Rams @ Chiefs Week 12 Game Preview
The game will essentially be light practice for the Chiefs against the Rams, but it will be interesting to see how a couple of the young receivers perform.
Rams at Chiefs (-16.0) – 42.0 total
The total in this game has moved massively since the start of the week. The Chiefs are now 16.0-point favorites after opening around -10.5. Even more shocking is the fact that the Chiefs were barely favored in this matchup in the lookahead preseason line which opened at -2.5 in favor of Kansas City. This game will essentially be light practice for the Chiefs whose main goal, outside of winning comfortably, will be ensuring they don’t lose any key players to injury.
Matthew Stafford (neck) and Cooper Kupp (ankle) are both out for this game, with Kupp remaining on IR and likely done for the season given the Rams’ current record. The Rams sit at 3-7 and a loss this week pretty much closes the door on any late season run to the playoffs. It sounds crazy but we may have seen the last of both Stafford and Kupp this year.
Starting at QB this week for the Rams will likely be third stringer Bryce Perkins. Perkins was an average passer in college but did compile 1,701 rush yards in two years as the starting QB for Virginia. John Wolford, the designated backup, did return to practice on Thursday but the Rams have given Perkins first team reps all week and seem intent on giving the mobile QB a start. Don’t expect a ton of big plays in the passing game from either, as Kansas City’s pass rush has been one of the best in the league over the past three weeks, averaging 4.3 sacks per game during that span.
Despite Kupp being out for the last two weeks, Allen Robinson still hasn’t managed over 50 yards receiving and his days as a legit WR 1/2 for fantasy purposes seem done. The Rams WR to own down the stretch is likely Van Jefferson, who returned from minor knee surgery in Week 8 and played over 73% of the snaps in Week 11. Jefferson was a true big play threat for the Rams last year, averaging 16.0 yards per catch in 2021 and while he’ll obviously be limited by QB play, if there are some garbage time points to be had, he’s the most likely Rams WR to capitalize on that situation.
On the Kansas City side, the Chiefs will likely be down a couple of WRs in this game. They placed Mecole Hardman on IR this week, and Kadarius Toney’s body (questionable with a hamstring injury) remains allergic to playing inhttps://www.nfl.com/news/chiefs-place-wr-mecole-hardman-abdomen-on-injured-reserve actual games, and he missed practice early this week. Juju Smith-Schuster is back and practicing in full for Week 12, so it will be interesting to see if rookie Skyy Moore can follow up on his Week 11 breakout with Schuster likely dominating the snaps from the slot. Moore played 42% of the snaps for the Chiefs last week in a pivotal game against the Chargers, and converted five of his six targets into catches. The Rams have allowed a 70% completion rate to opposing WRs and the fifth most receptions to the position on the season.
This game is unlikely to be competitive (the understatement of the week) but it will be interesting to see how a couple of the young receivers react to new situations. Jefferson has a chance to emerge as a late season hero in season-long, best ball, and DFS formats, while Moore could invigorate the Chiefs’ already-potent offense down the stretch.