Chiefs eliminating Broncos from playoffs could have ultra painful touch

Despite winning by narrow margins, the Kansas City Chiefs nearly made it through the 2024 season unscathed. The Chiefs have just one loss heading into Week 18, and they’ve already clinched the AFC’s No. 1 seed.

Despite having little to play for in Week 18, the Chiefs have the opportunity to end the season by potentially eliminating one of their AFC West division rivals from playoff contention. Kansas City will face the Denver Broncos at Mile High Stadium.  

Just a couple of weeks ago, the Broncos appeared to be on pace to clinch a playoff berth. Since then, Denver has fallen to a 9-7 record after losing two consecutive games. Although they are currently still holding onto the third AFC Wild Card spot as the seventh seed, another loss would put them at risk of missing the playoffs.

Despite the opportunity to shut down a rival’s season, the Chiefs have decided to rest their starters for their regular season finale, per The Athletic’s Nate Taylor.

Broncos could see their season ended up Chiefs backup QB Carson Wentz

Chiefs backup quarterback Carson Wentz is expected to start against the Broncos, which opens the door for an even more humiliating way for Denver's season to end. Being eliminated from the playoffs after losing to the Chiefs’ starters would be disappointing, but being eliminated by Kansas City’s second-string unit would be hard to live with it for the entire offseason.

The Chiefs are certainly capable of pulling off a victory with their backup quarterback. After all, backup quarterback Blaine Gabbert led the Chiefs to a 13-12 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 18 of the 2023 season, and backup quarterback Matt Moore guided the Chiefs to to a 26-23 win over the Minnesota Vikings in Week 9 of the 2019 season. 

Chiefs head coach Andy Reid’s scheme frequently creates easy reads and quick throws to open targets. Although Wentz doesn’t have the second-effort ability of quarterback Patrick Mahomes, he is still capable of efficiently operating the offense.

The Broncos would be eliminated from the playoffs if they lose and either the Cincinnati Bengals and Miami Dolphins win. They could still make the playoffs with a loss if both of those teams lose as well. 

Resting the starters is probably a wise decision for Kansas City, especially since Mahomes has been battling through an ankle injury and the team just played through a brutal stretch of three games over the span of 11 days.