The Broncos will have a quarterback this time.
Unfortunately for them, it won’t be Patrick Mahomes.
Mahomes and the Chiefs, the defending Super Bowl champs, are trying to keep pace with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the top seed in the AFC playoffs as they host the Broncos in an AFC West matchup on “Sunday Night Football” on NBC.
The Broncos play their first game since their loss last Sunday in Denver to the New Orleans Saints for which all four of the quarterbacks on their roster and practice squad were ineligible. Jeff Driskel reportedly tested positive for the coronavirus and the NFL informed the Broncos on the day before the game that Drew Lock, Brett Rypien and Blake Bortles were being classified as high-risk close contacts and were being placed on mandatory five-day quarantines. Practice-squad wide receiver Kendall Hinton filled in at quarterback and had one completion, two interceptions and a passer rating of 0.0 as the Saints prevailed, 31-3.
Lock is expected to start this game for the Broncos. Whether that will help very much remains to be seen. He threw two interceptions when the Broncos lost to the Chiefs, 43-16, on Oct. 25 in Denver.
Mahomes has 30 touchdown passes on the season while throwing two interceptions. He and Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers are regarded as the league MVP front-runners. Mahomes is coming off a 462-yard, three-touchdown performance in last Sunday’s triumph at Tampa. All three touchdown passes went to wide receiver Tyreek Hill, who had 13 catches for 269 yards.
The Chiefs have six straight wins and, at 10-1, are a game behind the Steelers for the No. 1 seed in the AFC. They would clinch a playoff spot with a triumph over the Broncos.
The Chiefs and the NFL’s medical experts undoubtedly had some anxious moments early Sunday morning when the team had a number of positive coronavirus test results. But the positive results were not confirmed upon retesting and the results were regarded as false positives, according to a person familiar with the situation.