Winners and Losers from the KC Chiefs' Week 18 Defeat to the Denver Broncos

In the Kansas City Chiefs' Week 18 loss to the Denver Broncos, multiple players stood out for good and bad reasons alike.

Sep 29, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Kansas City Chiefs safety Jaden Hicks (21) warms up prior to the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The 2024-25 regular season is officially in the books, and the Kansas City Chiefs posted a scorching 15-2 record over 17 games. Unfortunately, though, the reigning Super Bowl champions ended things on a sour note.

For the first time in quite a while, Kansas City got shut out in a regular-season contest. The Denver Broncos were on a mission from the very beginning of Week 18, putting pressure on quarterback Carson Wentz and carving up Steve Spagnuolo's defense on the other side. The result was a 38-0 blowout defeat, and one that featured plenty of bad but also a bit of good on Sunday afternoon.

With that in mind, let's point out some of the Chiefs' biggest winners and losers from the final week of the regular season.

WINNER: Jaden Hicks

With Justin Reid resting to close out the regular season, fourth-round rookie Jaden Hicks made the most of his opportunities at safety. Not only did the Washington State product set a new career-high mark with four tackles, but he was flying around the field on Sunday. Two specific plays, a nice pass breakup and a third-and-14 stop of Courtland Sutton to force a punt, stood out. Hicks also had a tackle for loss and looked as confident as he has all year long. As the Chiefs' defense gears up for the playoffs, they seem to have one more reliable and ascending piece to work with.

LOSER: Nazeeh Johnson

For as good as Hicks was in Week 18, cornerback Nazeeh Johnson may have been just as bad. Denver's second offensive possession saw him lose to Lil'Jordan Humphrey on third down and later get torched by Sutton on a 47-yard deep ball. Thereafter, Johnson had a poor display of tackling form on a different third-and-14 and also got beat by Sutton downfield (again) near the halftime break. It's been a season to forget for Johnson, who was once deemed ready to be Kansas City's second starting cornerback. That clearly isn't the case, so the club will have to hope Jaylen Watson gets back in time for the Divisional Round of the playoffs.

WINNER: Nikko Remigio

Wideout Nikko Remigio got plenty of praise during the offseason, which parlayed itself into special teams coordinator Dave Toub "pounding the table" for him to make the initial 53-man roster. That didn't wind up happening, however, as the undrafted free agent spent almost all season on the practice squad. Sunday was Remigio's first real chance to get a role on offense and while he had a catch on just a third of his targets, he gained 48 yards on them. It's hard to blame him too much for not being on the same page as Wentz. Add in a 36-yard kickoff return, and you get a respectable yet imperfect showing from the 25-year-old.

LOSER: Harrison Butker

Harrison Butker didn't get a ton of work on Sunday, but missing the only field goal he attempted wasn't a great look. A 51-yarder is far from a guarantee, although it still brings the veteran placekicker to 3-for-5 on field goals since returning from a meniscus injury suffered in November. The Chiefs dealt with an in-season Butker ailment two years ago and he bounced back from a rough stretch to ultimately be nails come playoff time. They have to be hoping for something similar this time around because if Butker isn't operating at 100% capacity, it could be the difference in a close game moving forward.

WINNER: Felix Anudike-Uzomah

Given the absence of many veteran players in Week 18, that opened the door for young or unproven options to step up. One of those men was 2023 first-round pick Felix Anudike-Uzomah, whose play along the defensive line is improved over his rookie year but still not at the level of a premier draft pickup. He turned in a solid outing on Sunday, making a pair of nice run stops with a tackle for loss. Anudike-Uzomah's pass-rush plan is still a work in progress, but he did display a quicker get-off at the line of scrimmage and looked solid against a tough team. While far from where he needs to be, this was another example of progress for the former Kansas State standout.

LOSER: Chamarri Conner

In his first game back from a concussion suffered in Week 15's win over the Cleveland Browns, defensive back Chamarri Conner didn't look very comfortable or fluid. The second-year man was lost in coverage and played a role in surrendering a touchdown to Sutton on Denver's second drive. His downhill tackling was also inconsistent, as it has been all season long. He has a missed tackle rate of 15.4%, according to Pro Football Reference, which is one of the higher figures in the database. The Conner-in-the-slot experiment hasn't worked this year, leaving doubt for how it'll pan out in the postseason.

NEITHER/BOTH: D.J. Humphries

Speaking of a first game back following injury, D.J. Humphries got back into the swing of things on Sunday after a multi-game absence due to a hamstring ailment. The November left tackle signing had a mixed bag of an afternoon in Denver, making him neither a winner nor a loser. He held his own on numerous occasions in pass protection but also had some quick losses that led to either easy pressures or sacks on Wentz. There's a case to be made that a configuration with Humphries at left tackle and All-Pro Joe Thuney going back to left guard makes the most sense for the playoffs. Sunday didn't give a clear answer, but it also didn't rule that out.

Read More: Four Takeaways from the Kansas City Chiefs' 38-0 Loss to the Denver Broncos