The Broncos can end their 8-year playoff drought with a win over the Chiefs' backups

DENVER — The Denver Broncos can erase nearly a decade of frustration and futility by beating a Kansas City Chiefs team that will be resting Patrick Mahomes and several other starters Sunday.

With the Chiefs (15-1) having secured the AFC's top seed and lone playoff bye, coach Andy Reid decided an extended break — up to 24 days — could go a long way toward helping Kansas City in its quest for an unparalleled three-peat as Super Bowl champs.

Reid is starting backup QB Carson Wentz, who's hoping to follow in Sam Darnold's footsteps and parlay a year as a backup into another opportunity to start somewhere in 2025.

“I want to play well and have success out there and ultimately, more than anything, get a win,” said Wentz, who has started 68 NFL games, mostly with the Eagles, where he went 11-2 in 2017 before a knee injury derailed his career.

“We know the circumstances, we know kind of where we're at and the reason I'm playing and not Pat,” Wentz said. “But I still go out there and expect to win.”

The Broncos (9-7) just want to get back to the postseason party, which they've missed out on every year since winning Super Bowl 50 following the 2015 season in Peyton Manning's final game.

That's the longest playoff drought for a team that won the Super Bowl. If they clinch Sunday — 3,255 days after Von Miller led them to a 24-10 win over Carolina on Feb. 7, 2016 — the Broncos' reward as the AFC's seventh and final seed would be a trip to Buffalo to face Miller in the first round of the playoffs.

Reid wouldn't reveal who else he plans to sit, although there's a good chance that superstar defensive tackle Chris Jones (strained calf) will be among them. 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.

It's not like the Broncos are breathing any easier knowing they'll face second-stringers and practice squad call-ups instead of Kansas City's star-studded lineup.

“We don't care who shows up and plays,” Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton said. “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.”

The Broncos blew chances to clinch a playoff berth with back-to-back road losses to the Chargers and Bengals the last two weeks when a win or a tie would have done it. But they're again embracing the moment as they control their own destiny with another win-and-in opportunity.

“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.”

Drought buster

The Broncos have already ended one ignominious streak with their ninth win, which gave them their first winning season since 2016. A 10th win would make this season an unqualified success.

“Obviously it would mean a lot,” rookie quarterback Bo Nix said. “It would mean a lot to the organization, everyone who’s put time and effort into this organization to make it what it is. It’s a special place, special fans, special atmosphere. We have players who have worked really hard, and it would be really important to them.

"It’s a really important thing. It’s a really important opportunity. We just have to finish. We have to finish the task at hand. It’s right there in front of us. We just have to go take it.”

Big block

The Broncos stood toe-to-toe with the Chiefs for 59:59 in Week 10 at Arrowhead Stadium before Alex Forsyth was bulldozed by a wave of Kansas City defenders and allowed linebacker Leo Chenal to block Wil Lutz’s chip-shot field goal attempt as time expired, preserving Kansas City's 16-14 win.

In the aftermath of that gut-wrencher, the Broncos flipped Forsyth and Matt Peart on the left side of their field goal protection unit. Lutz has gone 12 of 12 on field goals and 22 of 22 on extra points since then.

Sam Darnold 2.0?

Wentz has only started eight games over the past three seasons with the Commanders, Rams and Chiefs. His decision to sign with Kansas City was made in part with an eye on building his value and starting somewhere next season, like Darnold has done in Minnesota after holding a clipboard for a year in San Francisco.

“It’s obviously been different,” Wentz said, “but I’ve stayed locked in, stayed ready, prepared every week. I’ve taken some things from Pat, working with him, but every week I’m staying locked in and ready to go.”

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AP Sports Writer Dave Skretta in Kansas City, Missouri, contributed to this report.