Report: Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes Won't Play vs. Broncos in Season Finale

The Denver Broncos were happy to hear this.

Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) talks with Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) after the game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. / Denny Medley-Imagn Images

The Denver Broncos just caught a break. FOX Sports' Peter Schrager is reporting that Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes won't play next week vs. the Broncos in the season finale.

Carson Wentz is expected to start for the Chiefs next week. How will that potentially impact the teams making a final playoff push? @PSchrags explains: pic.twitter.com/st01IXVyOa

— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) December 29, 2024

The news comes as a confirmation of sorts, as the expectation has been that Mahomes wouldn't play after the Chiefs secured the No. 1 seed and, thus, home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoff tournament. But we still don't know how many other starters and key players Andy Reid will rest.

That means the Broncos can start preparing to face Carson Wentz in a Reid-led offense. But before Broncos Country starts resting on its laurels, cast your mind's eye back on the 2019 season.

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It was Week 7 and Vic Fangio's Broncos were struggling in the second quarter of the season. The football gods seemed to smile upon the Broncos, as Mahomes exited the game early with a scary injury.

Matt Moore entered the game and proceeded to decimate the Broncos as the Chiefs emerged victorious at Mile High, 30-6. A different time and place, and two wildly different teams.

But it's a cautionary tale for a Broncos team that is now desperate to win its last game of the season. That desperation plays into the Chiefs' hands as spoilers and winners of 18 of their last 19 matchups with the Broncos.

Whether it's Wentz and the Chiefs' entire second-team roster, it's still a talented quarterback coached by a future Hall-of-Famer and one of the best head coaches in NFL history. And Kansas City would love nothing more than to spoil Denver's playoff hopes with its backup squad.

Sean Payton and company can leave nothing up to chance. He's got to design a brilliant game plan, unlike the past two weeks, and the Broncos have to execute.

At the end of the day, if the Broncos are deserving of making the playoffs, they'll beat the Chiefs, regardless of who's lining up in red and gold. And as a silver lining, the Chiefs may have won 18 of the last 19, but if not for tormenting twist of fate that featured a mind-boggling, low-probability collapse of a field goal unit, the Broncos would be riding a two-game winning streak over their ancient AFC West rival entering a season finale with all the marbles on the table.

As info emerges on any other starters the Chiefs plan on resting, we'll be sure to report them. Stay tuned.

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