Kansas City Chiefs play mostly backups in Week 18, get shut out by Denver Broncos 38-0

The Kansas City Chiefs ended their regular season with their most lopsided loss of the Andy Reid era, although it wasn’t a typical divisional defeat.

After locking up the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs a week ago against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Chiefs rested a large swath of their most important players in Week 18. The Denver Broncos, meanwhile, needed a win to make the playoffs for the first time since winning Super Bowl 50 at the end of the 2015 season.

With one team going all in and the other taking almost all of its most important players off the field, Denver accomplished its ultimate goal and won 38-0 to secure a spot in the postseason.

Carson Wentz started for the Chiefs at quarterback in place of Patrick Mahomes, and went 10-of-17 through the air for just 98 yards. Wide receiver Nikko Remigio was his top target, catching two passes for 48 yards in the loss. Rookie Carson Steele got the start at running back and carried the ball eight times for a mere 25 yards.

After accounting for yards lost due to sacks, Kansas City racked up just 98 total yards of offense on Sunday, the fewest yards by one team in a single game this season.

Broncos quarterback Bo Nix had one of his best games of the year in the victory, completing 26-of-39 passes for 321 yards and four touchdowns with no turnovers, good for 152.4 passer rating.

The Chiefs are off next week regardless of Sunday’s outcome by virtue of owning the top seed in the conference. The Broncos, meanwhile, will visit the Buffalo Bills next Sunday, Jan. 12 at noon central time for their playoff opener.

If Denver wins that game, it will face Kansas City at Arrowhead Stadium the following weekend. If the Bills win that Super Wild Card Weekend matchup, the Chiefs will play whoever the lowest-remaining seed is in the Divisional Round.

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