Since they defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers on Christmas Day, the Kansas City Chiefs have officially clinched the first seed, home-field advantage in the playoffs, and a first-round BYE in the AFC. Since they have nothing to play for in Week 18, Kansas City will likely rest most of their starters against the Denver Broncos, who would clinch a playoff berth with a win or tie. Resting their starters would give the Chiefs three weeks to prepare for the Divisional Round.

Kansas City Chiefs’ star running back exited Christmas Day with an injury

Isiah Pacheco suffered an apparent rib injury after taking a hit in the fourth quarter. Initially listed as questionable, Pacheco did not return for the remainder of their Week 17 victory and finished the day with 18 rushing yards on six carries. During their postgame press conference, head coach Andy Reid told the media that his injury was one of the ones with the most significance but wasn’t sure if the injury could cause him to miss the playoffs.

“Really, as far as the injuries go, Pacheco would be the only one,” Reid said via Joshua Brisco of Sports Illustrated. “He dinged his ribs there, so we’ll see how bad they are. On the positive side of that, he played good football along with Kareem [Hunt] and [Samaje] Perine just keeps making plays for us.”

The Chiefs plan on resting him this week but aren’t overly concerned about his availability for the playoffs

During Monday’s press conference, Andy Reid told the media that the plan is to give Isiah Pacheco the week off of practice to recover, and he will likely miss Week 18. As Reid points out, his rib injury shouldn’t impact his availability for the Divisional Round.

“Yeah, he’ll be available playoff-wise,” Reid told reporters on Monday via Charles Goldman of A to Z Sports. “Yeah, he is tender. I probably should have mentioned that, but he is tender. And I’ll probably hold him back here this week in practice just a bit so he can be fresh ready to go.”

Pacheco, who missed Weeks 3-11 with a fractured fibula, is slated to miss the tenth game of his third season.