Chiefs, Ravens Fantasy Football Start/Sit Decisions: Should You Start Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Isiah Pacecho, Zay Flowers, Mark Andrews and More?
Discussing fantasy football options for the Chiefs and Ravens playoff game on Sunday.
The Conference Championship Games are almost here, so it’s time to dive into start/sit decisions for each game.
We’ll start with the AFC clash between the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens. Check back later for the writeup for the Detroit Lions and San Francisco 49ers game.
Quarterback Options
The quarterback battle between Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes and Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson is an extremely fun one. Mahomes, even in a down season by his lofty standards, has guided his team to the conference title game, and then Jackson is the likely MVP this season.
Mahomes has thrown for 262 and 215 yards this postseason, with three touchdown passes to no interceptions. He’s added 60 rushing yards on eight attempts.
In the playoff game last week, Jackson threw for only 152 yards, but two touchdowns and no picks. He added 100 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 11 attempts.
The quarterbacks have tough matchups ahead. Mahomes’ matchup is as difficult as it gets, with the Ravens’ defense allowing an average of 12 fantasy points per week. The Chiefs’ defense allowed just 15 fantasy points per week.
Both teams appear pretty healthy offensively going into the game, and should have all their top playmakers out there.
Mark Andrews doesn’t carry an injury designation for the Ravens, and sparsely used receiver Tylan Wallace is questionable. No other offensive players were even on the injury report.
Kansas City has several offensive players on the injury report. A name to keep an eye on is Isiah Pacheco, who is questionable - if he’s out, the odds swing heavily in favor of Baltimore. Receiver Skyy Moore is out, while fellow WR Kadarius Toney is questionable. Those receivers wouldn’t move the needle too much though.
Verdict: Granted Pacheco plays, I have the Chiefs winning this game 24-23. I expect Mahomes to make several big plays, but still would take Jackson over Mahomes. Jackson’s running ability will help him offset whatever Mahomes does through the air, and I like Jackson’s chances of accounting for more touchdowns. I’m really fine starting either guy, which is the case for any quarterback left.
Running Back Options
The injury to Pacheco definitely complicates this section of the start/sit decisions. I expect him to play, but he’s at the very least going to be a bit limited.
Pacheco went for 111 total yards and a touchdown last week, after tallying 88 yards and a score in the team’s first playoff game. He had 25 touches in the first game and 16 a week ago.
If Pacheco cannot play, that’s a massive blow to the Chiefs’ offense. Clyde Edwards-Helaire would get the majority of the work if Pacheco is out or limited. CEH has 11 total touches this postseason, and he turned those into 56 yards. La’Mical Perine is the only other back on the active roster.
While KC might not have enough options, Baltimore has too many backs. Justice Hill, Gus Edwards and Dalvin Cook are all options.
Last week, Hill led the way with 77 total yards on 15 touches. Edwards added 39 total yards on 11 touches, while Cook had 23 yards on eight touches.
Cook could be more involved this week, but I expect the workload to still be split between the three backs, which makes it tough to play any of them.
Verdict: With Pacheco injured and the Ravens’ trio of backs to choose from, there’s no backs that I feel all that confident about this week from this game. If a report comes out that Pacheco is good to go and has no restrictions, he should be considered because of his workhorse role, but I still wouldn’t feel great about playing him - I wouldn’t trust Edwards-Helaire if Pacheco is out or limited. As for the Baltimore backs, I still like Edwards the best, followed by Hill and Cook - I’m not starting any of them if I can help it though.
Wide Receiver Options
The wide receivers from these teams struggled to get things going a week ago.
Rashee Rice is the Chiefs’ top wideout, but was held to 47 yards and four catches and targets. He had 130 yards and a touchdown on eight grabs and 12 targets the previous week, so his ceiling is still fairly high.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling had a surprising 62-yard outing after catching half of his four targets. He only had 8 yards on one catch and two targets in the team’s first postseason game.
No other KC wide receiver had over 5 yards last week. The most yards another receiver had the previous week (outside Rice) was 20, so this group continues to underwhelm.
Zay Flowers led Baltimore last week with 41 receiving yards on four catches and five targets.
Nelson Agholor had 12 yards and a score on two grabs and four targets. Rashod Bateman tallied 39 yards on three grabs and targets. Odell Beckham finished with 12 yards on one catch and target.
As if the underwhelming statlines weren’t enough, the matchups for the receivers for both teams is also extremely tough. Baltimore allowed 30 fantasy points to opposing wideouts, and Kansas City was even better, allowing just 28 points.
Verdict: The two guys I’d consider playing this week are Rice and Flowers, in that order, but I wouldn’t feel confident playing either guy. They are both capable of big games, but could also be barely targeted - I’d lean against playing both. I’d rank the remaining receivers in this game this way: Agholor, Bateman, Valdes-Scantling, Beckham, Justin Watson, Mecole Hardman. If you are digging deeper on either team, I’d suggest picking names out of a hat.
Tight End Options
With Andrews back in the picture, this game features two of the best tight ends in the league now. Of course, Travis Kelce will lead the Chiefs.
Kelce had 75 yards and two touchdowns on five grabs and six targets a week ago. Kelce tallied 71 yards on seven catches and 10 targets in the team’s first playoff game. He’s back to the Kelce everyone has loved as a fantasy asset.
Andrews hasn’t played since mid-November, so it’s hard to know what to expect out of him. Not having an injury designation is a great sign, but I’d still be surprised if he’s on the field for over 75% of the team’s snaps, which he did five times this season.
Isaiah Likely should still be involved, but with Andrews back, his chances of scoring probably go down quite a bit.
It’s a tough matchup for any tight end playing. Baltimore’s defense allowed 11 fantasy points to opposing tight ends, while Kansas City allowed just 10.
Verdict: Kelce is a player I love this week - I think he leads the team in yards again, and his chances of scoring are pretty high too. As for Andrews and Likely, I wouldn’t be confident in playing either guy. If I had to start one, I’d take a gamble on Andrews, as he was always Jackson’s favorite target when on the field. He might be able to reward fantasy owners that play him with a touchdown, but that’s a lot to ask out of a guy who hasn’t played in over two months.
Other Thoughts
Both these defenses are strong ones and I’d prefer these two defenses over the ones in the NFC.
As for the best option, it’s really a toss up to me. Even though I like the Chiefs to win, I think I’d take Baltimore’s defense as it's the healthier one coming into the game.
Each team has a reliable kicker to turn to.
Kansas City’s Harrison Butker is 6-for-6 on his field goal attempts this postseason. He’s gone 5-for-5 on his extra points.
Baltimore’s Justin Tucker was 2-for-2 on his field goals last week, with both coming over 40 yards. He was 4-for-4 on his extra points.
Both guys are great options if you are playing a kicker. Since I have Kansas City winning with a late field, I’m taking Butker as my top option.
