Tyrod Taylor and Sammy Watkins Are Likely to Underperform Against the Chiefs

Though Rob Ryan’s month certainly didn’t go as planned, his brother Rex has had a good go at things in recent weeks. Sure, Ryan and the Buffalo Bills were unable to close the gap between themselves and the New England Patriots last week in a losing effort, but the game was kept close down to the final whistle.

Additionally, the Bills are still in second place in the AFC Eastern Division with an away game against the 5-5 Chiefs in Kansas City during the team’s Week 12 fixture. Not a bad spot to be in, right? Well, after taking a look at things, it appears that both quarterback Tyrod Taylor and wideout Sammy Watkins—the Bills’ two top talents—might be in for a bit of trouble this week against Andy Reid’s squad.

For starters, at least as far as Taylor is concerned, the Chiefs are no longer a weak defensive force. After a slow start, the Chiefs’ defense hasn’t allowed a quarterback to put up more than 11 points in standard fantasy leagues in the past five weeks. Additionally, Taylor currently finds himself entrenched in a bit of a slump, combining for only 22 fantasy points in two weeks of play against the New York Jets and Patriots. Oh, and he’s also nursing a hurt shoulder. Not much of a recipe for success, if being completely honest.

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On the other side of things, Watkins’ fantasy outlook isn’t too bright, either. Sure, Taylor has had it rough against the Jets’ and Patriots’ defensive schemes, but on a more specific level, Watkins has had to do battle with the likes of Darrelle Revis and Malcolm Butler. So he’s tired, sure—but don’t act like the Chiefs’ pass defense isn’t also a force to be reckoned with.

In the past three weeks, it’s managed to hold the likes of Calvin Johnson, Demaryius Thomas and Steve Johnson to just eight, seven and five fantasy points. Seeing as how Watkins was only able to bring in a total of four combined fantasy points against the Jets and Patriots, he’s likely to struggle against the Chiefs, too. Fantasy owners, take note—this upcoming week, Watkins simply can’t be considered more than a No. 3 receiver.

So, though Ryan’s squad has seen subtle signs of success this NFL season, don’t count on the eccentric coach—or his star players, for that matter—to produce anything of real fantasy value during their Week 12 matchup against the Chiefs.