The only intriguing storyline pertains to the TEs as the 1-8 New York Giants face the 6-3 Kansas City Chiefs at MetLife Stadium on Sunday.
There isn’t much to look forward to at MetLife Stadium this Sunday when the hapless New York Giants kickoff against the solid Kansas City Chiefs, but this game does feature two of the best tight ends in football in Travis Kelce and rookie sensation Evan Engram.
Kelce is on his way to being named to his third consecutive NFL Pro Bowl as he leads the Chiefs in receptions with 51 for 629 yards and five touchdowns. He’s scored a touchdown in each of the last three games and stands a great chance of scoring again on Sunday. The Giants have allowed opposing tight ends to score in 10 consecutive games.
They’ve also allowed 37 catches for 424 yards and nine touchdowns to starting tight ends this season. Now they face the best tight end in football, so you know Kelce is salivating about playing against the Giants.
“He’s a big basketball player playing tight end,” Giants head coach Ben McAdoo said when asked about the six-foot-five, 255-pound matchup nightmare.
While the Giants decision to take Engram in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft has been a point of contention—some believe Big Blue should have taken an offensive lineman instead—you can’t deny how special he has been this season.
Ever since Odell Beckham Jr. was lost for the season with a fractured ankle, Engram has been Eli Manning’s go-to guy. He leads the Giants in receptions with 40 and in touchdown receptions with five.
He is the first tight end in Giants history to score a touchdown in four consecutive games, and he needs just one more touchdown to set the franchise record for most touchdowns by a rookie tight end.
When you consider some of the names that have played the position for the Giants—Mark Bavaro, Howard Cross, Jeremy Shockey, Aaron Thomas and Bob Tucker—that’s incredibly impressive.
Both Kelce and Engram should have huge games on Sunday and should be the number one and two ranked tight ends in fantasy football this week.
So while this game lacks intrigue since the Chiefs are one of the best teams in the league and the Giants are possibly the worst, it will be interesting to see which tight end shines the brightest on Sunday.
