Kansas City Chiefs @ Las Vegas Raiders
Final Score: KC 27 – LV 20
Writer: Raymi Chavez
The Kansas City Chiefs slog toward an undefeated season continues. It never looked pretty, but it was also never in doubt. The evolution to a run-first, pass-later offense is not what fantasy managers want to see, but it is the reality of these Kansas City Chiefs. The Raiders had two possessions start in the Chiefs territory in the second half that resulted in 3 points, which were the difference in the game for both the Raiders and Mattison, Meyers, Bowers owners. It was a mediocre game all around with a limited amount of fantasy impact, which we’ll go through below.
Two Up
- Travis Kelce – There it is. Can it be National Tight Ends Day every day? Kelce had a vintage game as the team’s engine in the passing game.
- Jakobi Meyers – Meyers is the WR1 with Adams out of the building and was extremely reliable for Minshew, an underrated WR in fantasy football thus far.
One Down
- Alexander Mattison – Mattison had his worst game since taking over for White and one of his worst games of the season thus far. He couldn’t get anything going on the ground and was only able to scrape by off of his receiving production.
Kansas City Chiefs
Quarterback
Patrick Mahomes: 27/38, 262 Yards, 2 TD, 1 INT | 6 Carries, 17 Yards
Patrick Mahomes turnover riddled season continues. Another deflected pass led to an interception. The only solace that can be taken in this is that there have only been maybe three interceptions this year that were solely Mahomes’ fault. The rest had some type of deflection or bad bounce that led to them. He was surgical through the air, with six of his incompletions being throwaways, spikes, or drops. He scrambled for first downs with regularity and overall looked like Patrick Mahomes out there making winning plays.
Running Back
Kareem Hunt: 21 Carries, 59 Yards, TD | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 4 Yards
Hunt continued to see massive touches. It wasn’t pretty, but he only had one run for negative yards as he was always moving the ball forward, even if for only a couple of yards. Saved by his early touchdown, I would imagine this is closer to the floor than the average or norm for Hunt.
Samaje Perine: 2 Targets, 30 Yards
Perine was in for every third down of more than a yard and was in for the entire four-minute offensive drive towards the end of the first half. An unreliable fantasy option still, if Hunt falls victim to injury, Perine will immediately benefit fantasy-wise.
Carson Steele: 2 Carries, 6 Yards | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 8 Yards
Steele came in to spell Hunt on a handful of snaps when he was tired, at this point, this is as much as his role allows.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Travis Kelce: 12 Targets, 10 Receptions, 90 Yards, TD, Fumble (Recovered)
All things aligned for Kelce. Playing the Raiders, who he now holds the record for most receptions against in a career, in Las Vegas, where he has never lost, and on National Tight Ends Day. This kind of game was expected today, regardless of how his season has gone. We’ll find out next week if this is closer to what we’ll see moving forward or if it was everything lining up perfectly for him.
Xavier Worthy: 8 Targets, 4 Receptions, 37 Yards, TD
There was a clear intent to get Worthy heavily involved, but a couple of drops stopped him from having a truly impressive day. His hands need a little bit of work, but his route tree is expanding, and so is his role in the offense.
DeAndre Hopkins: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 29 Yards
There was only so much that could have been expected of Hopkins coming over to a new team on such short notice. He was reliable in the routes he ran and the targets he had, I think the Hopkins and Mahomes connection will be a special one by the time December rolls around. We may see the beginnings of that next Monday night with an extra day to learn the playbook.
Noah Gray: 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 23 Yards
Noah Gray continued to be an extremely reliable option; the volume just isn’t there for him to be relied on in fantasy.
Justin Watson: 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 33 Yards
No matter what kind of receiver situation the Chiefs have, Watson’s role has never expanded much further than this: a few targets at most and maybe a deep TD. Not dependable in fantasy.
Mecole Hardman: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 8 Yards
The gadget receiver didn’t have any plays drawn up for him today.
Las Vegas Raiders
Quarterback
Gardner Minshew: 24/30, 209 Yards, 2 TD | 2 Carries, 6 Yards, Fumble (Lost)
Minshew’s line looks fine and equaled his best fantasy output of the season thus far, but he was timid. Clearly told to cut down his interceptions, he didn’t take any deep shots and just slowly chipped away down the field with underneath routes. He looked good during the Raider’s first 15 scripted plays, and once the game got off script, he looked very below average. He is a streaming option, at best, in favorable matchups.
Running Back
Alexander Mattison: 14 Carries, 15 Yards | 5 Targets, 5 Receptions, 29 Yards
Mattison has been the only productive running back all season, even when he was a backup early in the season. Today was an especially difficult day for him as he barely got more than a yard per carry. If not for his receiving output, this would have been a devastatingly bad game. Hopefully, he can bounce back next week, as the Chiefs’ defense has been stifling even the best backs in the league.
Ameer Abdullah: 1 Carry, 2 Yards | 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 9 Yards
Abdullah saw heavy usage in passing downs and passing drives, as expected, but didn’t do a lot with it.
Zamir White: 2 Carries, -1 Yards
White got a couple of carries in the first half, with his second and last being a negative run that ruined the momentum of the drive the team was on. Never saw the field again.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Brock Bowers: 5 Targets, 5 Receptions, 58 Yards
Bowers was involved heavily early and then again on the last drive of the game, and he should’ve been more heavily involved throughout the game. He has been fantastic this season and will continue to be a must-start moving forward.
Jakobi Meyers: 7 Targets, 6 Receptions, 52 Yards, TD
Meyers has taken the reins as the team’s number-one receiver in this passing offense. Doesn’t matter the QB Meyers is always reliable. One of the more underrated options in fantasy this season, he’s got a good floor that makes him an easy FLEX option week in and week out.
DJ Turner: 4 Targets, 4 Receptions, 28 Yards, TD | 1 Carry, 4 Yards
Turner had a late TD that buoyed his production. He’s the WR2 on the roster, but with Bowers as the TE, he really is the third option, and the offense is not good enough for him to be rostered.
Tre Tucker: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 26 Yards | 1 Carry, 7 Yards
Tucker made a nice catch in the red zone and had a solid jet sweep, but he doesn’t have any fantasy relevance.
John Samuel Shenker: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 7 Yards