Chiefs to start QB. Blaine Gabbert No room for Mahomes.
The Kansas City Chiefs are in preservation mode because they have nothing to gain by defeating the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday in the AFC playoff picture.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes will be replaced by Blaine Gabbert in the starting lineup, and head coach Andy Reid has stated that this game will serve as a good tryout for younger players. Several regulars will also get plenty of rest.
Gabbert reported that he instructed the team to “go out there and have fun.”
Regardless of what happens on Sunday, Kansas City (10-6) holds the third seed in the AFC, win or lose to the Chargers (5-11). Los Angeles has dropped seven of its last eight games and four in a row.
Getting tight end Travis Kelce over 1,000 receiving yards for the eighth straight season is one of Gabbert’s game-day objectives. His score after 16 games is 984.
Following a knee injury that kept him out of action in Week 1, Kelce had a season-high 12 catches and 179 yards in Kansas City’s Week 7 victory over the Chargers.
“He’s the best,” Gabbert declared. “He has a unique touch when it comes to football. Like a quarterback, he views the game.”
Although Reid hasn’t decided on Kelce’s future, Gabbert stated that the organization as a whole and Kelce in particular hold each other to a high standard of production.
“He will play if he feels like it. “He’s going to rest if Coach Reid tells him to,” Gabbert remarked. “Ultimately that’s on Coach Reid, but if we’re out there we’re going to do our damn best to get him 17 yards.”
With 5,250 passing yards and 41 touchdowns in 2022, Mahomes was named NFL MVP. He also helped Kansas City win another Super Bowl in February.
The Chiefs won’t repeat their 2022 record of 14-3, and Mahomes’ stats—4,183 passing yards, 27 touchdowns—aren’t as impressive. In their first meeting with the Chargers on October 22, he had his only four-TD game of the season.