With the No. 1 seed in the AFC locked up, the Kansas City Chiefs are expected to sit a majority of their starters in their Week 18 game against the Denver Broncos, which is a decision that NBC NFL analyst Chris Simms thinks that the Chiefs may grow to regret.
The Chiefs’ current plan, which seems to be sitting out a vast majority of their starters in Week 18, would mean that these players not playing would be on a break that spans over three weeks before their first postseason matchup in the Divisional Round.
The age-old question for teams like the Chiefs facing this type of situation is whether too much rest could potentially turn into rust.
Chris Simms seems to believe that may be the case for the Chiefs. During an appearance on the Dan Le Batard Show on Friday, Simms argued that the lengthy time away from the football field for many of their star players could make them susceptible to being upset in the Divisional Round.
“Listen, I understand not playing (Travis) Kelce and (Patrick) Mahomes and Chris Jones,” said Simms. “I get that. But sit out the whole team? Let all the backups play? No, I don’t agree with that. I don’t, you’ve got to play a little bit. The way it’s up right now…They’re going to go three and a half weeks without a meaningful football game. That’s scary. That’s a recipe for getting upset in the divisional round.
“That’s what happens. Do you remember when the Titans got upset by the Ravens a few years ago in the Divisional Round? They didn’t have to play (for) anything the last two games of the year. This is where it’s a street fight again? We forgot what it’s like, we haven’t played football for four weeks. So that’s what I worry about. Even for a team like the Chiefs.”
“The way it sets up right now… They’re going to go three and a half weeks without meaningful football. That’s scary. That’s a recipe for getting upset in the divisional round.” @CSimmsQB on why the Kansas City Chiefs resting players may be a mistake.
WATCH:… pic.twitter.com/kMt7T2Ngs9
— Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz (@LeBatardShow) January 3, 2025
There isn’t any foolproof method as to how to handle the situation of playing in a Week 18 game with nothing to gain like the Chiefs are. But it is at least somewhat interesting to see that other contenders in the AFC in the same situation are handling the matter differently.
The Buffalo Bills, who are the only team to beat the Chiefs this season, will be playing Josh Allen in Week 18 against the New England Patriots for a “very short-lived amount of time” according to head coach Sean McDermott. Similarly to the Chiefs, the Bills are locked into the No. 2 seed regardless of what happens in Week 18.
If Allen does suffer any kind of injury in Week 18, the Bills will obviously grow to regret their decision to play the potential MVP of the league in a meaningless game.
Regardless, it will be interesting to see which strategy between the two teams will end up being more successful once we reach the postseason.
[Dan Le Batard Show on X]