NFL Week 7 Bengals at Chiefs: Fantasy football sits and starts for Sunday Night Football

If you have a players on the Bengals or Chiefs they likely will have fantasy value this week. This is a dream matchup for fantasy owners as neither defense is great at slowing down opposing offenses, and both sides have countless weapons. Still both sides have plenty of mouths to feed, which will have an impact on their projections.

This a Sunday Night Matchup, so if you plan on starting any of these players (besides the quarterbacks), it’s crucial that you place them in your flex spot. If for whatever reason the player is unable to go during the late games, you have more options at replacing them with either a running back or wide receiver instead of just whatever position they are. It seems like a common sense strategy after it is explained, but you wouldn’t believe how often people don’t follow through with this. Remember it is always better to be safe than sorry with how you set your lineup.

Must starts

A.J. Green (Bengals WR): Last week Green saw Tyler Boyd end up with two touchdown catches while he struggled early with a few drops. He still ended up with a respectable seven catches for 85 yards, but it has been two weeks straight without a score after scoring five in the first four game. Even if he doesn’t change that this week he should end up with around 100 yards as the Chiefs have struggled to stop receivers all year long.

Travis Kelce (Chiefs TE): If you have Kelce then you are already living the rich life. You could make the argument that Kelce is one of the most valuable players in fantasy this season considering the difference in his production compared to the rest of his position. Also Cincinnati doesn’t cover tight ends.

Kareem Hunt (Chiefs RB): The Bengals will be without Nick Vigil at linebacker who was enjoying a productive season, especially against the run. It really comes down to the Chiefs find so many different ways to get hunt the ball that it is almost impossible to contain him. He will end up with a touchdown one way or another.

Joe Mixon (Bengals RB): The Bengals will likely have to ride Mixon a little harder this week considering they may try and limit the amount of times Patrick Mahomes and company gets to touch the ball. The Chiefs aren’t horrendous against the run, but they are soft enough that Mixon should be able to enjoy a fairly productive night.

Patrick Mahomes (Chiefs QB): It is rare I include quarterbacks in a must start, but considering the Bengals are banged up in the secondary, Mahomes should be able to have a field day with all of his weapons.

Favorable matchups

Tyler Boyd (Bengals WR): Boyd is quickly becoming a must start player. He has Andy Dalton’s absolute trust, and he is getting the volume of a top receiver for a team. Still, having Green on the opposite side will always limit your ceiling. He should be in your lineup in every PPR league, though.

Tyreek Hill (Chiefs WR): Hill has incredible upside. He is coming off a three touchdown game against the Patriots, but considering how many weapons the Chiefs have it is hard to say they all are must starts. Hill could easily be in line for a monster game, but his floor isn’t as high as his other must start counter parts. Still, he can literally score at any point in the game.

Andy Dalton (Bengals QB): Dalton has another favorable matchup in a game where he could be forced to play catch up. He had two touchdowns last week, and could easily get to three this week. Getting John Ross back in the lineup also helps his possible big play ability even more.

Good but not great

Other Chiefs wide receivers: Sammy Watkins and Chris Conley have fantasy value this week, but they are boom or bust candidates. Watkins has the better outlook of the two though as he has had a 100 yard receiving game and three games with five or more catches. However, Conley has two touchdowns to Watkins one.

C.J. Uzomah (Bengals TE): Uzomah had a pretty solid week against the Steelers. He had six catches for 54 yards. Dalton often looked for him on third downs, and he was able to make some tough contested catches against smaller defenders. Uzomah’s volume given the state of the tight end position is worth a start if you are scouring the waiver wire for an option.

Just sit them

Both defenses: Neither the Chiefs or Bengals defense has any real prospects of being fantasy worthy. Both of these offenses are good enough to put up some serious points, and neither are prone to give up the ball on a regular basis.

John Ross (Bengals WR): He is making his return from a groin injury, but don’t get cute by playing Ross this week. He doesn’t see enough targets to be worthy of playing. He shouldn’t really be owned in any league. He is entirely dependent on catching a deep pass for a touchdown.