Kansas City Chiefs need to rest their starters vs Chargers in Week 17
The Kansas City Chiefs have little to play for in their season finale.
With the No. 1 seed locked up, the Kansas City Chiefs can breathe easily for a few weeks. They don’t have to enter Week 17 and fear losing their playoff positioning, so that makes the decision when it comes to resting starters pretty simple – Do it.
Obviously, this will give the Chargers an easy win but the Chiefs have bigger fish to fry than trying to keep up their AFC West dominance. They already took down the Chargers in Week 2, so losing this game won’t mean they’re swept by Los Angeles, making the decision even easier.
Andy Reid spoke to the media on Monday and indicated that the starters wouldn’t be playing much, if at all. He mentioned that Chad Henne will probably appear in Sunday’s game.
Andy Reid says "there's a good chance" we'll see Chad Henne on Sunday.
— Sam McDowell (@SamMcDowell11) December 28, 2020
Resting the starters is the correct move for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Nothing can be gained in Week 17. I get that fans want to see the team compete but the Chiefs have already won 14 games and in doing so, became the winningest regular-season team in franchise history. Yes, it’d be cool to potentially go 15-1, but avoiding injuries and making sure the starters are well-rested and ready to rock and roll in the playoffs is a bigger priority.
I could see KC putting Patrick Mahomes and the starters out there for maybe a series or two, but even this seems unnecessary. Henne has appeared in two games for KC this season, going 5-of-6 for 30 yards and rushing for a touchdown. He’s not going to provide the fireworks show that we’re used to seeing with Mahomes but that’s perfectly fine.
This Chiefs team has a legitimate shot at running it back and being the first team to win a second straight Super Bowl, which is why resting the starters is the right decision. We’ll know for sure what the strategy is on Wednesday but this appears to be the only route to go. An injury in a pointless Week 17 game would be a devastating blow and that can be avoided by keeping the starters on the sideline.
Next. What We Learned About AFC West in Week 16. dark
What do you think, Chiefs fans? Do you think the team should rest their starters, have them play a few series, or expect them to play the entire game?