Kansas City Chiefs - Fantasy News

Titans at Chiefs Start 'Em / Sit 'Em

by Aaron Bowers

1/3/18

NFL

Kansas City Chiefs

Kareem Hunt

Wild Card weekend kicks off on Saturday afternoon when the No. 5 seed Tennessee Titans travel to Arrowhead Stadium to take on the No. 4 seed Kansas City Chiefs.

The Titans backed their way into the playoffs, losing five of their last seven games with their only victories in that span coming by a combined nine points against the Colts and Jaguars. Mediocre on both offense and defense, Tennessee will need to come up with some big plays in order to pull off an upset and advance to the divisional round.

Meanwhile, Kansas City started and ended the season as one of the hottest teams in football. However, between five-game and four-game win streaks was a stretch in which the Chiefs went 1-6, including losses to the Jets, Giants and Raiders. Whatever ailed the Kansas City offense in the middle part of the season appears to have been fixed, though, as it scored 26 points or more in each of its last five games.

Tennessee Titans Wild Card Round Projected Fantasy Points
Marcus Mariota: 14.5 PFP
Rishard Matthews: 9.0 PFP
Delanie Walker: 9.0 PFP
Derrick Henry: 8.5 PFP
Ryan Succop: 8.5 PFP
Corey Davis: 5.5 PFP
Eric Decker: 5.5 PFP

Kansas City Chiefs Wild Card Round Projected Fantasy Points
Alex Smith: 18.0 PFP
Kareem Hunt: 16.0 PFP
Tyreek Hill: 13.5 PFP
Travis Kelce: 13.5 PFP
Harrison Butker: 11.0 PFP
Albert Wilson: 7.0 PFP

Start 'Em: Derrick Henry (8.5 PFP)
Dober Fantasy Points Per Game: 8.22

With DeMarco Murray sidelined with a knee injury, the Tennessee backfield belongs to Henry. In two games in which Murray has been inactive or left early with an injury, Henry scored 15.2 and 18.2 DFP. In Week 17, he handled 29 touches while playing 97 percent of the offensive snaps. Over the last five games, Kansas City has allowed more than 8.5 DFP to Bilal Powell, Matt Forte, Marshawn Lynch, Melvin Gordon and De’Angelo Henderson. We expect the Titans to lean on Henry in this game in an effort keep the Kansas City offense on the sideline. If and when Tennessee does get into scoring position, the former Heisman winner will be options one, two and three to get the touchdown.

Sit 'Em: Marcus Mariota (14.0 PFP)
Dober Fantasy Points Per Game: 14.17

Limited by an offense that doesn’t play to his strengths, Mariota has failed to develop into the player Tennessee hoped he would be when it selected him No. 2 overall in the 2015 NFL Draft. Mariota has scored more than 14.0 DFP in five games this season, and none of those outings came against playoff teams. Kansas City may not be very good in the secondary, but Tennessee has one of the worst pass offenses in football. Making his first playoff start on the road in a hostile environment, this doesn’t look to be the situation in which Mariota turns things around with a big game.

Start 'Em: Kareem Hunt (16.0 PFP)
Dober Fantasy Points Per Game: 17.17

As Hunt goes, so go the Chiefs. This lesson was learned by fantasy football players in the first game of the season, but it seems the Kansas City coaching staff has only recently caught on. Hunt averaged 21.33 DFP per game in wins compared to 8.08 DFP in losses this season. Tennessee has been solid against the run, but it recently gave up 44.6 DFP to Todd Gurley, and the offensive line in Kansas City has been mauling teams lately. With touch totals of 28, 31 and 33 in his last three full games, Hunt has a high likelihood to get the 100 scrimmage yards and touchdown he’ll need to get over his PFP this week.

Sit 'Em: Tyreek Hill (13.5 PFP)
Dober Fantasy Points Per Game: 14.11

One of the fastest players in the league, Hill is a threat to score a touchdown from nearly anywhere on the field. However, his touchdowns have been limited to 30-plus yard passes (seven) and punt returns (one) this season. Against a Tennessee defense that plays a ton of man coverage, this looks like a matchup on paper in which Hill can feast. But the Titans happen to have one of the few players in the NFL who can nearly match Hill’s athleticism. Rookie Adoree’ Jackson has evolved into one of the better corners in the league and will be opposite Hill often in this one. The USC product held speedsters Keelan Cole and Dede Westbrook in check last week, and we expect him to do the same to Hill in this game.