For 14 NFL weeks, the biggest question involving the Kansas City Chiefs became whether Taylor Swift would be at their game.
While fans wonder if the Grammy-winning country/pop singer will be at SoFi Stadium on Sunday, there’s another major question involving K.C. — why are Patrick Mahomes and Co. sitting out?
Explanation for Patrick Mahomes and Starters Resting
Kansas City officially clinched its playoff spot by beating the Cincinnati Bengals on New Year’s Eve.
With that win, Mahomes, All-Pro tight end (and the reason for Swift’s Chiefs appearances) Travis Kelce, plus other pivotal Chiefs starters can get a break for Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Head coach Andy Reid made the decision to rest his star players for the road contest as a way to keep them healthy for what’s coming next: defending their Super Bowl title.
By virtue of the win over Cincy, they not only secured their 10th regular-season win of 2023, but the Chiefs officially clinched the AFC West title. Now they can choose to play their reserves with the division crown already wrapped up.
The Las Vegas Raiders would’ve been the biggest threat to K.C. for the AFC West title. The Silver and Black briefly shook up the AFC West standings with their Christmas Day upset of the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.
Nonetheless, the Raiders fell in Week 17 against the Indianapolis Colts. Had the Raiders won out (including beating the Denver Broncos in Week 18) and the Chiefs wound up dropping their last two games, the Raiders would’ve won the division through tiebreakers.
But now, Mahomes and the other Chiefs starters get a week’s worth of rest before returning to action during Wild Card Weekend.
Do the Chiefs Have a Chance at a Higher Seed?
There will still be fans who question the Chiefs’ decision to rest their starters. Particularly for this reason — do they have a chance to secure the second seed in the AFC postseason?
Unfortunately, even at 10-6, Kansas City won’t be able to catch the top AFC powers.
MORE: Kansas City Chiefs Depth Chart
Kansas City is unable to catch the AFC-leading 13-4 Baltimore Ravens. They have already wrapped up home-field advantage throughout the playoffs despite their Week 18 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Chiefs won’t be able to catch up to the current 11-5 Miami Dolphins or 10-6 Buffalo Bills either — the latter beating K.C. this season. If the Bills were to defeat the Dolphins, they can seal the AFC’s No. 2 seed by having the tiebreaker advantage over Kansas City. Miami officially clinches the second seed and AFC East title with a win at Hard Rock Stadium.
In all likelihood, Mahomes, Kelce, Reid, and the rest of the Chiefs will end up settling for the AFC’s third seed. That will also ensure a home playoff game in the opening round of the playoffs.
Currently, a rematch with the Bills could be on deck in the first round depending on the outcome of Bills-Dolphins. Another possibility is a rematch from the Frankfurt, Germany contest with Miami that was won by Mahomes and K.C.
But again, Kansas City will be going without Mahomes and Co. It’ll be Blaine Gabbert leading the Chiefs’ offense in Inglewood for the regular-season finale.
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