FANTASY FOOTBALL IN-SEASON FEATURES

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Prediction: KC 10, DEN 24 (Line: DEN by 16)

Players to Watch: Jamaal Charles, Knowshon Moreno, Ronnie Hillman

The Broncos can clinch a first round bye with a win here and if the Texans were to lose as well, the Broncos become the #1 seed. The 2-13 Chiefs once again narrowly miss the playoffs and seek to improve their 1-6 road record this year. This game is hard to call because you cannot be sure when the Broncos feel comfortable enough to pull back the reins a bit but with a 16 point spread, common sense says this game should be a blowout of some measure. The Chiefs last two road games combined for a total of just seven points. The Broncos last two home games total 65 points.

This is a replay of week 12 when the Broncos won 17-9 in Kansas City.

Pregame Notes: The season concludes in Denver and chances are excellent that a new coaching staff will be in place next season along with some unknown number of players. Most notable will be a new quarterback since the duo of Matt Cassel and Brady Quinn have run their course and end the year with a total of only eight passing touchdowns and only one effort that topped 300 yards - 301 in Buffalo in week two.

The eight passing scores have been accompanied by 20 interceptions thrown and seven lost fumbles. The switch to Brady Quinn in week 11 has resulted in only two touchdowns and both of those came in the same game. Quinn topped out at 201 yards so far and threw for only 126 yards and one interception in the previous meeting with the Broncos.

With Dwayne Bowe out, there is no one to throw it to anyway and even Tony Moeaki remains out with a concussion. Johnathan Baldwin has two catches total over the last three weeks.

The only success all year has been the running of Jamaal Charles who topped 100 yards seven times this year and went over 200 yards twice. As a prime example of the Chiefs sort of year, he ran for 165 yards and one score in Cleveland in week 15 and gained 226 yards just last week. And sandwiched between those was when he gained only ten yards on nine runs in Oakland. Charles has been a great comeback story after tearing up his knee last year and he even ran for 107 yards on 23 carries in the last meeting with the Broncos.

That's going to be hard to count on this week with the Broncos defense hitting a new level in the last month or so. But Charles is the only fantasy play on this team since Dwayne Bowe left. Even on the road, he is always worth a start and has been golden in nearly every game that does not involve the Raiders. With the passing game in shambles now, the Chiefs will rely on the run as much as they can and probably more than they should.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
RB Jamaal Charles, KC	@DEN	60	0	3	20	0	0	0	0
The Chiefs' lone offensive weapon needs 44 yards to reach the 1,500-yard mark. He hit triple digits against a tough Broncos' run D in the earlier meeting, and you assume he'll get the carries necessary to hit his milestone. Then again, we've gone broke trying to understand what Romeo Crennel is thinking so there are no guarantees.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
RB Dexter McCluster, KC	@DEN	0	0	5	30	0	0	0	0
McCluster is putting up numbers that make him the Chiefs' WR1. That's more an indictment of KC's passing game than an endorsement of McCluster's productivity.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
WR Jonathan Baldwin, KC	@DEN	0	0	5	60	0	0	0	0
Baldwin has the only Chiefs WR TD in the past two months. Sorry, that's just not enough to warrant a fantasy start.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
WR Donnie Avery, KC	@DEN	0	0	4	60	0	0	0	0
Avery has been an inconsistent wingman to Reggie Wayne, and the last time Indy faced the Texans it was TY Hilton who had the more productive game. With playoff positioning at stake expect Andrew Luck to lean heavily on Wayne once again, and the Texans have a soft spot for TEs as well. That leaves Avery and Hilton splitting scraps, making either one a tough fantasy start.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
WR Devon Wylie, KC	@DEN	0	0	3	40	0	0	0	0
Bonus points if you were able to identify Wylie as the "other" Chiefs' WR. Sorry, those bonus points do not translate to fantasy points.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
TE Anthony Fasano, KC	@DEN	0	0	2	20	0	0	0	0
Fasano only had one catch in the last meeting with the Pats. No fantasy value here.

	Opp	fga	FGM	xpa	XPM	ConFac
K Ryan Succop, KC	@DEN	2	1	1	1
The Chiefs have more games with single-digit points (five) than games with 20-plus (four). That means limited scoring opportunities for Succop.

Pregame Notes: The Broncos official word is that they are not going to rest any players and that Peyton Manning will put in a full game. And the reality is that the only thing that matters here is a win which won't be hard to obtain. And the Texans will have already played so that Denver will know if they even have a chance to win more than a first round bye. They are playing the Chiefs at home. This game smacks of players sitting out late in the contest if only Knowshon Moreno and maybe Peyton.

Manning already threw for 285 yards and two scores in Kansas City and has scored in every game this year. Over half of his games contain three passing scores. How much will be needed to beat the Chiefs? The first touchdown alone may do the trick. Manning is always a gamer and wants to play. And if he was hurt in the fourth quarter of a 24-3 game, just how bad would that be?

Moreno had his first start of the year against the Chiefs and ran for 85 yards on 20 carries and caught four passes for 26 yards. He's been a true surprise and his success only illustrates how great it is to play running back for a team with Peyton Manning under center. he is averaging 94 rushing yards per start and 29 more yards as a receiver. Not bad for a guy we thought was so far down the depth chart that he had to share one helmet with two other players.

Ronnie Hillman will likely get at least a few more reps this week and may end up taking over at some point.

Jacob Tamme scored on his four catches for 48 yards in Kansas City and that was his only score all year since the season opener. Demaryius Thomas also scored and ended with 82 yards while Eric Decker caught four passes for 64 yards.

The Broncos want to win this game but that should not be a big problem. The real issue is how reliable can these guys be once they have that two score lead? Against a team that can only has seven points total over their last two road games? More risk here than it may seem.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
QB Peyton Manning, DEN	KC	0	0	0	0	0	290	2	0
The Chiefs' pass defense has actually been quite good, and in their earlier meeting with Denver Peyton managed "only" 285 yards and two TDs. View that as a baseline, with KC playing out the string and the Broncos looking to lock down a high seed. Manning has multiple touchdowns in every home game this season, three in each of the last five. Oh, and it's one more opportunity to state his MVP case, or at least Comeback Player of the Year candidacy.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
RB Knowshon Moreno, DEN	KC	100	1	5	30	0	0	0	0
When these teams met earlier in the year Moreno topped 100 combo yards, and he's in line for another solid showing. However, for all their foibles (and their losses) the Chiefs have only given up nine RB TDs on the year so settle for yardage while Peyton handles the scoring.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
WR Wes Welker, DEN	KC	0	0	8	100	1	0	0	0
Welker always like playing his old team and racked up 12-103 and one score in Miami already. He is a must start this week and a lock for a decent game that could be big.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
WR Demaryius Thomas, DEN	KC	0	0	5	80	1	0	0	0
Thomas scored in the earlier meeting with KC, has 82 yards or better in four of his last five games, and should be on the business end of a few exclamation points to the end of Peyton Manning's MVP candidacy.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
WR Eric Decker, DEN	KC	0	0	6	70	1	0	0	0
While Decker is tracking as a WR2 or maybe WR1B to Demaryius Thomas, he's scored thrice in the past two games and is still a fantasy factor--especially with the Broncos needing to win for playoff seeding purposes and Peyton Manning needing to bolster his MVP case.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
WR Brandon Stokley, DEN	KC	0	0	4	40	0	0	0	0
Stokley's 62 yards in the Week 12 meeting with KC is his high-yardage mark over the past three months, but he hasn't scored in more than a month and even with Peyton Manning making a push for MVP is an iffy play at best.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
TE Joel Dreessen, DEN	KC	0	0	3	30	0	0	0	0
Dreessen has scored more recently, but Jacob Tamme found the end zone the last time Denver faced the Chiefs. So both--or neither--are good fantasy plays this week.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
TE Jacob Tamme, DEN	KC	0	0	2	20	0	0	0	0
Tamme tends to be the more productive member of Denver's TEBC, and he did score in the earlier meeting with the Chiefs. However, he was out-targeted by Joel Dreessen last week and has been outscored by Dreessen over the past month so there's no clear horse to back in this race.

	Opp	fga	FGM	xpa	XPM	ConFac
K Matt Prater, DEN	KC	1	1	3	3
Denver has 26 points or more in nine of their last 10 games--30 or more in eight of those, so there will be opportunities for Prater to swing the leg. Add in the rarified air for distance and Denver's desire to win and Prater is as solid a fantasy kicking option as you'll find this week.

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