KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City is locked into the No. 3 seed in the AFC, which gives the Chiefs a chance to treat the regular-season finale Sunday at the Los Angeles Chargers as an unofficial bye.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes won’t play, Chiefs coach Andy Reid announced Wednesday.
Several other veterans, including L’Jarius Sneed and perhaps safety Justin Reid, aren’t likely to suit up either, but Kansas City still has to field a team and that creates opportunity.
“You love to see guys who have worked hard, who have improved through the course of the year, who maybe haven’t gotten as many snaps as they would like to get an opportunity,” linebackers coach Brendan Daly said. “That’s always fun to see them take advantage of that.”
For Chiefs fans, the chance to see how far Lee’s Summit native and first-round pick Felix Anudike-Uzomah has come will be among the more intriguing aspects of Sunday’s game.
Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said Anudike-Uzomah, who became a star defensive end at Kansas State prior to being picked by Kansas City, has “developed well” this season despite the fact that he’s struggled to crack a defensive-end rotation that includes George Karlaftis, Charles Omenihu and Mike Danna.
Early in the season, with Chris Jones working his way back and sitting out training camp and Omenihu suspended, Anudike-Uzomah soaked up his share of snaps.
He played more than 30% of Kansas City’s defensive snaps, primarily in the nickel sub-package, during the first five games — totaling nine tackles, four quarterback hits, a half-sack and a forced fumble along the way.
“Felix was thrown into the fire early,” defensive line coach Joe Cullen said. “... He was doing a great job and he’s only going to get better.”
But Anudike-Uzomah hasn’t played more than 10 defensive snaps in a game since Omenihu returned, logging only 59 snaps in Weeks 6 through 16 combined with two tackles and three pressures in that span.
That should not be taken as an indictment of how the Chiefs’ staff feels about Anudike-Uzomah, who won’t even turn 22 for another three weeks.
“I’ve seen him mature and grow in the meetings,” Spagnuolo said. “I’m always asking guys questions in the meetings. I give them homework tapes every day and then ask them questions the next day. Felix is always on it. That tells me something.”
Anudike-Uzomah is expected to have a significant role at the Chargers, providing the chance to show Chiefs Kingdom how far he’s come and what the future holds.
“It will be nice to see him get some plays this week and see where he’s at, but we’ve never had a problem putting Felix in,” Spagnuolo said.
Fellow rookie defensive end BJ Thompson, a fifth-round pick from Stephen F. Austin last spring, should get his first NFL opportunity as well after being inactive the first 16 games of the season.
“You have a hat on Sunday and it’s a great opportunity to go show what you can do,” Cullen said.
Linebacker Leo Chenal, who also has played some defensive-end snaps lately, will see an expanded role Sunday along with core special teamers Jack Cochrane and Cam Jones.
Malik Herring, who was active for Kansas City’s first six games but hasn’t been on the game-day roster since Omenihu’s return, also should see plenty of action on the defensive line along with defensive tackle Neil Farrell Jr., who has only been active for two games this season after arriving via trade with Las Vegas late in training camp.
Veteran safety Deon Bush figures to play an expanded role on defense, Spagnuolo said.
“It’s a blessing and curse,” Spagnuolo said. “It’s a blessing to be in this position. It’s just tough navigating wanting to win the game and stop people when you’ve got so many moving parts.”
Offensively, the offense’s reins will be turned over to veteran backup Blaine Gabbert, who was signed in the offseason as Chad Henne’s replacement.
Gabbert is no stranger to starting games in the NFL, going 13-35 in his NFL career as a starter with the bulk of those games coming for Jacksonville, which drafted Gabbert 10th overall from Mizzou in the 2011 NFL Draft.
Gabbert also has started games for San Francisco, Arizona and Tennessee. He made his last NFL start in Week 17 for the Titans against Indianapolis to wrap up the 2018 season.
“Blaine, he’s a smart guy,” quarterback coach Dave Girardi said. “He’s seen a lot of football and been in some different offenses. He’s good with seeing the field, seeing the progressions and all that. The arm talent is there. It’s a little different than Pat. They have their strengths, but it’s similar.”
The game also should serve as a feature game for wide receiver Justyn Ross among others on offense.
“I can’t wait to see how he does getting a lot of reps,” assistant head coach/special teams coordinator Dave Toub said of Ross.
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