The Kansas City Chiefs will face the Denver Broncos in Week 10. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding QB Patrick Mahomes.
Is Patrick Mahomes Playing in Week 10?
For a moment, it looked like the entire NFL season had turned on its head when Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes went down on a non-contact play.
Mahomes fell to the turf on a fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Samaje Perine. While he was very slow to get off the field, it turned out to be a minor re-aggravation of a pre-existing left ankle sprain he suffered in Week 8 versus the Raiders.
Came into game with left eversion ankle sprain
Aggravates it on the poor footing
Not severe
Mahomes is "gumby" https://t.co/pkYw2W9ZVO— David J. Chao – ProFootballDoc (@ProFootballDoc) November 5, 2024
Mahomes ended up toughing out the rest of the team’s Week 9 overtime win over the Buccaneers, maintaining the team’s unbeaten start. After the game, Mahomes said he expected some swelling but that the ankle started feeling better once he began walking.
The Chiefs have already had their bye, so Mahomes won’t have extended time to rest until the Wild Card round if Kansas City clinches the top seed. They’ll host the Broncos in Week 10.
On Wednesday, Mahomes said his ankle was sore but noted he could still move. The two-time MVP practiced in full all week and doesn’t have an injury designation for Sunday.
We’ll continue to monitor the Chiefs’ injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.
Should You Start or Sit Patrick Mahomes in Week 10?
Last season, Patrick Mahomes threw just one touchdown pass against three interceptions against the Broncos (two games and 78 pass attempts). In fact, the division as a whole has given the All-Pro problems recently.
Over his last five divisional games, Mahomes has totaled just six touchdown passes and an 87.2 passer rating, essentially the definition of ordinary. Before last week, that would be the perfect description of his 2024 season, but we saw him thrive when targeting DeAndre Hopkins against the Bucs in prime time and immediately got sucked back in.
I’m not ready to put him back among the elite at the position (Week 9: QB3, his first top-10 of the season), but I am willing to admit that the presence of an alpha receiver was a sight for sore eyes. You’re going to have a hard time turning anything close to a profit for what you paid for Mahomes this summer, but I have him valued as a starting option the rest of the way, not something I was saying with confidence seven short days ago.
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 10 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Patrick Mahomes’ Fantasy Points Projection in Week 10
As of Sunday, Mahomes is projected to score 16.8 fantasy points in Week 10. This includes 222.5 passing yards, 1.6 passing touchdowns, and 0.7 interceptions. It also includes 3.4 rushing attempts for 17.5 yards and 0.1 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
PFN Insight on the Broncos’ Defense
The Denver Broncos put together their worst performance of the season on Sunday, and the alarm bells will be ringing immediately. This unit had been carrying the team on the path to 5-3, but they had not faced a gauntlet of tough offenses, especially in the lead-up to Week 9. The Baltimore Ravens then hung 41 points on them, with the Broncos struggling across the board.
There were not a huge number of stark warning signs that regression could be coming for the Broncos outside of the mixed strength of their schedule. However, they had held up well against a full-throttle Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense, so there was some optimism they would be able to handle the Ravens as well. That was not the case, and it raises major concerns for the Broncos going forward.
Do you want more insight on all other defensive units across the NFL? Head over to our PFN Defense+ Rankings for analysis on all 32 teams.
Patrick Mahomes’ Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 11:45 PM ET on Saturday, January 25.
Conference Championship QB PPR Rankings
1) Josh Allen | BUF (at KC)
2) Jalen Hurts | PHI (vs. WAS)
3) Jayden Daniels | WAS (at PHI)
4) Patrick Mahomes | KC (vs. BUF)
Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs Insights
Denver Broncos
Team: No team has more time to pass, on average, than the Broncos this season (3.26 seconds, 14% longer than the league average).
QB: Bo Nix and Lamar Jackson are the only QBs in the league this season, with four games featuring 30 passes and 35 rushing yards.
Offense: The Broncos are one of five teams yet to connect on a 50-yard play this season (the others are the Browns, Titans, Giants, and Panthers).
Defense: The Broncos force a three-and-out on 37.9% of drives, the seventh-highest mark in the NFL this season.
Fantasy: The development of a rookie quarterback can serve as a rising tide – Courtland Sutton has posted two of his top-10 yards per route marks of his career over the past two weeks.
Betting: The Broncos are just 3-7 ATS (30%) in their past 10 road games within the division. On the bright side, their last game in Kansas City was one of those three covers (27-24 loss as a 12.5-point underdog).
Kansas City Chiefs
Team: Since Andy Reid became their head coach in 2013, the Chiefs are 12-3 against rookie starting QBs. However, they lost their last game vs. Aidan O’Connell and the Las Vegas Raiders in 2023.
QB: Patrick Mahomes averaged a career-low 7.0 yards per pass last season – he’s failed to reach that number in three straight games.
Offense: Since 2020, the Chiefs are 14-8 (63.6%) when trailing entering the fourth quarter – the Steelers rank second in win percentage in such spots over that stretch at 34.1%.
Defense: In Week 7, Jordan Mason had a 26-yard rush against the Chiefs. They haven’t allowed a player to rush for more than 24 yards in a game since.
Fantasy: Patrick Mahomes hinted pregame that DeAndre Hopkins was going to be used more with time, and it didn’t take long – the former Titan accounted for one-third of his completions in the first half, tallying 66 yards and a touchdown in the process.
Betting: The Chiefs have covered three straight divisional games when playing on short rest (three of their past four such games have finished under the total).
