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ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — The Denver Broncos aren't necessarily breathing any easier knowing they won't have to face Patrick Mahomes and several other Kansas City Chiefs starters on Sunday with a playoff berth on the line.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid announced his decision to rest Mahomes on Wednesday, but declined to say who else might spend the day with the three-time Super Bowl MVP on the sideline in Denver with Kansas City having already secured the AFC's top seed.
There's a good chance, though, that superstar defensive tackle Chris Jones (strained calf) will sit this one out. And the same could go for running back Isiah Pacheco (bruised ribs), right tackle Jawaan Taylor (sore knee) and veteran tight end Travis Kelce, who similarly skipped last year’s Week 18 game, among others.
“We have to play the game to win, that's all that matters,” Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton said. “We don't care about none of the other stuff. Whoever has on shoulder pads and is wearing red, white and yellow, we have to beat them boys.
“We don't care who shows up and plays,” Sutton continued. “We don't care who sits. We don't care who doesn't play, who does play. We don't care about any of that. The Denver Broncos have to show up Sunday and win the game.”
If they do, the Broncos (9-7) will clinch a playoff berth for the first time since winning Super Bowl 50 in Peyton Manning's final game on Feb. 7. 2016.
The franchise has churned through half a dozen coaches and more than a dozen starting quarterbacks since hoisting the team's third Lombardi Trophy nearly nine years ago.
The Chiefs (15-1) won three games in an 11-day stretch culminating with a 29-10 win at Pittsburgh on Christmas Day that secured the conference's first-round bye as they seek a three-peat as Super Bowl champions. Reid is using the finale as a chance to rest some of his starters, who will have more than a three-week break by the time they return to the field for an AFC divisional-round game on either Jan. 18 or 19.
“You know, a credit to Kansas City, Andy and his team,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said. “When you go 15-1, then you're afforded those decisions and I've been in that position where your team might need a break here or there. They've earned that and that's part of the deal. For us, it's about understanding what we're seeing scheme-wise and being ready to play our best game.”
The Broncos blew chances to wrap up a playoff berth with road losses to the Los Angeles Chargers and Cincinnati Bengals the last two weeks. But they're embracing the moment as they control their own destiny with a win-and-in game at home Sunday.
“You could say that it would have been nice to be able to go into this game and have your position locked in,” Sutton said, “but in terms of a storybook thing that you couldn't really write up any better, I think this is the best opportunity that we could have to go in and solidify why we deserve to be in the dance.”
The Broncos could back into the playoffs even if they lose to the Chiefs or tie them Sunday if Cincinnati loses to Pittsburgh on Saturday and the Miami Dolphins lose to the New York Jets on Sunday.
They're not relying on anybody else punching their playoff ticket, though.
“We gotta win the game, simple,” Sutton said. “There's nothing that goes into it. We gotta win the game. People say it's never black and white — it's black and white. We gotta win the game. And that's as simple as it gets.”
The Broncos snapped a 16-game losing streak to the Chiefs with a 24-9 win in Denver last season, and they were on the verge of beating Kansas City in Week 10 at Arrowhead Stadium when the Chiefs blocked a 33-yard field goal as time expired to preserve a 16-14 victory.
In the aftermath of that heartbreaker, the Broncos flipped Alex Forsyth and Matt Peart on the left side of their field goal protection unit. Kicker Wil Lutz has gone 12 of 12 on field goals and 22 of 22 on extra points since then.
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