The Kansas City Chiefs handled business in the regular season, wrapping up the AFC’s top seed for the fourth time since 2018. This time, they did so with a 15-1 record, their best regular season in franchise history.
The Chiefs have one final game left in Week 18 before heading into the playoffs. They’ll face their AFC West rivals, the Denver Broncos. While the game holds little significance for Kansas City, it’s essentially a playoff battle for Denver.
Denver (9-7) currently occupies the final AFC wild-card spot, and a win over Kansas City would secure its postseason berth. However, with a loss, the Broncos would need some help from other teams to reach the playoffs.
Ahead of Sunday’s Week 17 games, Fox Sports’ Peter Schrager reported that quarterback Patrick Mahomes won’t suit up for Week 18, and 2017 Super Bowl champion Carson Wentz will start in his place.
“I’m told Mahomes is not going to play next week,” Schrager said. “Carson Wentz is going to start… It’s going to be a different version of them (Chiefs), mostly backups,” Schrager added. “We’ll see how it goes, but Carson Wentz has played some good football in his career.”
Wentz is in his first season with the Chiefs, having previously played for the Los Angeles Rams, Washington Commanders, Indianapolis Colts and Philadelphia Eagles.
Despite suffering a season-ending knee injury, Wentz led the Eagles to an 11-2 record through 13 games in 2017. The team went on to win the Super Bowl that year.
In nine seasons in the NFL, he’s thrown for 22,312 yards, 153 touchdowns and 67 interceptions.
In addition to facing “mostly backups,” the Broncos will host the Chiefs in Denver rather than traveling to the tough environment of Arrowhead Stadium.
