Around the AFC West: Regular season wraps for Chiefs and rivals

Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs hosted the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday in a meaningless game. Andy Reid made the decision early on to rest the majority of their starters and give their depth pieces some experience. The rest vs. rust debate raged, but Reid held firm and put Mahomes, Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce, Sammy Watkins, Le’Veon Bell, Tyrann Mathieu, Frank Clark, and Chris Jones (to name a few) on the bench.

The Chargers played this last game of Anthony Lynn’s tenure as Chargers head coach and did so admirably. Chad Henne and the rest of the Chiefs’ backups gave a great effort, but made a few mistakes, and ultimately couldn’t quite pull it out. However, the experience was great heading into the playoffs, knowing the good depth pieces will be important.

Unfortunately, the game did not come without its disappointments. Rookie linebacker (with a lot of promise) Willie Gay suffered a high ankle sprain and is out 2-4 weeks. Hopefully it is on the lower end so he can play in the playoffs. We’ll wait and see. Additionally, Deandre Baker suffered a broken femur. He is obviously out for the playoffs but is expected to make a full recovery. Good thing the Chiefs have some time to get healthy.

Heading into the playoffs, the Chiefs await the identity of their matchup. We know it won’t be the Bills as they secured the second seed, but it could be anyone else. I am certain the Chiefs will be watching football all day Saturday and Sunday to find out who they will match up with in the divisional round. For now, all they need to do is study, rest, heal, and stay away from COVID.