KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs looked like a team that was resting the majority of its starters Sunday during a 38-0 loss against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High.
The Chiefs locked up the No. 1 seed in the AFC and a first-round playoff bye with a Week 17 win at Pittsburgh on Christmas Day.
That meant there was nothing more for coach Andy Reid’s squad to gain in Denver, so he chose to rest more than a dozen regular contributors.
The Broncos, who needed to win to clinch a postseason berth as the AFC’s seventh seed, took full advantage and ended an eight-year playoff drought, the longest-ever for a team after winning a Super Bowl.
“Obviously, not good enough,” said Carson Wentz, who started at quarterback and went 10 of 17 for 98 yards in the loss. “We didn’t play great as a team; I didn’t play my best either. But we’ll move on from this one pretty quick.”
Denver, who eliminated Cincinnati and Miami from playoff contention with the victory, hadn’t made the postseason since Peyton Manning led the franchise to a 24-10 win against Carolina in Super Bowl 50.
For Kansas City, it was a win from the standpoint that the club stayed healthy ahead of the playoffs, which begin next weekend.
The Chiefs, who have won the last two Super Bowls, won’t play until Jan. 18 or 19 because of the bye.
The other benefit of the game was getting young players reps against a playoff team.
Carson Steele had seven carries for 21 yards and added two receptions for 2 yards, while wide receiver Nikko Remigio, who has emerged as the Chiefs’ return specialist with Mecole Hardman Jr. out, caught two passes for a team-high 48 yards,
Tight end Peyton Hendershot also tied for the team-best with two catches for 25 yards.
“It was fun to get out there and fun to give myself and a lot of the guys a chance to go out there and compete, but obviously they (the Broncos) was the better team today,” Wentz said.
Defensively, linebacker Cam Jones made a game- and career-high 12 tackles, while newly signed linebacker Blake Lynch added six tackles.
“That experience is invaluable, especially against a good football team,” Reid said. “We need to do better obviously, but that opportunity again is something that’s special.”
Defensive end Joshua Uche, who has been inactive in recent weeks despite being acquired via midseason trade with New England, added eight tackles.
CHIEFS REMAIN IN DENVER
The Chiefs, who were delayed several hours leaving for Denver on Saturday afternoon, stayed in Colorado overnight with unsafe travel conditions in Kansas City.
The team’s charter was late arriving at Kansas City International Airport on Saturday, which prevented the Chiefs from leaving earlier than originally planned for the Broncos game after freezing rain arrived in the region a few hours earlier than forecast.
Kansas City got stuck for several hours after the runways at KCI iced over and the airport suspended operations before a break in the weather allowed the team’s flight to depart.
But with relentless blowing snowfall pounding the region Sunday, the Chiefs decided to stay overnight in Denver rather than return to Kansas City as they typically do after a game.
The good news is that, with a bye next weekend, there's no rush to begin preparation for the postseason.
“I don't fully know the schedule yet, to be honest,” Wentz said. “I’m excited to find that out. I know we can’t leave town yet tonight unfortunately — blizzards all across the Midwest, but I think we’ll get a little time to rest and recover, all that stuff.”
Reid wasn't ready to tip his hand on Kansas City's plans, but as many as 25 days may have passed before the players who sat out this week suit up again between the win in Pittsburgh and the postseason opener.
“I’m going to meet with the team tonight and I’m going to tell them what it looks like then I’ll come to you guys and let you know,” Reid said.
DEPLETED CHIEFS SQUAD
Five Kansas City players battling nagging injuries — defensive tackle Chris Jones (calf), running back Isiah Pacheco (ribs), quarterback Patrick Mahomes (ankle), right tackle Jawaan Taylor (knee) and cornerback Trent McDuffie (knee) — were inactive along with two other regulars, defensive end George Karlaftis and tight end Travis Kelce.
But they weren’t the only players the Chiefs effectively shut down with nothing to play for in the regular-season finale.
Safety Justin Reid, linebackers Nick Bolton and Drue Tranquill, and running back Kareem Hunt also got the afternoon off with the top seed in the AFC and a bye next weekend already secure.
Without Taylor, Kansas City started DJ Humphries, Joe Thuney, Creed Humphrey, Trey Smith and Wanya Morris along the offensive line, from left to right.
Thuney, Humphrey and Smith were replaced after two drives by Kingsley Suamataia and two rookies — Hunter Nourzad, a fifth-round pick who had only played on special teams in the first 16 games, and C.J. Hanson, a seventh-round who made his NFL debut after being inactive throughout the season — on the interior, from left to right.
Suamataia started the season as Kansas City's starting left tackle, but he lost that job to Wanya Morris, who then lost it to Humphries. The move inside to left guard was a new role for the rookie second-round pick from BYU.
“Nothing jumped out at me that said ‘negative' on it, but I’ve got to look at the tape,” Reid said of Suamataia. "I’ll get with (Offensive Line) Coach (Andy) Heck on that, but it was good to get him in there, though. He was one of the guys (that) it was good to get the experience.”
HUMPHRIES RETURNS TO ACTION
Signed shortly before Thanksgiving as a possible fix to the Chiefs’ left-tackle issues, Humphries started in a Dec. 8 win against the Los Angeles Chargers, helping Kansas City clinch a ninth straight AFC West crown.
He showed some rust, which is to be expected after missing the first three months of the season while recovering from surgery to repair a torn ACL suffered last year with Arizona.
But Humphries also showed enough that he appeared to be the best option before exiting late in the game with a strained hamstring.
Thuney kicked outside to left tackle — with Mike Caliendo starting at left guard — in Humphries’ three-game absence.
Humphries returned against the Broncos and performed OK.
“It was good for him to get the reps in there,” Reid said. “That’s a plus.”
The offensive line as a whole struggled against Denver’s vaunted defensive line, which leads the NFL in sacks this season.
Pass-rush specialist Nik Bonitto beat Humphries with a speed rush, dipping under a punch attempt to sack Wentz on fourth down late in the third quarter, but at least he got some conditioning at altitude and more reps ahead of the postseason.
FIRST-HALF SCORING STREAKS ENDS
Kansas City was shutout in the first half for the first time since a 27-3 loss on Oct. 24, 2021 at Tennessee — a span of 61 regular-season games and 71 games overall, including the playoffs.
The Broncos outgained the Chiefs 313-55 and had an 18-3 edge in first downs during the first half.
Kansas City only ran 16 plays and trailed 21-0 before the offense gained a first down.
The Chiefs’ most-promising drive came late in the second quarter, an 11-play drive into field-goal range before Harrison Butker missed a 51-yard field goal.
Denver led 24-0 at halftime after gashing Kansas City’s undermanned, under-planned defense for a field goal in the closing seconds before halftime.
Ultimately, the Chiefs were shut out for the first time under Reid.
NIX IS NAILS
Bo Nix completed his first 18 passes — for 215 yards and three touchdowns — and added 47 yards rushing on seven scrambles as the rookie QB took advantage of a vanilla, blitz-free defensive game plan to carve up Kansas City’s backup-laden defense.
Nix, a first-round pick from Oregon, set the NFL rookie record for home touchdown passes with his three scoring strikes before halftime.
He added onto it during the third quarter, finishing 26 of 29 for a career-high 321 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions.
Nix, who tied the Denver record for completion percentage in a game (89.7%), threw 19 touchdown passes at Mile High this season.
“It looks like he was efficient and really ran the offense well,” Reid said. “He’s a good player.”
UP NEXT
Kansas City (15-2), which set a franchise record for wins in a season, has a first-round bye in the NFL playoffs and will host the lowest-seeded team remaining after Wild Card weekend wraps up next week.
The only two teams the Chiefs can’t host in the Divisional Round on Jan. 18 or 19 at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium are second-seeded Buffalo or third-seeded Baltimore.
WAS TAYLOR SWIFT AT THE GAME?
Nah, Taylor Swift hasn’t dropped in for a Chiefs road game this season — and won’t have to unless Kansas City makes the Super Bowl, since Travis Kelce’s squad has home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.
Swift, who has been dating Kelce for nearly 18 months, attended seven of Kansas City’s eight home games.
The Chiefs are 17-3 with Swift on hand during the last two seasons, including a 12-game win streak dating back to late last season.
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