The Chiefs couldn’t leave Denver on Sunday night because of the winter storm that draped Kansas City in ice and snow, but they did accomplish what was at the top of their priority list against the Broncos in their regular-season finale.
Coach Andy Reid was able to rest his best players — quarterback Patrick Mahomes, tight end Travis Kelce, pass rusher Chris Jones, cornerback Trent McDuffie, defensive end George Karlaftis, safety Justin Reid, linebackers Nick Bolton and Drue Tranquill, right tackle Jawaan Taylor, running backs Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt and receivers Marquise Brown and DeAndre Hopkins.
Without those 13 players ever stepping onto the field against the Broncos, the Chiefs were embarrassed by their divisional rival in a 38-0 beatdown that was as swift as it was punishing.
No worries, though. Another sizable list of players — rookie receiver Xavier Worthy, tight end Noah Gray, center Creed Humphrey, right guard Trey Smith, left guard Joe Thuney and defensive end Mike Danna — were on the field for just a few snaps. Among the Chiefs who did play, only one player didn’t finish the game, as safety Chamarri Conner missed most of the second half with a shoulder injury.
Reid was comfortable resting his starters because the Chiefs had already achieved their mission for the regular season: On Christmas Day, they earned the AFC’s No. 1 seed, including a first-round bye and home-field advantage through the playoffs.
GO DEEPER NFL playoff schedule: Game times, channels for wild-card weekendIn essence, Reid sacrificed having the Chiefs be competitive against the Broncos to have his team as healthy and as fresh as possible for its postseason run, which will begin in the divisional round on Jan. 18 or 19. The Chiefs (15-2) will attempt to pull off a feat no franchise has ever done — winning three consecutive Super Bowls.
“We’re trying to do something special,” backup quarterback Carson Wentz said after Sunday’s game. “As a team, we know what’s ahead of us. Pat and all the starters know what’s ahead of us and where we’re trying to go and what we’re capable of doing. Our mindset is on that.”
Bo Nix was trying to go to Adam Trautman…
The ball gets tipped THREE times…
Then Devaughn Vele comes up with the @Broncos TD!📺: #KCvsDEN on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/Df7tchDooL— NFL (@NFL) January 5, 2025
The Broncos (10-7), however, needed a victory Sunday to clinch the AFC’s final playoff spot. After their victory, many Denver players celebrated with their fans — including rookie quarterback Bo Nix high-fiving as many as he could in the front row of Empower Field at Mile High — their reward for snapping the franchise’s eight-year playoff drought.
If the Broncos upset the Buffalo Bills (13-4) next weekend in the AFC wild-card round, they will advance to face the Chiefs for a third time. Reid and two of his coaching lieutenants, offensive coordinator Matt Nagy and defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, knew of that possibility before Sunday’s kickoff. The Chiefs entered Empower Field with a game plan resembling one meant for the preseason, an extra-vanilla version of their playbook.
“I didn’t play my best,” said Wentz, who played just 23 snaps. “You’ll move on from this one pretty quick. It was fun to get out there and give myself and a lot of the guys a chance to go out there and compete, but obviously, they were the better team.”
GO DEEPER Titans land No. 1 pick in 2025 NFL Draft after Patriots’ win in Week 18Very few players in a Chiefs uniform who played Sunday helped themselves from an individual standpoint. Wentz, making his first start this season, struggled because the Chiefs offense, featuring all backups, never got in rhythm against the Broncos’ starting defense. In the first half, the Chiefs generated just 55 yards on 16 plays.
With Spagnuolo saving his blitzes for the postseason, the Chiefs failed to disrupt Nix, who completed his first 18 passes for 215 yards and three touchdowns. The Broncos possessed the ball for almost 42 minutes.
“It was unfortunate we didn’t sustain a couple drives early,” Wentz said. “All of a sudden, we’re in the second half. It was a weird flow of the game.”
https://twitter.com/Broncos/status/1876049360841998548
The player who had the most to gain ahead of the postseason was left tackle D.J. Humphries. A nine-year player who joined the Chiefs in late November after recovering from a torn ACL, Humphries played in just his second game this season on Sunday and struggled in pass protection, especially after halftime. Late in the third quarter, Humphries whiffed when he tried to block outside linebacker Nik Bonitto on a fourth-and-7 snap. Bonitto immediately sacked Wentz.
Humphries had missed the previous three games with a strained left hamstring. After his inconsistent performance, one has to wonder if Reid will not have him in the starting lineup in the divisional round.
Thuney, the All-Pro left guard, switched to left tackle last month at the start of the Chiefs’ stretch of three games in 11 days. Thuney faced one-on-one matchups against pass rushers such as Myles Garrett (Cleveland Browns), Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter (Houston Texans) and T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith (Pittsburgh Steelers). He didn’t surrender a sack in any of the three games. In fact, Mahomes was sacked just once after Thuney switched to left tackle and Mike Caliendo became the left guard.
“It was good for him to get the reps in there,” Reid said of Humphries. “That’s a plus, for sure. We’ll just see (about his role in the postseason). I’ve got to go back and look at all of it and evaluate it.”
