The Christmas holiday didn’t see Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes deliver the fantasy present many hoped for with a rough outing at home against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 16.
Should the recent struggles of the Chiefs’ offense have fantasy managers considering other options outside of Mahomes heading into the championship round of fantasy football leagues in Week 17? Let’s take a closer look.
Should Patrick Mahomes’ Struggles Concern Fantasy Football Managers?
No matter how great of a player you are, nobody is above having a rough stretch of games in the National Football League.
Mahomes, as great as he is, is no exception. Through the first three-quarters of action on Christmas Day, the Chiefs’ signal caller had thrown for just 118 yards with no scores while throwing a pick-six. Sure, Mahomes managed to generate some production as a runner, but he looked noticeably uncomfortable, inaccurate, and frustrated throughout the majority of this contest.
Mahomes finished Week 16 with 235 passing yards to go with 53 rushing yards and a late passing touchdown, which wasn’t enough for the Chiefs to pick up the win against the Raiders.
This rough outing isn’t the only notable dip in production from what we have become accustomed to from Mahomes in 2023. Heading into Week 16, Mahomes threw for just four touchdown passes over his previous three games, which is far from the type of production fantasy managers expected when they invested a first- or second-round pick in the Chiefs’ signal caller on fantasy draft day.
To further illustrate his lack of elite performances recently, Mahomes didn’t produce a top-12 finish at the QB position over the last three games heading into their Christmas Day showdown against the Raiders.
Mahomes has already thrown a career-high interceptions this year and could finish with fewer than 30 touchdown passes for just the second time in his career if he doesn’t finish strong over the last two games.
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The numbers say Mahomes could be a matchup-based option at QB, but with Mahomes’ proven ceiling over the years, it would be difficult to justify benching him in Week 17.
His matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals next week — who are giving up an average of 18.6 fantasy points per game to opposing QBs — still has him in must-start territory despite his recent struggles.
What Do Mahomes’ Issues Mean for Travis Kelce’s Fantasy Value?
When Mahomes struggles, you can expect TE Travis Kelce also to struggle. One could argue that Father Time is starting to tap Kelce on the shoulder given his numbers taking a slight step back from his previous seasons of greatness.
Entering Week 16, Kelce was averaging a career-low 10.87 yards per catch and is on pace to finish with the fewest amount of touchdown receptions since 2019. Kelce went for just 44 yards on five receptions against the Raiders, which marks the fifth time this season he has failed to top 50 yards receiving this year.
Sure, his numbers collectively may be a bit down, but he has produced a couple of fantasy duds compared to his lofty standards in recent weeks.
In the six games leading up to their Christmas Day game, Kelce finished with fewer than eight fantasy points in a PPR format on two occasions, which was previously unheard of for Kelce.
Kelce’s efficiency dip combined with Mahomes’ struggles have made Kelce more of a top-five play at the TE position every week instead of the unquestioned TE1 in the weekly rankings that we’ve become accustomed to over the past five seasons.
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