The Chiefs injury report before the Broncos game is hilariously long

The Kansas City Chiefs won’t play QB Patrick Mahomes against the Denver Broncos on Sunday.

And that’s only the beginning of star players who won’t see the field in a game that’s meaningless for the AFC West champions.

With the Chiefs sporting a 15-1 record and the No. 1 seed in the conference locked up, head coach Andy Reid is choosing not to risk injury to his top guys. As Broncos head coach Sean Payton noted earlier this week, that’s Reid’s right.

But seeing the list of guys who are “out” or “doubtful” for K.C. is a bit hilarious.

Chris Jones, Patrick Mahomes, Trent McDuffie, Nick Bolton, Kareem Hunt, George Karlaftis, Travis Kelce, Justin Reid, and Drue Tranquill are doubtful for Sunday's game against the Broncos.

Isiah Pacheco, Jawaan Taylor, Mecole Hardman, and Jaylen Watson are out.

— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) January 3, 2025

Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Chris Jones will all go to the Hall of Fame one day. Nick Bolton, Kareem Hunt, George Karlaftis, Justin Reid, Isiah Pacheco and others are all excellent players. There is simply no excuse for Denver to lose this game.

And as Denver Sports Senior Broncos writer Andrew Mason pointed out, the Chiefs may have to suit some guys up, but not play them, simply because you can only have so many inactives on gameday.

Of course for the Broncos, there’s a ton on the line. If they win, they’ll go to the playoffs for the first time since 2015. And if they lose, they also need the Bengals and Dolphins to lose to back into the dance.

The pressure is officially on Denver, as it will truly be the JV Chiefs that take the field. They simply can’t blow what is a golden opportunity.

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