The Kansas City Chiefs host the Detroit Lions on Sunday Night Football in the highest projected scoring game of the week. With the over-under set at 52 points and the Chiefs as 2.5-point hime favorites, this game sets up as a high scoring affair. We just need to figure out which players are going to selfishly hog the fantasy points for themselves.
If you’re playing in cash for this game, it’s hard to get away from Patrick Mahomes and Jared Goff. I’m leaning more toward Mahomes as a captain pick, but just because I don’t have Goff listed doesn’t mean I love his upside in this matchup. But for this article I’m going to look more into tournament plays.
Both defense have played well this season, but statistically the Chiefs run defense has been worse than the Lions, while both pass defense have been strong. Unfortunately for the Lions defense, they are dealing with multiple injuries. Their cornerbacks Terrion Arnold and D.J. Reed, along with Khalil Dorsey are out, while their safeties, Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph are questionable. There’s no getting around it, the Chiefs should be able to throw the ball in this game.
Below we will take a look at the best DFS plays for this Sunday night showdown.
Patrick Mahomes, QB, Chiefs (FLEX $XXX, CPT $XXX)
Figuring out who will benefit the most from the Chiefs throwing the ball is tough. Xavier Worthy remains the best option, but he is also seemingly not 100%, as he’s dealing with shoulder and ankle injuries. His upside remains high, but even with good target numbers, he’s yet to score a touchdown since returning or top 83 yards receiving. Tyquan Thornton has been much better on a per snap basis.
That leaves us with Mahomes as the player to count on to accumulate passing and rushing points for the Chiefs against a banged up Lions defense.
Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, Lions (FLEX $XXX, CPT $XXX)
The Chiefs defense is better between the tackles than against running backs in space, which sets up well for Gibbs over David Montgomery. We of course can’t rule out Montgomery getting a goal line touchdown or two, but this is a Gibbs game.
Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR, Lions (FLEX $XXX, CPT $XXX)
I can see going with Worthy as a captain as well, but I believe St. Brown will have more work concentrated his way. Jameson Williams will break out sooner or later for a huge game, but the Chiefs have been good against deep passing. Kansas City’s high blitz rate does tend to help players with more diverse route trees like St. Brown. If this game does live up to the hype, I expect him to have his regular big game with a strong chance to hit close to his ceiling.
Tyquan Thornton, WR, Chiefs (FLEX $5,000, CPT $7,500)
Thornton saw his role reduced with Xavier Worthy returning, but he’s still getting deep targets as the WR3. That led to 90 yards on three receptions last week. With Worthy not 100%, Thornton could end up seeing a bit more work if there are any in-game setbacks from Worthy. His high upside and possibility for more is worth a play in tournaments this week.
Kareem Hunt, RB, Chiefs (FLEX $XXX, CPT $XXX)
Kansas City isn’t moving the ball on the ground, but they are giving their goal line back opportunities near the goal line. That has helped Kareem Hunt to three touchdowns over the last three games. He is very much touchdown dependent, but his price is low enough to put him in your tournament lineups.
Sam LaPorta, TE, Lions (FLEX $XXX, CPT $XXX)
The Chiefs haven’t allowed a touchdown to a tight end this season and have held them to just 18 receptions and 184 yards. They also haven’t faced a lot of strong tight ends and Brenton Strange was injured early in their game last week and Mark Andrews had Cooper Rush throwing to him. LaPorta will be their toughest matchup and his price on FanDuel is reasonable.
