It’s official: Broncos won’t see Patrick Mahomes
Jan 1, 2025, 1:25 PM | Updated: 1:27 pm
The Denver Broncos will not face Patrick Mahomes in their likely do-or-die game Sunday.
Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid made official what had been widely speculated since the Chiefs defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers on Christmas Day: that Mahomes would rest for the regular-season finale, as Kansas City already has the AFC’s No. 1 seed locked up.
This seemed the logical move from the moment the Chiefs salted away a 29-10 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Christmas Day to seal the AFC’s No. 1 seed.
“It wasn’t a hard decision,” Reid told Kansas City-area media at his Wednesday press conference. “I’ve been through it before. I’m not too worried. It gives the other guys an opportunity to grow.”
Indeed, Reid has rested his starting quarterback on each of the previous four occasions when the Chiefs were locked into their postseason seed heading into the final game of the regular season.
One of those games came against the Broncos on Dec. 31, 2017. Reid rested then-starter Alex Smith for Mahomes, who made his first NFL start and guided the Chiefs to a 27-24 win over the Paxton Lynch-led Broncos.
With Mahomes out, nine-year veteran Carson Wentz will get the opportunity. Wentz signed with the Chiefs last offseason, joining his fourth team in the last four years since flaming out in 2020 with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Wentz started one game for the Rams last year after Los Angeles had clinched its playoff berth a week earlier He posted a 99.8 passer rating, completing 17 of 24 passes for 163 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception as the Rams defeated San Francisco, 21-20.
Kansas City won a similar game to conclude the 2023 regular season against the Los Angeles Chargers. Blaine Gabbert started that contest and went 15-of-30 for 154 yards, no touchdowns and an interception as the Chiefs scored the game’s only touchdown on a 97-yard Mike Edwards fumble return, winning 13-12.
The Chiefs are 2-2 under Reid in regular-season-ending games in which they rest their starting quarterback, making this by no means a guaranteed W for the Broncos.
