In Week 18 of the NFL season, teams adjust their lineups for many reasons. Starters will sit for some teams as there might be nothing to play for, and they can earn some rest as a result. Meanwhile, other teams will need everyone available to get into the postseason or earn a better seed.
The Kansas City Chiefs, however, have everything locked up and nothing to play for in Week 18. They’ve already earned the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC, which gives them a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
This allows head coach Andy Reid to not play all of his starters this week against the Denver Broncos, including some of Kansas City’s star players — like quarterback Patrick Mahomes — who earned rest in Week 18.
Why Is Patrick Mahomes Not Playing in Week 18?
Earlier in the week, Reid decided it was best to give Mahomes the game off. Kansas City is looking at winning an unprecedented third straight Super Bowl, and the team needs a fully healthy Mahomes on the field to possibly achieve that.
With Mahomes out this week, he will get plenty of rest before the Divisional Round of the playoffs, which will be played on Jan. 18 or 19.
Reid has no qualms with resting Mahomes and other starters for Week 18. There is nothing more that the Chiefs can achieve this week.
“It wasn’t a hard decision,” Reid said about resting his star quarterback. “I’ve been through that before, so I’m not too worried about all that. It just gives the other guys an opportunity here to grow, and you can use everybody.”
With Mahomes out against the Denver Broncos, the Chiefs are going with Carson Wentz, who the team signed this past offseason. Wentz is getting his first start since last year when he earned the nod in Week 18 for the Los Angeles Rams.
With Mahomes sitting this week, it means that the Chiefs won’t have the No. 10 ranked quarterback in PFN’s (QB+) metric. Although ranked 10th, PFN’s metric has clearly identified that he has not been his same old self this year.
“Whenever you watch Patrick Mahomes, there are always a couple of ‘wow’ moments, but you rarely come away from the game thinking he was absolutely dominant. However, Mahomes rarely costs his team the game, either. That is demonstrated by his range in QB+ grades in individual games this season, having not once ranked above a B but having not had a game graded below a C-.
“That consistency continued in Week 17 with a B-grade performance that ranks as his second-best of the season. He finished with a 0.43 EPA/DB, thanks to an incredible 0.92 EPA/DB when pressured, which led the league this week. However, he finished 15th in EPA/DB from a clean pocket (0.32) and 21st on third downs (37.5% conversion rate).
“Mahomes, who has posted a similar QB+ over the last two seasons, is clearly not playing at the same level he was earlier in his career, but the way this team is built means he has to adapt his style. His 47.8% third-down conversion rate leads the league, and at times, it feels like the march to the end zone is inevitable when they are driving.”
Mahomes’ next game will be in a few weeks. In the meantime, the Chiefs’ goal is to have their star quarterback fully healthy for a playoff run.