With one game remaining of the regular season, reigning Super Bowl champions the Kansas City Chiefs are in good shape to mount a challenge for a third consecutive championship.
The Chiefs cruised to a 15-1 record in 2024, leading the field for Super Bowl LIX favourites. They travel to the Denver Broncos for their final game of the regular season on Sunday, but do so without their star quarterback in the team.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid has confirmed that Patrick Mahomes will sit out the trip to Denver, giving the three-time Super Bowl MVP a week of rest after a busy festive period. The Chiefs have already secured No. 1 seed in the AFC and have the luxury of resting players.
“It wasn’t a hard decision,” Andy Reid said, when explaining his motives. “I’ve been through that before. So, I’m not too worried about [losing rhythm]. It gives the other guys an opportunity to grow. Carson will be the starting quarterback. We’ll kind of work things from there about who goes and who doesn’t go.”
Who is Carson Wentz, Mahomes’ replacement for the Chiefs?
Stepping into Mahomes’ sizeable shoes is a 32-year-old quarterback with significant NFL experience. Carson Wentz joined the league in 2016, drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles as the second overall pick in the NFL Draft. Wentz was named the starting QB for the season opener and was an instant hit.
He became the first rookie quarterback since 1970 to win his first two games without recording a single interception. Wentz went on to start all 16 games for the Eagles setting a new league record for most completions by a rookie (379).
In his second year Wentz was key for the Eagles side that lifted the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history, but he missed the postseason journey after undergoing ACL surgery in December 2017. Nevertheless, his 13 regular season starts make him a Super Bowl champion.
He continued with the Eagles but slipped down the pecking order in 2020, replaced by Jalen Hurts as the starting quarterback for a Week 14 clash with the New Orleans Saints.
He signed for the Indianapolis Colts in 2021 but only spent a year in Indiana, before moving on to the Washington Commanders and the Los Angeles Rams in quick succession. In April 2024 he signed with the Chiefs, agreeing to be the backup to Mahomes. So far he has made only one appearance for the Chiefs, replacing an injured Mahomes in the Week 15 win over the Cleveland Browns.
