The Kansas City Chiefs’ victory on Christmas Day clinched the top seed in the AFC and bye week in the postseason, leaving no standings incentive for Week 18. Patrick Mahomes spoke with reporters after Wednesday’s game, looking ahead to next week’s regular-season finale and rest time before the postseason.
“It’s just gonna be nice getting guys healthy. I think this was the earliest bye (week) I’ve ever had, just in general, so to have this grind of whatever it is, we had a bye like week six. So it’s almost 10 weeks of just football and grinding in this short schedule at the very end of the year.” said Mahomes. “We got some guys banged up and to get them back healthy now, and we’ll see how week 18 goes, and who plays and who doesn’t play. That’s up to Coach (Reid). But even getting this little break, getting back healthy, and then getting ourselves ready for the playoffs was super important, especially with the guys we have banged up.”
Mahomes has dealt with multiple ankle injuries throughout the season and is still willing to play against the Denver Broncos in Week 18 but leaves that decision up to head coach Andy Reid.
“That’s completely up to Coach. I mean, I’ll prepare regardless either way,” said Mahomes. “I mean, Denver (Broncos) is probably going to be a playoff team regardless, so I’m going to prepare for them like I’m going to start, and if Coach wants me to go out there and play, I’ll go out there and play. If he doesn’t, I’ll sit back. I have full trust that coach (Andy) Reid knows what he’s doing, and he’s done it for a long time.”
Mahomes has finished the season playing his best football and could potentially not play again until the divisional round. Reid will likely decide to sit several veterans, as preservation will be key before starting the postseason journey.
