As a team, the Kansas City Chiefs have nothing to play for in their Week 18 matchup against the Denver Broncos, but it will be very important for several individual players.
Among them is nine-year veteran quarterback Carson Wentz, who will start in place of the resting Patrick Mahomes. Wentz has only taken nine snaps during mop-up duty this season, completing 2/3 passes for 20 yards.
The Chiefs signed Wentz to a one-year deal during the offseason after losing out on him to the Los Angeles Rams the year prior. Wentz was in this position with the Rams this time last year, starting the season finale as Los Angeles rested it’s starters.
In that game, Wentz completed 17/24 passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns as he defeated the NFC champion San Francisco 49ers. He has thrown for 2,292 yards in his career with a 62.7 completion percentage and a 153-67 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
As Wentz prepares to face the Broncos on Sunday, his performance will likely have a big impact on the direction of his future. When asked on Wednesday by the media what his expectations are for himself during the game, Wentz played it coy by taking a team-first approach.
“To have fun and, obviously, I want to play well and have success out there and ultimately, more than anything, get a win,” Wentz said. “That’s the goal. Obviously, we know the circumstances, we know kind of where we’re at and the reason I’m playing and not Pat (Patrick Mahomes) and all the things, but I still go out there and expect to win. I’m going to prepare to go out there and win and have a good performance with this offense and yeah, we’re preparing for that.”
Chiefs coach Andy Reid has commented several times over the course of the season that he feels like Wentz should still be a starter in the NFL. Once upon a time Wentz was the Philadelphia Eagles‘ franchise quarterback, and he had an MVP-caliber season in 2017. However, he later fell from grace in Philadelphia due to injuries and inconsistent play.
When asked about Reid’s comments on him being a starter, Wentz kept a confident mindset.
“I mean, I take it day-by-day,” Wentz said. “I’m confident in myself, I’m confident in my abilities and what I’ve done in the past is in the past. You know, what good, bad and different, I’m still confident I can play and play at a high level, so I’m looking forward to hopefully doing that this weekend and having fun while I’m at it.”
If Wentz plays well against what is a very good Broncos defense, it’s not out of the realm of possibilities that he gets another shot as a starter with another team. Denver will be playing hard with a spot in the playoffs on the line, and it would be a tremendous accomplishment if Wentz led a team full of backups to victory.
On the flip side, if Wentz doesn’t play well, it could limit his options as he hits free agency this spring. At 32-years-old, he probably has more years behind him in the NFL than ahead. It remains unclear if the Chiefs are interested or able to bring him back. The only other quarterback on Kansas City’s roster is second-year man Chris Oladokun, who will likely back Wentz up on Sunday.
