KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Chiefs coach Andy Reid is planning to give running back Isiah Pacheco most of the week off to rest his sore ribs.
Reid hasn’t decided who else will get time off before their regular-season finale in Denver.
The Chiefs (15-1) already have clinched the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs, and with it the lone first-round bye, rendering their game against the Broncos meaningless to them. But while Reid will no doubt rest Pacheco and anyone else dealing with nagging injuries heading into the postseason, there is also the risk of rust setting in among starters who get such a long break.
Kansas City would not resume its pursuit of an unprecedented third straight Super Bowl title until at least Jan. 18.
“We’ll be OK from it,” Reid said of the long break, “because of the rest we gain here.”
It’s almost certain that Patrick Mahomes will get the majority of Week 18 off, if not all of it, especially given the high ankle sprain that the two-time NFL MVP played through in a win over Pittsburgh on Christmas Day. And that could mean that Carson Wentz makes his first start of the season in a game that has plenty of significance for the Broncos.
If they win, they would join the Chiefs and Chargers among three teams from the AFC West in the postseason.
“I think it’s great. I mean, the level of this division is, I think, incredible,” Reid said Monday. “We’ve got really all four teams playing hard and aggressive football, and good, solid football. I know the Raiders are not in; I get that. But I know the other two are as deserving as anybody to be in the playoffs. It’s good to see that. I think that this is all about competition. We’re in it for the competition. And both Denver and the Chargers, they are both really good football teams.”
In other injury news, Reid said former Pro Bowl left tackle D.J. Humphries is making progress in his return from a hamstring injury that he sustained in his season debut. Humphries, who was coming off a torn ACL, signed with the Chiefs midway through the season after they’d had consistent trouble protecting Mahomes’ blind side.
The Chiefs have gotten by the past few weeks with All-Pro left guard Joe Thuney sliding to tackle and Mike Caliendo taking his spot. But they would prefer to have Thuney back at his more natural position for the playoffs.
“I want to get (Humphries) out to practice and see where he’s at,” Reid said. “He is doing good in his rehab part. That’s different than being on the field. I’d like to see how he does there.”
Reid also said wide receiver Mecole Hardman, who is on injured reserve with a knee injury, could return in the playoffs, and that there was a chance — a longshot, but a chance — that cornerback Jaylen Watson makes it back from his ankle injury.
Broncos coach Sean Payton isn’t worried about who might sit for the Chiefs on Sunday.
The job is the same for his team regardless.
“You have to approach it like you’re seeing starters at these positions,” Payton said. “NFL rosters are — it’s not like you have a college roster. I’ve been in this position before on the other side of it. I think you’re looking at the scheme relative to the game plan, and then planning on seeing the player that you’re watching on film. If someone else is in that spot, so be it.”
While the game has no meaning for Kansas City, that does not mean the two-time reigning Super Bowl champs are planning to look ahead to the playoffs. Whomever is on the field Sunday will have their attention focused solely on the Broncos.
“There will be a time when we look at the other group. We’ll have time to do that,” Reid said. “But right now we’re preparing for Denver, so we’ll hit all that other stuff later here, on another day.”
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