Well, the biggest story coming out of last night is obviously Pat Mahomes. There's very little I can write that hasn't already been said or written or thought. He's the centerpiece of the NFL's #1 passing offense. He can go toe-to-toe with Tom Brady. He's still getting better. On a fantasy level, on a season that's had its usual share of injuries, his loss would be felt in every league.
Of course, we don't yet know how serious his knee injury is; it's a dislocated kneecap, and he'll have an MRI later today. If he's out for a while, Kansas City is equipped with one of the league's most NFL-ready backups. Coincidentally, Matt Moore earned his first and only extended run in 2011, when Miami starter Chad Henne got hurt. Fast-forward to this spring, when Henne--now the Chiefs' backup--got hurt. Who did K.C. call? Moore. As he proved last night, the loss of Mahomes doesn't mean the offense will turn to mush. Long-time middling QB Alex Smith played like a rock star for Andy Reid in 2017. Armed with even better aerial weapons (Watkins, Hardman), Moore can certainly be a weekly top 12-16 streamer.
And a word on Kansas City's backfield. I realize it was against a good Denver defense. But you know what I'm gonna say: If you're starting a Chief RB, you're rolling the dice every time. Damien Williams failed to punch it in on two tries while "gaining" seven yards on nine carries, LeSean McCoy padded his RB3 stats in mop-up work, and Darrel Williams continues to linger.
On the other side of the ball, Joe Flacco was as bad as promised. As a fan of the game, it pains me to watch overpaid players who should have retired. Maybe that's not fair. Flacco isn't the league's worst QB. And it's not his fault John Elway handed Baltimore a fourth-rounder for a guy the Ravens desperately wanted to get rid of. And if it were me, I wouldn't want to walk away. But in the same way it was sad to see Eli Manning stick around 2-3 years too long, it would be nice if Flacco could, say, get one more touchdown, run to the sideline, take off his uniform (and yes, presumably get dressed), and walk out of the stadium on his terms.
Simply put, six points at home against a bad pass defense is embarrassing. And Chiefs GM Brett Veach proved capable backups are available if you know where to look. Denver will lose at least six of its next seven games. Since 2015, Bronco QBs have thrown 83 TD passes and 76 interceptions, while Chief QBs have thrown 130 TD passes and 36 interceptions. That's not to say every team should measure itself against Kansas City. But Denver's had a QB problem for a while; this team could be fun to watch if they had a half-decent one.
On the ground, Royce Freeman salvaged a decent outing for folks like me who were forced to start him, while Phillip Lindsay finally crashed back to earth. Neither looked good, even on the opening scoring drive (combined six carries for only eight yards). Interestingly, Freeman earned the most touches
And somehow Courtland Sutton and Emmanuel Sanders were decent. While wrongly predicting far better results for Freeman and Lindsay, I was publicly confident Denver's two best receivers would be fantasy relevant. Sutton will turn out to be around a WR2 this week, while Sanders did enough to be a WR3. Fantasy-wise, it's always helpful when a sub-par passing attack is so top-heavy.
So in case it's not clear, don't overreact to Mahomes' injury. Don't start selling low on Tyreek and Kelce. Wait it out and see what happens. Worst case, Moore is adequate. Better case, Moore proves highly capable, as he did last night. Best case, Mahomes will return. Now's not the time to assume the worst for guys who might still help you win a title.
Of course, we don't yet know how serious his knee injury is; it's a dislocated kneecap, and he'll have an MRI later today. If he's out for a while, Kansas City is equipped with one of the league's most NFL-ready backups. Coincidentally, Matt Moore earned his first and only extended run in 2011, when Miami starter Chad Henne got hurt. Fast-forward to this spring, when Henne--now the Chiefs' backup--got hurt. Who did K.C. call? Moore. As he proved last night, the loss of Mahomes doesn't mean the offense will turn to mush. Long-time middling QB Alex Smith played like a rock star for Andy Reid in 2017. Armed with even better aerial weapons (Watkins, Hardman), Moore can certainly be a weekly top 12-16 streamer.
And a word on Kansas City's backfield. I realize it was against a good Denver defense. But you know what I'm gonna say: If you're starting a Chief RB, you're rolling the dice every time. Damien Williams failed to punch it in on two tries while "gaining" seven yards on nine carries, LeSean McCoy padded his RB3 stats in mop-up work, and Darrel Williams continues to linger.
On the other side of the ball, Joe Flacco was as bad as promised. As a fan of the game, it pains me to watch overpaid players who should have retired. Maybe that's not fair. Flacco isn't the league's worst QB. And it's not his fault John Elway handed Baltimore a fourth-rounder for a guy the Ravens desperately wanted to get rid of. And if it were me, I wouldn't want to walk away. But in the same way it was sad to see Eli Manning stick around 2-3 years too long, it would be nice if Flacco could, say, get one more touchdown, run to the sideline, take off his uniform (and yes, presumably get dressed), and walk out of the stadium on his terms.
Simply put, six points at home against a bad pass defense is embarrassing. And Chiefs GM Brett Veach proved capable backups are available if you know where to look. Denver will lose at least six of its next seven games. Since 2015, Bronco QBs have thrown 83 TD passes and 76 interceptions, while Chief QBs have thrown 130 TD passes and 36 interceptions. That's not to say every team should measure itself against Kansas City. But Denver's had a QB problem for a while; this team could be fun to watch if they had a half-decent one.
On the ground, Royce Freeman salvaged a decent outing for folks like me who were forced to start him, while Phillip Lindsay finally crashed back to earth. Neither looked good, even on the opening scoring drive (combined six carries for only eight yards). Interestingly, Freeman earned the most touches
And somehow Courtland Sutton and Emmanuel Sanders were decent. While wrongly predicting far better results for Freeman and Lindsay, I was publicly confident Denver's two best receivers would be fantasy relevant. Sutton will turn out to be around a WR2 this week, while Sanders did enough to be a WR3. Fantasy-wise, it's always helpful when a sub-par passing attack is so top-heavy.
So in case it's not clear, don't overreact to Mahomes' injury. Don't start selling low on Tyreek and Kelce. Wait it out and see what happens. Worst case, Moore is adequate. Better case, Moore proves highly capable, as he did last night. Best case, Mahomes will return. Now's not the time to assume the worst for guys who might still help you win a title.