ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Denver Broncos didn’t need to hear Andy Reid’s official announcement Wednesday to know the Kansas City Chiefs coach planned to rest key starters, including superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes, when the two AFC West rivals meet in the regular-season finale Sunday. They merely needed to study the history.
Reid has routinely rested his top players when there is nothing meaningful to play for during the final tuneup in his 12 seasons as Chiefs coach, including in Week 18 last season. But examining that history also reveals a warning for the Broncos ahead of Sunday’s game, which they need to win to secure their first playoff appearance in nine years: Reid might be providing some rest, but he and the Chiefs won’t be lying down.
“Our focus has to be on this team in general,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said. “It’s a credit to Andy and his team. When you go 15-1, you’re afforded those decisions. I’ve been in that position where your team might need a (rest) here or there. They’ve earned that and that’s part of the deal. For us, it’s about understanding what we’re seeing scheme-wise and playing our best game.”
Wednesday’s #KCvsDEN injury report:
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Reid has been afforded the decision to rest starters during the final week of the regular season four times in Kansas City. He’s won two of those games, but it’s a narrow loss that might provide the closest parallel for what Denver faces Sunday.
The Chiefs entered their regular-season finale in 2013 with an 11-4 record and were already locked into the top wild-card spot in the AFC. Kansas City faced a division opponent in Week 17, the San Diego Chargers, that needed a win to clinch the other wild-card spot in the field. Reid rested most of his usual starters, including quarterback Alex Smith, giving a major edge to the Philip Rivers-led Chargers. But the Chargers trailed by 10 points with 12 minutes left in the fourth quarter and would have lost the game — and their chance at the playoffs — if Ryan Succop hadn’t missed a 41-yard field goal attempt with four seconds left that would have given Kansas City the victory.
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The Chargers made the most of the reprieve, ultimately kicking a game-winning field goal in overtime to earn the final wild-card spot.
“We didn’t play our best game, but teams that are playoff teams find a way to win when you don’t play your best,” Rivers said afterward. “That’s what we did today.”
Therein is the bottom line for the Broncos. There is no winning ugly if it’s a victory that results in a long-awaited postseason berth. The past two weeks of missed chances have revealed the ground Denver still has to make up to become a team that isn’t letting its playoff fate come down to the final weekend of the regular season. Its boom-or-bust offense, in need of another dynamic playmaker or two in the long term, didn’t do enough to win road games against the Los Angeles Chargers and Cincinnati Bengals. The defense couldn’t prevent the key third- or fourth-down conversion when the game hung in the balance. The Broncos generally failed to win the battles on the margins. This offseason will be about adding the pieces to an increasingly promising foundation that could help address those issues.
But none of that matters Sunday at Empower Field at Mile High. The Broncos simply have to find a way to win. There are no style points awarded in a do-or-die game.
“We can’t control what they’re doing,” Broncos right tackle Mike McGlinchey said. “We’re going to do what we can to get our 10th win and punch our ticket to the playoffs. That’s all our concern is. It doesn’t matter who is lining up across from us. It’s about getting the job done and doing what we need to do in order to do that.”
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The Broncos will play a wild-card game on the road against the Buffalo Bills if Denver wins Sunday. Coincidentally, a past Bills team serves as another cautionary tale for the situation the Broncos are in this weekend. The Bills needed a win against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the regular-season finale in 2004 to clinch a wild-card spot. The Steelers, who were 14-1 entering the game and had already clinched the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye, rested several starters, including starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. The Bills harassed backup Tommy Maddox (two interceptions, two sacks, 43.7 passer rating), but the Steelers scored 13 unanswered points in the fourth quarter with the help of a defensive touchdown to win the game and crush Buffalo’s playoff dreams.
“Talking about ‘backups,’ it’s a huge misconception,” Broncos tight end Adam Trautman said. “The guys that get in there, they know this is their time to put film up. … Those guys are going to be playing hard as hell. Obviously, we are, too.”
The Chiefs might be giving more snaps to a host of reserves Sunday, but many of those are players who have helped Kansas City win back-to-back Super Bowls. Players who helped the Chiefs win 15 of their first 16 games this season. Players who will still be led by the play-calling duo of Reid and defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, which has remained one of the league’s best amid shifts in personnel.
“From an offensive standpoint, when you look at their defense they obviously have great players on defense, but their scheme is elite,” Trautman said. “It matters who is in there, but to an extent, it doesn’t because of their scheme being so elite and because their defensive coordinator is so good. We’re prepared for anything.”
Andy Reid will give Carson Wentz the start Sunday as Patrick Mahomes rests for the playoffs. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Imagn Images)
Chiefs quarterback Carson Wentz’s last start came as a replacement for Los Angeles Rams starter Matthew Stafford in a Week 18 game against the San Francisco 49ers last season. He completed 17 of 24 passes for 163 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in a 21-20 victory. Wentz, though, played that game against a 49ers team that played mostly reserves on defense with home-field advantage in the playoffs already secured. This time he’ll play against arguably the most harassing defensive fronts in football, playing for its postseason life.
The Broncos insist there will be no letdown in preparation going from Mahomes to Wentz, who will bring a fresh arm and legs into the matchup — as well as 93 career starts in his nine NFL seasons. Wentz might be a long way from the player he was in 2017 — he shredded the Broncos with four touchdown passes in a 51-23 win as the Philadelphia Eagles’ quarterback that season — but he’s a capable quarterback whose tools on any given day can cause problems. Payton said the Broncos evaluated Wentz as a potential veteran quarterback option this offseason before ultimately putting together a quarterbacks group with holdover veteran Jarrett Stidham and trade acquisition Zach Wilson behind rookie Bo Nix.
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“Carson is a guy who has obviously played a lot of ball and played at a high level,” Broncos defensive end Zach Allen said. “His 2017 season, before he got injured, was incredible. Last year with the Rams and in Washington and when I played him in Indianapolis — he’s still got it. There is a reason why they have been able to win so many games, not just this year but the past few years. In this league, you really need depth because everyone gets injuries and whatever else happens. It’s going to be a good challenge for us. We’re really excited, and I think we’re preparing the right way.”
As the Broncos put their Dec. 15 victory against the Indianapolis Colts to bed, Payton made the math simple for his team: Get to 10. The Broncos have one more chance. That’s made it easy not to focus on what personnel the Chiefs bring into the game. Either way, Payton said, the Broncos must be at their best. Their playoff hopes depend on it, and Andy Reid isn’t lying down.
“There’s no pressure without opportunity,” Nix said. “We’ve got the opportunity to go do something special.”
(Top photo of Bo Nix: David Eulitt / Getty Images)
