Add Kansas City to the group of teams headed to the playoffs that will not play their starting quarterback.
The Chiefs will rest Patrick Mahomes instead of playing him in their Week 17 meeting with the Los Angeles Chargers, the team announced. Chad Henne will start in place of Mahomes.
Earlier this week, Chiefs coach Andy Reid alluded to the possibility of Mahomes sitting out Kansas City's final game, especially with everything -- division title, No. 1 seed -- already locked up going into the final week of the regular season. Henne's start will give Mahomes a two-week layoff between action, thanks to Kansas City's first-round bye.
Henne has appeared in two games this season in mop-up duty, but hasn't started a game since 2014 with Jacksonville. With the Chiefs standing to gain very little from Week 17 (other than a 15-1 regular season finish), Henne will make his first start in more than half of a decade with little pressure on him.
As for Mahomes, his NFL MVP campaign ends without a 16th regular-season game, and he might end up losing a close race to Aaron Rodgers after a less-than-stellar Week 16 performance. What's more important, though, is the defense of Kansas City's title, which can only be achieved in January and February.
