Andy Reid's reputation at winning coming off bye weeks makes for a juicy Sunday Night Football matchup between the Chiefs and Raiders. Las Vegas won the opening match between these teams in 2020 on the road, and now the Raiders host Kansas City trying to keep touch in the AFC West. For DraftKings Showdown purposes, it's an extra week of preparation for Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs that has us leaning their way.
We start things off with Le'Veon Bell at captain. He's priced in a way that his pre-bye workload would be fine, but it feels like there could be more upside off an extra week to get ready. We've only invested in the two safest Raiders in Derek Carr and Josh Jacobs, while hoping Mahomes can have a big day at the office.
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DraftKings Showdown Picks: Chiefs vs. Raiders
Captain (1.5x price, 1.5x points): RB Le'Veon Bell, Chiefs ($2,100)
There's no way to know for sure, but if there was ever a time for Bell to take over this backfield, it would be after Kansas City's bye week. He already saw about a third of the snaps before the bye, so even if he only gets that workload, he's a fine play at this extreme value price. If he were to take on an even bigger snap share, look out.
FLEX: QB Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs ($13,400)
The Mahomes question remains whether to captain him or not. You're not fading him in a matchup against a not-great defense. Because of the other weapons in this game, it makes more sense to just use Mahomes in one of these flex lineup spots and allow ourselves room for some more studs.
FLEX: TE Travis Kelce, Chiefs ($10,600)
You could make one variation of this lineup with Tyreek Hill instead of Kelce, but we've put Kelce in here because he was the better performer the first time these teams met. Mahomes targeted him 12 times, and he caught eight for 108 yards and a score. We'd certainly take that again.
FLEX: QB Derek Carr, Raiders ($9,800)
Carr has opened some eyes this season with more consistent play throwing the football down the field. Carr put up nearly 28 DK points the first time these teams met, and while maybe it's overblown to always expect the QB opposite Mahomes to throw a lot, Carr should have enough time and space to play well again.
FLEX: RB Josh Jacobs, Raiders ($9,600)
The Chiefs have allowed 4.6 yards per carry to running backs in 2020, and while Jacobs' average was below that the first time these teams met, the Raiders gave him 25 carries and he found the end zone twice. It might seem counterintuitive to invest in a running back in a game LV is the underdog, but the Raiders should again commit to the ground attack and give Jacobs a solid shot at a good fantasy night.
FLEX: WR Mecole Hardman, Chiefs ($3,600)
Hardman often feels overpriced on DK, but his return from the COVID-19/reserve list has him at a more reasonable price for a boom-or-bust secondary receiving option. Sammy Watkins (hamstring) is still out, which means Hardman could see a few more targets than usual. Of course, we're always betting on Hardman catching one long touchdown when we throw him in our lineup.