Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce will sit out the Kansas City Chiefs’ Week 18 clash against the Denver Broncos with the NFL playoffs looming, the team confirmed Sunday afternoon.
The star duo had been expected to sit out the NFL season finale in Denver, despite being on the team’s snow storm-delayed flight to the Mile High City on Saturday night.
With AFC No. 1 seed locked up, Andy Reid made the call to bench the quarterback earlier in the week with Carson Wentz expected to start under center for the reigning Super Bowl champions.
With Mahomes ruled out, it was believed that other key Kansas City starters – like pᴀss rusher Chris Jones and тιԍнт end Kelce – could also be benched.
An injury report released by the Chiefs on Friday suggested that a number of other big names, including Kelce, would also get the week off.
And just over an hour before kick off in Denver, Kansas City confirmed those suspicions, announcing that Kelce, Mahomes and Jones, along with others, were inactive.
Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce will sit out the Chiefs’ Week 18 clash against the Broncos
Our inactives for today’s matchup ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/F92nDoqa2p
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) January 5, 2025
Running back Isiah Pacheco, Trent McDuffie, George Karlaftis, and Jawaan Taylor were also named on the Chiefs’ inactives report.
Both Kelce and Mahomes still made the journey to Denver and the signal caller was seen arriving at Mile High Stadium in gray pants and a matching hoodie in contrast to his usual dapper suited-up style.
The AFC West matchup doesn’t have any importance for the 15-1 Chiefs – who already secured a bye to the AFC Divisional round taking place the weekend of January 18th.
However, that doesn’t mean that the game isn’t important to the overall AFC playoff picture.
The Broncos (9-7) are clinging to the last playoff spot – the seven-seed – and will likely need a victory in order to seal their participation in the NFL’s postseason.
If they don’t win the game against KC, then their fate is out of their hands and a spot could go to the Cincinnati Bengals, who clinched a 19-17 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers Saturday night.
But the decisive game was almost thrown in to turmoil when the Chiefs faced travel chaos Saturday.
The Chiefs were forced to leave Kansas City four hours behind schedule, with a winter storm leaving the team plane stranded on the runway.
The Kansas City Chiefs finally touched down in Denver after a chaotic day of travel Saturday
Both the quarterback and тιԍнт end were among the players who traveled to Colorado
.@PatrickMahomes is here. pic.twitter.com/AB3sArHWzq
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) January 5, 2025
After being delayed for hours, the Chiefs eventually landed in the Mile High City, with Mahomes and Kelce filmed stepping off the aircraft onto the snowy runway.
According to Fox4 News, the Chiefs were originally due to leave for Denver around 2:45pm on Saturday. But it wasn’t until around 6:30pm ET when they finally set off.
The storm led to ‘rapid ice accumulation’ and forced the authorities to close the airfield at Kansas City International Airport – before the Chiefs could leave.
According to Fox4 News, the airport’s de-icing machine malfunctioned, delaying the departure of flights.
Some planes, it was said, were even diverted to Omaha, Nebraska – more than 500 miles east of Denver.
