Denver Broncos @ Kansas City Chiefs Matchup Preview 12/15/19: Analysis, Daily Fantasy

The 2020 fantasy football draft is coming up. Lineups has the latest fantasy football rankings including defense fantasy football rankings. We have everything you need for your season long draft with accurate fantasy football projections and historical fantasy football stats. For you DFS junkies, check out our updated NFL DFS projections.

The Broncos are heading to Kansas City to take on the Chiefs this Sunday. The Broncos have been looking good since Drew Lock returned from injury and will be looking to get their third win in a row. Lock threw for 309 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception in their last game for a rating of 136.0. The Broncos have also had a subpar pass defense this season, which is a great look going into this game. Mahomes has had three straight games with a passer rating below 85, so the Broncos are going to be looking to continue that streak. Regardless of Mahomes’ passer rating, the Chiefs have won three straight games including a big win against the Patriots last week. I think the Broncos are going to put up a big fight on Sunday, but I don’t know if they’ll be able to contain the Chiefs. Click here for more matchup and betting information on the Broncos @ Chiefs game.

TV Schedule

Date: Sunday, December 15, 2019
Time: 10:00 AM
Location: Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, MO
Coverage: CBS

Injury Report:

Broncos: Jeremiah Attaochu (Q), Adam Gotsis (Q), Mike Purcell (Q), Isaac Yiadom (Q), Ja’Wuan James (Q), A.J. Johnson (Q), Von Miller (Q), Joe Jones (Q), Dre’Mont Jones (D), Malik Reed (Q), Ronald Leary (Q), Noah Fant (Q), Derek Wolfe (O)
Chiefs: Frank Clark (Q), Morris Claiborne (Q), Damien Williams (Q), Rashad Fenton (Q), Andrew Wylie (Q), Darrel Williams (O)

Denver Broncos Analysis

The Broncos have been on a two-game winning streak, including pulling off a big upset against the Texans last week. A lot of this has to do with the return of Drew Lock from injury, as it seems he’s really galvanized their offense. Against the Texans he threw 22 for 27 for 309 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception netting him a passer rating of 136.0. The Chiefs, however, have been tougher to throw against this year with a pass defense that ranks in the top half of the league. They might not be the best in the league, but they’re harder to throw against than the Texans. They’re a bottom 10 ranked rush defense, however, so I’m expecting Phillip Lindsay to be featured in this matchup. He wasn’t super productive against the Texans, taking 16 carries 51 yards and scoring a touchdown (an average 3.2 yards per carry) but I’m expecting bigger numbers out of him in this matchup as the Broncos would be wise to run against the Chiefs.

Similar to the Chiefs the Broncos have been somewhat of an underrated pass defense. Against the prolific Texans they held Watson to 292 yards, only one touchdown, and picked him off twice leaving him with a 63.1 point passer rating. On the year they’ve allowed an average 87.5 passer rating, the 13th lowest rating in the league, and an average 215.9 yards per game, the 6th fewest in the league. With how Mahomes has been playing lately, they stand a good chance at giving him trouble through the air. I would not be surprised if this ends up a lower-scoring game for the Chiefs. I expect the Broncos to give Mahomes some trouble, but whether it’ll be enough to take their third win in a row is to be decided on Sunday.

Denver Broncos Depth Chart

QB: Drew Lock
RB1: Phillip Lindsay
RB2: Royce Freeman
WR1: Courtland Sutton
WR2: DaeSean Hamilton
WR3: Tim Patrick
TE: Jeff Heuerman

Kansas City Chiefs Analysis

The Chiefs have won their past three games in a row, but they haven’t looked as powerful as they did last year (except for their 40-9 win over the Raiders in week 13). Mahomes threw 26-40 for 283 yards, one touchdown, and one interception for an 83.6 passer rating. This is his third sub-85 passer rating in a row and his fourth this season, much more than last season where he only had one. Granted, one of these games was against a Patriots defense that allows an average 59.7 passer rating, the lowest in the league. I think Mahomes and the Chiefs have the potential to come back to form this weekend against the Broncos. The Broncos have a top half, and maybe even top 10 pass defense so it won’t be easy. However, it’ll be easier than facing the Patriots. The Broncos have been worse against the rush, so LeSean McCoy might be seeing the ball a little more than usual, but I still expect them to stick to a passing-heavy game as that’s what has been working for them over the past couple of seasons.

Defensively the Chiefs have been on and off this season. They’ve been pretty good against the pass, allowing an average rating of 84.7 (the 6th lowest in the league) and an average 227.2 yards per game, the 12th fewest. They also have 13 interceptions on the season, tied with 6th other teams for the 3rd most in the league. Drew Lock had a good game last week against the Texans but didn’t get nearly as many yards against the Chargers, a more formidable pass defense. The Chiefs are going to need to be really careful about the Broncos rush offense. The Broncos have been a middling rush offense this year but the Chiefs allow an average 5.1 yards per carry, the 3rd most in the league, and an average 137.7 rush yards per game, the 5th most in the league. If the Chiefs are going to lose it’ll be because of the Broncos rushing offense, so they’ll need to plan especially hard to stop the run on Sunday.

Kansas City Chiefs Depth Chart

QB: Patrick Mahomes
RB1: Damien Williams
RB2: LeSean McCoy
WR1: Tyreek Hill
WR2: Sammy Watkins
WR3: Mecole Hardman
TE: Travis Kelce

Fantasy

Both of these teams have stronger pass offenses, so I might stray away from any 2nd or 3rd receivers on either team. Of course, starting somebody like Tyreek Hill or Courtland Sutton is going to be a good idea, but other than that you might find more luck in other matchups. However, Noah Fant might be a good pickup off the waiver wire. He had a big 21.3 point game in PPR leagues against Houston with his 4 receptions for 113 yards and a touchdown. Other than that, somebody like Darwin Thompson might be a good waiver pick up. LeSean McCoy is the starting back for the Chiefs but somebody like Thompson might be seeing the ball more with the absence of Damien Williams. However, I think there are better running back prospects on the waiver wire so you might want to check elsewhere before you decide to pick up Darwin Thompson.