness is clearly still there; the 73-yard touchdown pass to Emmett Johnson was thrown with a man right up in his face. On the final drive he led the Chiefs down the field, and even threw the game-winning touchdown to Rashee Rice, but it was wiped due to a false start. Although it ended in a loss, this was a great get-right game for Mahomes after last week’s encounter with Seattle.
Running Back
Kenneth Walker III: 21 Carries, 69 Yards | 5 Targets, 4 Receptions, 15 Yards
Walker puts up another floor game as he fails to find the end zone. He still got the lion’s share of carries and matched Johnson in targets, but ended with a less than stellar fantasy performance. He was the feature back on the final drive and had two unsuccessful chances to score (from the 4-yard line and the 1-yard line). The light schedule coming up should give Walker more chances to hit the ceiling we saw weeks one through six.
Emmett Johnson: 1 Carry, 15 Yards | 5 Targets, 5 Receptions, 128 Yards, TD
Johnson had a blow up game, prospering primarily as a receiver. He hit for two huge plays in the second quarter: a 73-yard receiving touchdown and a 38-yard reception shortly after. For most of this game he took over as the third-down back. Johnson proved that he is a premium handcuff that should be rostered universally.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Travis Kelce: 7 Targets, 5 Receptions, 67 Yards
Kelce took over as the leading pass catcher with his game-long 32-yard reception on the final drive. Though he put up a serviceable performance, it’s interesting to note that he only had one target in Denver territory. Naturally this means he saw no end zone looks, which is unusual.
Rashee Rice: 8 Targets, 7 Receptions, 53 Yards, TD
Rice came away with the first Chiefs’ first score in his first game back. He ended up as the most-targeted pass catcher (though not by much). He remains a red zone threat and nabbed a second, game-winning touchdown that was called back due to a false start by Jaylon Moore.
Cyrus Allen: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 20 Yards
Noah Gray: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 15 Yards, TD
Both of Gray’s receptions came on the same drive. He took a short pass behind the line of scrimmage six total yards to the house.
Xavier Worthy: 6 Targets, 3 Receptions, 13 Yards
Rice’s return brought an expected downturn in production from Worthy. He had one unsuccessful end zone target from 25 yards out.
Jake Briningstool: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 6 Yards
Jalen Royals: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 4 Yards
Denver Broncos
Quarterback
Bo Nix: 20/32, 222 Yards, 2 TDs, 2-Pt Conversion | 3 Carries, 4 Yards
It seems Ryan Fitzpatrick’s comments from two weeks prior changed something for Nix, as he puts together another decent fantasy performance. From down 11 in the fourth quarter, he led the Broncos down for two consecutive touchdown drives to put them on top. 10 different players caught passes from Nix in this outing. Though it wasn’t often, he was willing to throw deep this game, including a beautiful pass to Jaylen Waddle for 35 yards. Nix has the chance to keep this success going as Denver faces Carolina next week.
Running Back
Jonah Coleman: 11 Carries, 41 Yards, TD | 5 Targets, 4 Receptions, 63 Yards
Coleman has arrived. He saw all the touches out of this backfield in the second half, and was the far more efficient back. Most of his receiving production came off of a fourth quarter 51-yard catch and run after Nix rolled right out of the pocket. This reception set up his go-ahead 5-yard touchdown, capitalizing off the position they got from the Harrison Butker miss.
J.K. Dobbins: 7 Carries, 13 Yards
It’s sad to see but injuries have caught up to this man. He is not the player he was last year and his inefficiency kept him from having any touches in the second half.
Adam Prentice: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 10 Yards
A. Prentice is not a rookie.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Courtland Sutton: 4 Targets, 4 Receptions, 53 Yards
Sutton led the team in yards, which ended up being his season-high thus far. Still not a reliable option for fantasy managers. On his second reception, he came down hard and left to get checked out, but returned to the game.
Jaylen Waddle: 6 Targets, 3 Receptions, 39 Yards, TD, 2-Pt Conversion
Waddle hit double-digit points in PPR for just the third time this season. All three of his receptions were pivotal towards the Broncos’ win, and his end zone usage is encouraging.If Nix is going to continue to be more aggressive and take some downfield shots, or even just intermediate shots, Waddle should continue to benefit.
Adam Trautman: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 30 Yards
Lil’Jordan Humphrey: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 10 Yards
Marvin Mims Jr. : 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 10 Yards | 2 Carries, 19 Yards
Nate Adkins : 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 4 Yards, TD
Troy Franklin: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 3 Yards
Evan Engram : 3 Targets, 0 Receptions