Fantasy players will have a heavy interest in the matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. There will be no shortage of players from both teams to put in your lineup. Let’s take a look at who to start and sit for this Week 13 clash.
*Projections from our colleagues at The Huddle
QB Patrick Mahomes
Although he was a bit off in the red zone, Mahomes still threw for over 300 yards and a touchdown pass against the Los Angeles Rams last week. He’s now up to six games in a row with at least 300 passing yards as he continues to pace the QB position in fantasy.
The Bengals have a talented secondary, but struggle to get pressure on the passer. As long as the Chiefs’ offensive line can keep him upright, Mahomes will continue to cruise along.
RB Isiah Pacheco
Pacheco received a season-high 22 carries last week, but he posted his lowest yardage total of the last three weeks. His saving grace was finding the endzone for the first time since Week 1 and making a 17-yard catch.
Even if his yardage fluctuates a bit, the volume that he’s getting in such an explosive offense warrants him being in lineups no matter what the matchup is. The Bengals are middle of the pack against the run, so there will be opportunities for Pacheco to make plays.
WRs JuJu Smith-Schuster/Marquez Valdes-Scantling/Skyy Moore/Justin Watson
It’s been a wild ride with the Chiefs’ WR corps in 2022, filled with injuries, inconsistencies and Mahomes spreading wealth to different guys each week. Smith-Schuster continues to be the safe bet as he comfortably leads all Chiefs’ receivers in receptions and receiving yards.
Coming off a concussion, he was eased back into action last week, catching three balls for 38 yards. He should be ready to get back to his usual workload this week, and although the Bengals are tough against the pass, Smith-Schuster has had 100-yard games against some talented secondaries this season. He’s a good WR2 option.
Valdes-Scantling continues to be the most frustrating Chiefs’ receiver. He leads all K.C. receivers in snaps played by a wide margin, but you never know how he’s going to produce. One contributing factor to that has been his struggle with drops. Despite his big play potential Valdes-Scantling is just too risky of a fantasy play.
Skyy Moore now has back-to-back weeks of catching five passes on six targets, capitalizing on his expanded playing time. However, with a tough matchup against Cincinnati and the returns of Kadarius Toney and Mecole Hardman looming, Moore isn’t a good fantasy option.
The same can be said for Justin Watson, who has surprisingly led all Chiefs’ receivers in snaps played over the last two weeks but hasn’t produced much.
TE Travis Kelce
Kelce can secure his seventh-straight 1,000-yard receiving season this week if he gets to 88 yards. He has already set a career-high in touchdown receptions with 12 and has a shot at Rob Gronkowski’s record of 18. Kelce might have extra motivation this week to show out for the city where he went to college.
Chiefs' defense/special teams
The Chiefs’ defense has been a solid fantasy play over the last month with 16 sacks in its last four games. However, it’s still allowing a hefty amount of passing yards per game and has only forced 12 turnovers so far this season. A matchup against the fourth ranked passing offense of the Bengals isn’t very appealing for the K.C. defense, leaving it best left on your bench this week.
K Harrison Butker
Bukter had a perfect stat line again last week, going 4/4 on field goal opportunities and 2/2 on extra points. His kicking woes appear to be behind him as he settles back into the top tier of kickers. The Chiefs have the top scoring offense in the NFL, making Butker a must-start every week.
QB Joe Burrow
Burrow ranks top five among all QBs in yards, touchdowns and completion percentage. He’s also getting a big boost this week with receiver Ja’Marr Chase and running back Joe Mixon returning from injury.
The only real downside to Burrow’s game is that he is the most sacked QB in the league, but that’s obviously not having a huge impact on his statistics. The Chiefs’ defense is in the bottom half of the NFL in passing yards allowed and this game could turn into a shootout, making Burrow one of the best starts of the week.
RBs Joe Mixon/Samaje Perine
Mixon will return for this matchup after missing the last two weeks with a concussion. Outside of one monster performance against the Carolina Panthers where he rushed for 153 yards and scored five total touchdowns, Mixon hasn’t run as well as he has in previous years.
He is averaging just 3.8 yards per carry but has been pretty productive as a receiver with 41 receptions. Given that balance, Mixon is a safe RB2. His backup Perine did a great job filling in over the last two games, racking up at least 90 total yards in each game and scoring four total touchdowns.
With Mixon back, Perine will likely be relegated back to a third-down back, but it’s possible he gets a little more work if the Bengals want to ease Mixon back in. Perine is a solid flex play in deep leagues.
WRs Ja'Marr Chase/Tee Higgins/Tyler Boyd
The Bengals get another big weapon back this week in Chase, who has missed the last four games with a hip injury. He was really heating up before his injury, going over 100 receiving yards and two touchdowns in each of his last two games.
Chase absolutely torched the Chiefs in the regular season last year when he caught 11 passes for 266 yards and three touchdowns. He is an obvious WR1 when he’s healthy. Cincinnati just so happens to have another WR1 in Tee Higgins, who has been on fire the last two weeks with a total of 16 catches for 262 yards and a touchdown.
Surprisingly, Boyd has struggled to produce during Chase’s absence, catching just two passes in each of his last two games. He is certainly capable of putting up good numbers in any given game, but his track record this season is shaky. Boyd is better left on your bench unless you’re in a deep league and desperate.
TE Hayden Hurst
Hurst will put up a dud stat line every so often, but with how shallow the tight end position is in fantasy, he’s one of the better options out there. He has at least four receptions in four of his last five games and saw a season-high nine targets last week.
The returns of Mixon and Chase will likely hurt his production, but Hurst is still a solid start, especially in a game that could be a potential shootout.
Bengals' defense/special teams
For fantasy purposes, the Bengals’ defense hasn’t been very productive unless it has had a good matchup. It’s middle of the pack against the run and pass and struggles to get pressure on the QB and create turnovers. With a matchup against the No. 1 offense in football, the Bengals’ defense definitely shouldn’t be considered for any lineups this week.
K Evan McPherson
You would think McPherson would be a little more productive given the Bengals’ potent offense, but he is currently outside of the top 10 in scoring among kickers in fantasy. Four missed field goals and two missed extra points have hampered him a bit. This game has shootout potential, so McPherson is a solid option this week.
