According to multiple different reports, the Kansas City Chiefs are likely to rest starters against the Denver Broncos this week.

The Chiefs have already locked up the No. 1 seed in the AFC when they beat the Pittsburgh Steelers on Christmas Day. So, it makes little sense for them to risk their valuable starters like Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Chris Jones, and others.

That’s huge news for the Denver Broncos, if true, because the reports haven’t been confirmed yet.

Chiefs to rest starters, paving the way for first Broncos playoff berth in nine years

Currently, the Kansas City Chiefs are 15-1 in the regular season. They are the No. 1 seed in the American Football Conference.

That means they not only will play all their AFC playoff games at Arrowhead, but they earned a bye in the first week of the postseason, too.

So, there’s little for the Chiefs to play for this week against the Denver Broncos. Especially when considering the age of some of Kansas City’s stars. Travis Kelce is 35 years old and just wrapped up his 12th professional season. In fact, Kelce just had his lowest yards and touchdowns totals ever. Chris Jones is 30, but he sustained a calf injury in Week 16 and didn’t play in Week 17. And although he did play the last two weeks, Mahomes sustained a mid-high ankle sprain in Week 15. Isiah Pacheco is also likely out, and the list will probably grow as we get closer to gametime.

K.C. needs to rest, and whichever starters do not play this week will get 24 days of rest thanks to playing early last week (Christmas Day, Wednesday), and two weeks off.

When asked about it yesterday at his press conference, Andy Reid said, “We’re going to do what we have to do or will do. Most of all, we want to play well against a good football team.”

So, it was a cryptic answer from Reid, who doesn’t want to tip his hand to Sean Payton or the Broncos.

But multiple NFL insiders are reporting the Chiefs are likely to rest their starters. From Adam Schefter to Ian Rapoport and others.

Besides wanting to rest their key players, the Chiefs also likely want to keep the red-hot Bengals out of the postseason, too. Denver winning eliminates Cincinnati. The Bengals have to beat the Steelers (Saturday, 6 p.m. MT) to stay alive.

Win and they’re in: Broncos have a big chance this Sunday

The last time the Denver Broncos were in the playoffs was in February of 2016. Luckily, that was a joyous occasion as the team won their third Super Bowl. Von Miller was a man possessed, winning Super Bowl 50 MVP with 2.5 sacks, and Peyton Manning rode off into the sunset.

If Denver gets into the playoffs, it will be nearly nine years since the last time they enjoyed postseason play. It’s the longest playoff drought in team history since they joined the NFL in 1970.

The easiest way the Broncos can get in the postseason tournament is to win this Sunday.

Remember, Denver nearly knocked off the Chiefs in Arrowhead earlier this year. A clutch drive by Bo Nix and the offense pushed the team downfield before a disastrous field goal block ended the game in heartbreak.

But, Schefter warned this game will still not be easy for Denver, even if the Chiefs rest their starters.

“There’s 53 players on the roster. So, if there are four, five, six guys that don’t play, there still are another 45 or so that are on a Super Bowl caliber roster that are going to go play against the Denver Broncos,” Schefter explained. “Like, this isn’t going to be a gimme game for the Broncos. By the way, for Carson Wentz, this will be his Super Bowl. This is a big game for him. This is a big game for all the people that are going to be called on.”

The Broncos have lost two straight games they could have won.

First, they led by 11 points against the Chargers only to see that evaporate in the second half. Then, they battled ferociously against the Bengals, pushing the game to overtime with Marvin Mims’ incredible play, only to again lose.

There is a way the Broncos could lose to the Chiefs and still make the playoffs. Denver would need the Bengals and Dolphins (vs. Jets) to both lose or tie.

But Denver doesn’t want to back their way into the postseason with three straight losses.

It’s win and they’re in for the Broncos, and the Chiefs are likely to rest their starters. Yes, no one expected the Broncos to even be in playoff contention in late December, and they’ve outperformed predictions. But getting this far without a postseason berth would be a disappointment at this point.

For many Broncos players, this will be the biggest game of their professional career. And for Sean Payton, it’s another chance to prove he’s still got it.

Broncos – Chiefs kicks off at 2:25 p.m. MT on CBS, on Sunday, Jan. 5.