How to watch, what to watch for Chiefs vs. Saints in Week 15

The best game of Week 15 in the NFL, at least on paper, will take place in The Big Easy as the New Orleans Saints host the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Chiefs (12-1) trailed the Dolphins 10-0 early on in their Week 14 tilt. Then the Chiefs — because they’re the Chiefs — scored 28 points in about 11 minutes of game time and held on for a 33-27 victory. Patrick Mahomes got tagged with three interceptions — one more than his season total entering the day — but he also threw for 393 yards and two touchdowns. Tyreek Hill caught only three passes, but he still logged another huge fantasy total as he accrued 79 receiving yards, 32 rushing yards and two total TDs. Tight end Travis Kelce continued to look unstoppable as he finished with an 8-136-1 line. Running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire returned to the field after a one-game absence and handled 16 of the 18 carries from Kansas City’s RBs. He rushed for only 32 yards but helped out those in PPR formats with five receptions for 59 yards.

The Saints (10-3) also fell into an early hole last week but couldn’t quite recover completely against the Eagles, losing 24-21. QB Taysom Hill piled up some fantasy points after an ugly first half and ended with 291 passing yards, two touchdowns and two turnovers. He ran five times for 33 yards. Although Hill’s TDs went to Emmanuel Sanders and Jared Cook, he continued to have tunnel vision for Michael Thomas, who caught a team-high eight passes for 84 yards. After catching just three of six targets in three games with Hill as the Saints’ starter, running back Alvin Kamara grabbed seven of 10 targets for 44 yards versus Philly. He also gained 50 yards and a touchdown on 11 rushes.

But the biggest developments for this upcoming game took place Friday when the Saints announced that QB Drew Brees would be back under center but that he wouldn’t have Thomas at his disposal. Thomas will miss this one due to an ankle injury. Brees was inactive for the past four games after breaking multiple ribs in Week 10 against San Francisco.

TV Info

Date: Sunday, Dec. 20
Time: 4:25 p.m. ET
Channel: CBS
Broadcast map

Notable Statistical rankings (Football Outsiders)

Chiefs: #3 Overall — #2 offense, #18 defense, #13 special teams
Saints: #1 Overall — #8 offense, #2 defense, #8 special teams

DraftKings Sportsbook odds

Chiefs: -2.5, -200
Saints: +2.5, +163
Total: 50.5

Fantasy football start/sit advice

Chiefs

Travis Kelce, TE, $8,000

Do people truly understand how productive Kelce has been this season? He currently leads the NFL in receiving yards and is sixth in receptions. He has tallied 30 DraftKings points in back-to-back weeks and has averaged 27.3 DK points over his last six games. He is a force of nature right now. Even at this price — a season-high by $500 — it’s tempting to roster him. But a word of warning: The Saints haven’t given up a touchdown to a tight end since their Week 6 bye. Only one tight end has surpassed even 50 yards against them since then.

Clyde Edwards-Helaire, RB, $5,800

CE-H is at a season-low price here as he gets set to face the defense that has allowed the second-fewest DraftKings points per game to RBs. But we saw the Eagles’ Miles Sanders rip this defense for an 82-yard score last week, and it was very encouraging to see Edwards-Helaire get 21 touches in his return to the lineup. A dual-threat back with his kind of talent getting that kind of workload at this low of a price while tied to this ridiculous offense is definitely worth some exposure to in DFS.

Saints

Emmanuel Sanders, WR, $4,200

Sanders should be a hot commodity with Thomas ruled out. He tallied at least 15 DraftKings points in three of four games when Brees was playing and Thomas was sidelined earlier this season. The Chiefs’ pass defense is no pushover, but as New Orleans’ de facto No. 1 wideout in the game with the weekend’s highest over-under (52), Sanders will be a popular option.

Alvin Kamara, RB, $7,400

Brees’ return should make Kamara owners jump for joy. The stud back caught just 10 passes in four games with Hill at QB; he caught 67 passes in the nine games Brees started. The Chiefs have permitted the third-most receiving yards to running backs this season, and with Thomas inactive, Kamara should get all the targets he can handle. After spending much of this season at $8,000-$8,300 on DraftKings, Kamara carries a lot of value at his current price given these recent developments.