Now that Kansas City (14-1) has clinched their division, the top seed, and home field advantage throughout the AFC postseason, the Chiefs have literally nothing to play for in their Week 17 matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers on Jan. 3, 2021.
After their 17-14 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, Head Coach Andy Reid said some of Kansas City’s starters likely won’t suit up for the final game of the regular season. Reid didn’t go into full detail of how many of his starters won’t play against the bolts, but he did hint at a few names, including quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
“There’s a good chance you might see [Chiefs backup QB] Chad [Henne] somewhere in that game, if not the beginning then somewhere in there,” Reid said. “I’m not telling you it’s not the beginning. I’m sorting through all of it.”
Following the Chiefs’ latest victory, Mahomes told reporters that he trusts the coach’s decision and will be ready regardless if he plays or not.
“I just trust in the coaches,” Mahomes said. “I’m going to be ready to go whenever that is. I’m going to be ready to try to win a football game. Coach Reid has done this a long time and (offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy) has done this a long time. All those guys have done this for a long time and they know what’s best for the team and we’ll be ready to go whenever that is.”
Aside from Mahomes, Reid also hinted that wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Sammy Watkins could also be amongst the starters that won’t see the field next Sunday.
“Tyreek Hill, how many miles has this kid put on?” Reid said. “The wear and tear that that does and Sammy (Watkins) too. You look at that part, the wear and tear on legs.”
Reid was asked about the possibility of his team possibly losing a step or getting rusty after not playing for nearly three weeks by the time the division round of the postseason rolls around in mid-January. Reid simply said that he’s confident in resting his guys and that it can be huge for them if they can get everyone back to full health once the playoffs begin at Arrowhead Stadium.
“In the past I’ve been OK with the way we’ve gone about it, the way we’ve practiced during the dead period, the bye week period,” Reid said. “So I feel comfortable if I need to rest guys and I’m confident we can do it the right way. Getting guys freshened up can be a positive for you. These guys aren’t going to forget the plays,” he explained.
“I do have confidence that we have a veteran crew and they’re going to be OK,” Reid went on. “In some of these cases, some of these guys need to just take a step back … I really don’t have much of a hesitation with this crew if I need to sit with them.”
