Colts vs. Chiefs Fantasy Football Worksheet, Week 2

The Worksheet, a comprehensive fantasy football preview by Rich Hribar, breaks down everything you need to know about the Week 2 matchup between the Colts and Chiefs on Sunday Night Football.

Find a breakdown of every Week 2 NFL game in our Worksheet Hub.

Trust = spike production for that player

Colts vs. Chiefs Fantasy Quarterback Preview

Patrick Mahomes

Mahomes delivered a QB9 scoring day (21.7 points) in Week 1.

He did so in a similar fashion to how he scored his fantasy points a year ago, which is surprising since he was returning from an ACL injury.

Mahomes produced only 13.4 passing points (QB17), but he rushed 7 times for 23 yards and a touchdown to bolster his output.

He even had an initial scramble for a touchdown negated due to a penalty.

Mahomes looked spry coming off injury, which was encouraging, but he still needed that rushing production to elevate him to back-end QB1 output because the passing game was flat.

He threw a pair of touchdowns, but Mahomes completed only 55.6% (28th) of his passes for 6.8 yards per attempt (20th).

Mahomes was 28th in completion rate despite averaging only 4.1 air yards per attempt.

His completion rate was 12.3% below expectations, ahead of only Cooper Rush.

On his completed passes, Mahomes averaged 1.1 air yards, the fewest in the league.

He was 0 of 4 on throws 10 or more yards downfield.

It was against the Denver pass defense coming off an injury, and without his starting left tackle, so take it with a grain of salt in a one-game sample.

I am still treating Mahomes as a fringe QB1 because I don't want to chase the rushing component being sticky, but it is great to know the concerns that he will not run at all are alleviated based on how he moved in Week 1.

Something I expected coming into this season with the Chiefs was them recalibrating this offense around a better run game, since the pass catchers have struggled to create separation outside of the scheme.

I believe the Chiefs can run the ball a lot again as home favorites, which could lead to a similar outcome where Mahomes needs to stack touchdowns through the air or use his legs.

We should see his pass catchers challenged here.

We only have three full games since the Colts acquired Sauce Gardner, but Lou Anarumo has leaned heavily into man coverage in all three.

In Week 1, the Colts played man coverage at a league-high 46.9% rate.

In the two full games that Gardner played a year ago, that was 48.2% (3rd in the NFL that week) and 38.5% (also 3rd).

That latter game was also against the Chiefs in Kansas City last year.

In last year's matchup, Mahomes was the QB11 (17.1 points) on 54 dropbacks.

The Chiefs ran a season-high 91 offensive plays in that game.

I don't think we will get close to 50-plus dropbacks in the rematch with Kenneth Walker added.

Against man coverage that week, Mahomes was 8 of 17 (47.1%) for 112 yards (6.6 Y/A) with no touchdowns and an interception.

That has been an ongoing issue for Mahomes and his pass catchers.

Since the start of last season against man coverage, Mahomes is 26th in quarterback rating (78.5), completing 53.9% of his passes (21st) for 5.6 yards per pass attempt (28th).

Daniel Jones

Jones had a rocky Week 1 outing, completing 19 of 31 passes (61.3%) for 166 yards (5.4 Y/A) with a touchdown and an interception.

He ended Week 1 as the QB29 (9.0 points) in scoring.

We entered this season with concerns about Jones returning from injury and the Colts' passing game having moving parts, with the trade of Michael Pittman and Alec Pierce working himself back from an ankle injury.

Nothing from Week 1 removed those concerns.

Going back to last season, Jones has now been a QB2 scorer in each of his past five full games.

That leaves Jones as a 2QB option.

He was just outside of QB1 status when these teams played in Week 12 last season, finishing as the QB13 (16.8 points).

In this matchup last year, Jones was 19 of 31 (61.3%) for 181 yards (5.8 Y/A) with 2 touchdowns, adding 19 rushing yards.

In that game, Jones produced a first down or touchdown on 19.4% of his throws, his lowest rate with the Colts, including Week 1.

The Chiefs performed strongly in Week 1 defensively against an anemic Denver passing game.

How much of that was Steve Spagnuolo versus a first-time play caller remains to be sorted out, but Kansas City spent most of its offseason investments retooling the defense.

Colts vs. Chiefs Fantasy Running Back Preview

Jonathan Taylor

Taylor was the lone standout for the Indianapolis offense in Week 1, turning 22 touches into 121 yards and 2 touchdowns.

He did lose a fumble, but Taylor's immense workload showed.

Taylor led all running backs in snap share (88.7%) and backfield touch share (95.7%).

He caught 3 passes for 23 yards, running a route on 58.8% of his dropbacks (RB6).

That opportunity share makes Taylor a volume-based RB1 to start. 

Most importantly, Taylor delivered in a game the Colts trailed throughout.

One of his few fantasy shortcomings is the widest scoring split between wins and losses.

Last year in losses, he averaged 12.3 points per game.

One of those was in Week 12 against the Chiefs, when they held him to 58 rushing yards on 16 attempts and 2 catches for 8 yards.

This is a tough outlook for expecting a spike week, but Week 1 gave us some added confidence even though he is attached to a significant road underdog.

The Chiefs are on a short week.

They allowed 4.9 YPC (25th) to running backs in Week 1, but they weren't pushed, facing only 11 runs (2nd fewest in the league).

Kenneth Walker (TRUST)

Walker had a strong debut in his first game with the Chiefs, rushing 23 times for 173 yards and a touchdown while catching 3 of 6 targets for 18 yards and another score.

Walker was credited with a league-high 16 missed tackles forced per Fantasy Points Data.

The next closest running back in Week 1 had 7.

In 2025, Kareem Hunt led the Chiefs with 16 missed tackles forced…for the season.

Walker had runs of 28 and 60 yards, the latter being a touchdown on fourth and 1.

Kansas City running backs had 1 run of 20-plus yards in 2025 and 2 in 2024.

We may not match the Week 1 total, but this is another great spot for Walker based on what we saw.

34.8% of Walker's runs were outside zone in Week 1, his highest rushing-distribution rate.

Against Baltimore in Week 1, the Colts allowed 112 yards and 3 touchdowns on 18 outside zone runs (6.2 YPC).

Colts vs. Chiefs Fantasy Wide Receiver Preview

Rashee Rice

Rice caught 2 passes for 19 yards on Monday, saving his night with a 13-yard touchdown.

Concerns about Rice's role in this offense with the addition of Walker were covered this offseason, and for at least one week, the need to spam Rice with targets near the line of scrimmage evaporated.

His 8% target share was his lowest in a game since Week 9 of his rookie season.

His 6.7% target rate per route was the lowest of his career.

This was against Denver in Week 1, so we have to let things breathe.

The Chiefs still did throw the bulk of their passes near the line of scrimmage.

Rice also played on 90.9% of the dropbacks, tied for the team lead.

One thing we did want to keep an eye on was his slot rate to open the year.

In Week 1, that was 25%.

In previous seasons, it was 47.3%, 41%, and 39.4%.

That matters if he is asked to win against a lot of man coverage on the outside.

The Ravens slashed the Colts with Zay Flowers via the slot in Week 1.

Last season in this matchup, Rice had 8 catches for 141 yards on 12 targets.

Rice had a 41.4% slot rate that day.

He caught 5 passes for 116 yards from the slot in that game.

Out wide that afternoon, he averaged 1.32 yards per route run.

I am still going back to Rice as a WR2 this week to get a better gauge on what to expect this season, but there is plenty of volatility here based on what we covered.

Alec Pierce

Pierce grabbed 4 of 6 targets for 61 yards in Week 1.

He was limited returning from his ankle injury, playing 64.7% of the passing plays.

But when he was on the field, Pierce was targeted on a team-high 27.3% of his routes, leading the team in yardage.

He had a 40% target share on third downs.

Even if Pierce is still ramping up, he'll get snaps in high-leverage spots.

He has per-target upside as a WR3/FLEX.

The Chiefs played the pass extremely well in Week 1, despite losing Mansoor Delane two snaps in.

He is expected back this Sunday night.

Josh Downs

The season started out great for Downs.

He caught 2 passes for 37 yards on the opening drive.

He finished with 2 receptions for 37 yards.

Downs got only 2 more targets for the rest of the game, despite the Colts being in catch-up mode.

That doesn't feel great and leaves Downs as a WR4/FLEX option heading into Week 2.

The glass-half-full angle is that he was on the field for 94.1% of the passing plays, confirming that he is a full-time player.

Downs played 36.2% of his snaps on the outside, moving into the slot when Keenan Allen entered the game.

With Allen on the field, Downs was in the slot for 78.8% of those snaps.

Xavier Worthy

Worthy reeled in 3 of 6 targets for 18 yards on Monday night.

The Chiefs did not have much passing output to facilitate fantasy points.

He was tied for the team lead in targets and routes run (30) if you are looking for a silver lining for Worthy as a WR4/FLEX.

Worthy was out wide for 76.9% of his snaps.

The splits aren't overly flattering, but Worthy does have better splits against man coverage, with a 23.8% target rate per route and 1.40 yards per route run.

Against zone, he has a 17.3% target rate per route and 1.26 yards per route.

In this matchup a year ago, Worthy caught 4 of 8 targets for 59 yards.

Keenan Allen

Allen caught all 6 targets for 32 yards in Week 1.

Allen was tied for the team lead in targets despite running a route on only 76.5% of the dropbacks.

Last year, Allen didn't generate much yardage, making him a touchdown-dependent FLEX.

We saw in Week 1 what roles these pass catchers would have when everyone was on the field together.

Allen was in a similar role to the one he had with the Chargers last season.

He played 75% of his snaps out wide, kicking Downs inside when he came on the field.

Colts vs. Chiefs Fantasy Tight End Preview

Tyler Warren

Warren caught only 3 of 5 targets for 13 yards in the opener, but he salvaged what he could with a 9-yard touchdown.

In the early sample of Warren's career, he has thrived when this offense is on schedule, but he has been hurt most when the Colts have to break out of their base offense.

When the Colts use the threat of the run, Warren is the primary target on much of their action and RPO plays.

When they fall behind and play a traditional dropback game, the floor has dropped.

It is just one season and one game, but Warren is now averaging 0.91 yards per route run with a 17.3% target rate per route when the Colts have been behind 7-plus points.

Tied or ahead, Warren is averaging 1.71 yards per route with a 23.3% target rate.

I'm still keeping Warren in lineups as we build a larger sample because he needs to be part of this core passing game for them to succeed.

As road underdogs, that raises questions about whether those splits will keep him from a spike week if Indy falls behind.

When these teams played a year ago, Warren caught 5 of 7 targets for 45 yards.

Travis Kelce

Kelce grabbed 3 of 5 targets for 71 yards on Monday night, highlighted by a 59-yard catch-and-run, his longest reception since 2021.

Kelce led the team in targets and was on the field for 78.8% of the dropbacks.

Among tight ends, he was TE11 in target share (20%) and TE9 in route rate.

That aligns with him being handled as a back-end TE1 for fantasy purposes.

He caught 4 of 6 targets for 43 yards in this matchup last season.

Baltimore tight ends caught 6 passes for 66 yards against Indianapolis in Week 1.

More Week 2 Fantasy Breakdowns From The Worksheet: