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Sunday Night Football has arrived and we get treated to an old fashioned AFC West showdown featuring the Denver Broncos and the Kansas City Chiefs. A win for the Broncos would keep their playoff hopes alive while a win for Kansas City would keep them within one game of the unbeaten Pittsburgh Steelers for the top place in the AFC standings. This game features an over/under of 51 with the Chiefs being favored by 13.5 points.
In this article, I will be providing you with daily fantasy football picks on FanDuel and DraftKings for the Sunday Night Football slate on December 6th (Week 13). These lineups can vary from higher-priced players and elite options to lower-priced players and value picks on both DraftKings and FanDuel.
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DFS Quarterbacks
This seems to be a pretty lopsided matchup and it will be tough to try to not squeeze in as many Chief's players as possible. The first one you would think of rostering is Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes is having another great season as he is completing 68% of his passes, has thrown for over 3.400 yards, and has 30 touchdown passes while only tossing two interceptions (against my Las Vegas Raiders). Mahomes has scored 20+ double-digit DK points in all but one game this season and that one specific game actually came against the Broncos in Week 7. He attempted only 23 passes that game while only accumulating 200 yards and one passing touchdown. If you do recall, that game featured heavy snow so the elements were not in his favor at all. Looking at the weather for the Sunday Night game, Mahomes should be good for his normal production as snow will not be in the forecast and the temperature during game-time will be in the mid-30s. Denver has a stingy pass-defense as they limit opposing quarterbacks to throwing for just 227 yards per game but Mahomes should still be able to find success as Denver is allowing over 25 points per game to their opponents.
Denver is coming off of a rough outing against the Saints as they saw all three of their rostered quarterbacks deemed ineligible to play and were placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list and had to roll out practice-squad receiver Kendall Hinton who played quarterback in college for Wake Forest. The good news for the Broncos is that starter Drew Lock and back-up Brett Rypien have come off of that list and will be able to play in this Sunday Night football game. Lock is having a tough year as he is completing just 55% of his passes and has thrown seven passing touchdowns while also being picked off 11 times this season. In the lone matchup against the Chiefs, Lock completed 60% of his passes for 254 passing yards while also throwing two interceptions.
Analysis: Mahomes is viable in all formats while Lock is just a risky tournament play. For his price, he is almost a borderline fade just due to his limited upside he presents in this matchup.
DFS Running Backs
It looks as if we could have some late injury news to monitor when it comes to the running back situations on both teams. The Chiefs have Clyde Edwards-Helaire listed as questionable due to illness and if he is unable to go, it looks as if Le'Veon Bell will handle the full workload. Bell is still being worked into the offense and while he is seeing a handful of rushing attempts per game, his pricepoint of $2,400 on DK is just too good to pass up. If CEH is able to go, he will absorb a good chunk of the rushing duties while Bell sill maintains a secondary presence in this backfield. CEH has seen back-to-back double-digit rushing attempts and gets a great matchup as the Denver defense is allowing opposing teams to rush for 131.3 yards per game which ranks 27th in the league. The game script could be in favor of the running backs as the Chiefs are expected to get out to a lead which means more rushing attempts could come in the second half of this game.
If the Broncos can't keep up with the Chief's offense, it could be a relatively quiet night for the Broncos running backs. The Chiefs allow 128.2 rushing yards per game so if teams want to hang with and potentially beat the Chiefs, part of the game plan is dominating time of possession and establishing a strong running attack. The Broncos average 113.5 rushing yards per game and could look to try to establish the run early and often in this game. Melvin Gordon III leads the Denver backfield and he has seen double-digit carries in three straight games. Gordon is averaging 55 rushing yards per game and has seven rushing touchdowns on the season. If Denver can keep this game relatively close for a decent amount of time, it will partly due to Gordon finding success on the ground. Phillip Lindsay looks to be questionable for this game with a knee injury but if he is able to go, he could be a tournament play as he is a great pass-catching option out of the backfield that also sees a solid handful of rushing attempts per game as well.
Analysis: If CEH is good to go, he would be viable in all formats. If he is unable to go, Bell would be elevated to the top running back option on the slate and would be in consideration in all formats. Gordon and Lindsay are both viable in tournaments but do carry some risk due to a negative game script.
DFS Wide Receivers
It seems pretty obvious that the most popular wide receiver play from this game will be Tyreek Hill. Hill is coming off of a monster performance against Tampa Bay as he hauled in 13 of 15 total targets for 269 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns. He posted 60.9 DK points that game which is one of the all-time best fantasy performances and looks to continue his hot 2020 campaign. Hill is second in receiving yards (1,021) and first with 13 receiving touchdowns so it makes sense to look at Hill in all formats. He had a solid stat line when the Chiefs took on the Broncos in Week 7 as he hauled in six catches on 10 targets for 55 yards and a touchdown. Hill has posted four straight games where he has gone for 25+ DK points and makes for a great tournament captain play. Rounding out the receiving corps is a healthy Sammy Watkins, Mecole Hardman, and Demarcus Robinson. While they don't necessarily see the volume like Hill and Kelce, they are all viable in tournaments as they will come in lower owned. Robinson has been somewhat consistent as he has posted double-digit DK performances in three out of the last four games played while Watkins is always good for a handful of targets and opportunities.
In theory, Denver should be playing from behind which means they will be forced to throw the ball, particularly in the second half which means their receiving group could see more targets and opportunties. Jerry Jeudy leads the Broncos in team target share as he holds 20.5% of all targets on the team. He is second on the team in terms of receptions and is one of the more reliable pass-catching options for this Denver offense. Jeudy is listed as questionable due to an ankle injury but should be good to go for the Sunday Night contest. Another viable option for Denver is Tim Patrick who has done a great job taking over one of the starting receiver spots ever since Courtland Sutton went down for the season due to a knee injury. Patrick leads Denver with three receiving touchdowns and carries the third-highest target share on the team. He has been fairly consistent as he has produced double-digit DK points in six out of ten games played this season and has seen 5+ targets in seven of those games. KJ Hamler and DaeSean Hamilton round out the group and while they do have big-play tendencies, they should be utilized as more of tournament plays than anything else. Hamler does offer a bit of a bright spot as he has seen 26 targets with his last three games when Drew Lock has been under center so he could be a tournament play that does get overlooked.
Analysis: HIll is the best receiving option on the slate and should be rolled out in all formats. Jeudy and Patrick are great compliments as Denver should be throwing and they offer the most upside on Denver. Watkins, Hardman, and Robinson make great compliments for KC stacks while KJ Hamler is a nice Denver pivot that offers up salary relief with low ownership.
DFS Tight Ends
This matchup features some strong tight end play on both sides of the ball. Travis Kelce is a supreme option in this game and is viable in all formats. Kelce is producing top wide receiver numbers this year at the tight end position as he has recorded 978 receiving yards on 74 catches while also hauling in seven receiving touchdowns on the season. Kelce has been extremely consistent as he has hit double-digit DK points in 10 out of 11 games played and makes for a great captain play. his worst game of the season came against Denver in Week 7 but once again, weather played a factor that limited the passing upside of both teams.
Noah Fant has been a bright spot in this Bronco offense and while he hasn't been as involved in the offense like he was at the beginning of the season, he has flashed upside which is something that shouldn't be ignored. Fant has the second-highest target share on the Denver offense (15.7% share) while hauling in the most receptions on the team (40). In the Week 7 game against the Chiefs, Fant saw the most targets on the team and could see another large target amount as he is one of the more reliable pass-catching options on this team.
Analysis: Kelce is viable in all formats and makes for a good captain play in tournaments. Fant is one of the reliable Denver options on the slate and pairing him with Kelce could be an interesting tournament combination.
DFS Defense/Special Teams
Even with the point total being at 51, this seems to be a lopsided affair with the Chiefs Defense being firmly in play in all formats. The Chiefs have been a stingy defensive team as they are limiting opponents to just 21.6 points per game which ranks 7th in the entire league. In Week 7, the KC defense scored 24 DK points as they had a field day with this Broncos offense. They recorded two interceptions, two fumble recoveries, three sacks, and two defensive touchdowns. The KC defense is firmly in play for all formats and would be a low-owned captain play since most people will load up on the Chief's offense. Both kickers for both teams have strong legs and are both in play as both Butker and McManus are converting over 85% of all field goal attempts on the season.
Analysis: The Chiefs defense look to be one of the best overall plays on the slate while both Butker and McManus could be rostered in tournaments.
Good luck, RotoBallers, and remember to mix it up and don't be afraid to be different in these large field GPPs!
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