In advance of Sunday night’s Chiefs-Ravens game, Chiefs Wire examines the matchup with fantasy football projections for Kansas City players courtesy of our colleagues at The Huddle.
The Chiefs hit the road after squeaking past Cleveland 33-29, while the Ravens lick their wounds after losing 33-27 in overtime at the Raiders. This should be yet another close game for both, but it only took the Chiefs three minutes to make up a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter. The Ravens are at home, but they played on the road in a Monday night overtime game. That’s hard to get over in just six days.
The Chiefs won 34-20 at Baltimore in Week 3 last year.
Team notes
The Chiefs remain remarkably unchanged from last season, and the offense continues to funnel through Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill. This should be an even tougher year with the rest of the AFC West already improved, and the division experienced no losses in Week 1. The Chiefs catch a break with the Ravens coming off an overtime loss on Monday night. The rushing effort still disappoints and that won’t likely improve this week. And the Chiefs had nearly no help from any player other than Hill and Kelce. At some point, they have to figure out a suitable No. 3 receiver.
Quarterback
Vintage Patrick Mahomes. When the Chiefs fell behind in the fourth quarter, he not only led the comeback, he used the same two players that everyone knew he would use. He ended with 337 yards and three scores with no turnovers in the win over the Browns. Mahomes passed for 385 yards and four touchdowns at the Ravens last year and ran in a score.
Patrick Mahomes projection vs. Ravens
Fantasy Points: 30
Passing: 300 yds, 3 TD
Rushing: 30 yds, 0 TD
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Running back
The rushing offense continues to lag expectations. Clyde Edwards-Helaire only ran for 43 yards on 14 carries last Sunday and caught three passes for 29 yards. But in fairness, he was facing a Top-8 rushing defense from last year. He’ll face a slightly weaker rush defense this week and he ran for 64 yards on 20 rushes in Baltimore last season, plus added five receptions for 70 yards. Darrel Williams only took one carry in Week 1, so Edwards-Helaire will own almost all touches for the backfield.
Clyde Edwards-Helaire projection vs. Ravens
Fantasy points: 18
Rushing: 50 yds, 1 TD
Receiving: 4 rec, 30 yds 0 TD
Wide receiver
After the game, Mahomes described Tyreek Hill as a speedy “little fella.” But he’s a killer, too, as seen when he posted 11 receptions for 197 yards and a touchdown on the Browns secondary. Mecole Hardman is expected to be the No. 2 wideout but only caught three passes for 19 yards. So far, it’s still almost entirely Hill when Mahomes throws to a wide receiver. Hill ended with 77 yards and a score on five catches versus the Ravens.
Tyreek Hill projection vs. Ravens
Fantasy points: 19
Receiving: 5 rec, 80 yds, 1 TD
Mecole Hardman projection vs. Ravens
Fantasy points: 7
Receiving: 3 rec, 40 yds, 0 TD
Tight end
Travis Kelce also blew up in the season opener. He ended with six catches for 76 yards and two touchdowns. He’s a lock for a Top-10 finish every week, if not Top-3 among tight ends. Kelce caught six catches for 87 yards in Baltimore last season.
Travis Kelce projection vs. Ravens
Fantasy points: 29
Receiving: 8 rec, 90 yds, 2 TD
Match to the defense
This is a rematch of Week 3 of 2020. As noted, the Ravens are likely still smarting from their Monday night overtime loss and their schedule lightens up after this game. There’s no reason to break it down. Mahomes, Hill, and Kelce are always above their weekly matchup. Edwards-Helaire is an option as well. The Chiefs want him to expand his contributions and the Ravens will be at least incrementally easier to run on than the Browns. And there’s a chance that if either Kelce or Hill was covered, that Edwards-Helaire will grow into a heavier role as a receiver.
Given the lack of other credible receivers, grooming Edwards-Helaire for more use as a receiver makes sense. Mecole Hardman remains outside of fantasy consideration. The Ravens lost CB Marcus Peters a week ago. That could help Hardman get lighter coverage, but the risk remains too high to consider him yet.