Kansas City Chiefs @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Fantasy Advice, Prediction & Betting for the game at 9:25pm.
Preview
The evening game see’s the consensus best there is go head to head with the consensus best there was as the NFL’s Golden Boy Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs meet the NFL’s Golden Girl Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. (I don’t care what you say, that’s a great 80’s/90’s TV reference and I’m sticking to it) The 9-1 Chiefs are marching towards another playoff run while the Buccaneers are locked in a battle for NFC South dominance with the New Orleans Saints. They have lost 2 of their last 3 games and another poor performance here could see the wheels officially come off the wagon and the Buccs hit crisis stage. The Chiefs’ path of destruction grows week by week and we are no closer to seeing any major deficiencies that teams can target. Can Brady and the Buccs star studded roster expose any weaknesses in the Chiefs?
Betpack
Money line: Chiefs 1/2 Buccaneers 8/5
Points Spread: Chiefs -3.5
Over/Under: 56.5
I think the overs is a good bet here. I can see both teams putting up 30+ points. Obviously it’s slightly risky given how the Buccs offense has played recently but I think we will see a hungrier Buccs and Tom Brady then we have seen in a while.
Fantasy Football Outlook:
Kansas City Chiefs:
If you’re looking for fantasy options in the Chiefs starting offense there are just 3 word. All of them. This offense is beyond anything I can ever remember seeing before. Obviously, they won’t all put up massive scores every week, but they are all big-time threats on any given day. Mahomes, Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce are all in the top 2 of their respective positions, with Hill and Kelce both leading the way in theirs. And Sammy Watkins is scheduled to return from injury. The arrival of Le’Veon Bell was supposed to hit the fantasy value of Clyde Edwards-Hilaire, but so far, he has still held his own.
It’s hard to see any bargain pick-ups among the Chiefs roster because it is so top loaded.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers:
Much like the Chiefs, the Buccaneers have an array of offensive talent that defies belief. Chris Godwin and Mike Evans are possibly the best receiving combination in the NFL and with the enigmatic Antonio Brown and the very underrated Scotty Miller in the mix too, there are lots of options, possibly too many given Brady’s more reserved nature.
The run game is something the Buccs need to improve on, however. Both on the usage, and execution. They have abandoned it far to early in games when it hasn’t gotten off to a good start and that hasn’t been a recipe for success. Ronald Jones would appear to be the clear lead back at this stage as Leonard Fournette has shown too many times he can’t be relied on. I would think Jones is a good one to have this week as I think the Buccs should know they stand no hope of winning if they don’t get him going.
My Prediction:
The doubters of the Buccaneers have been mounting in the last few weeks but beware of a wounded animal. While Brady has been showing some of the signs of father time catching up to him, he’s still Tom Brady and that shouldn’t be forgotten too easily. And on the days when everything is clicking, there is enough talent on this team to be a match for anyone. Except, maybe, one team. Kansas City are easily the best team in the NFL. People might argue their defense isn’t great but it’s definitely good enough to compliment a ridiculous offense. No way I’m calling anything other than a Chiefs win though I think the Buccs will give them a good test.
Kansas City by 8
