The Denver Broncos can relax a bit, as they have wrapped up the AFC West division title for the first time since the 2015 season. With a win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 17 and a Los Angeles Chargers' loss against the Houston Texans, Denver got to sit back and watch the title be clinched on Saturday night.
The Broncos are going to be one of the top three seeds for the AFC playoffs, as the no. 4 playoff seed is going to be the Pittsburgh Steelers or Baltimore Ravens. However, even with this great scenario taking place this week, the top seed is not clinched, and there is still more work to do.
Well, the Week 18 stakes got a little bit less intense, as the Los Angeles Chargers come to town and do not have the division to play for. The Chargers are now 11-5 on the season, so the best they can do is 12-5. The Broncos are 13-3. Los Angeles will soon have an extremely tough decision to make before this game, though.
Will the Los Angeles Chargers rest some starters in Week 18 against the Denver Broncos?
After the Broncos clinched the division, the conversation almost immediately turned to the Chargers and what they will do with some of their key starting players. The argument for an NFL team resting starters is obvious - you'll sometimes see this with teams that are already locked into a certain playoff seed. There's simply no reason, in that specific scenario, for a team to play their starting QB, as you run the risk of them getting hurt in a meaningless game.
However, the Chargers still may want to play, let's say, Justin Herbert and other key starters to try and win in Week 18. This could get them a higher Wild Card seed, and that could be enough of an argument for them to play their starters.
It might be tough to see how Justin Herbert gets the nod, though, as he is dealing with a broken left hand and has been sacked a whopping 54 times this year, which is the most in the NFL. Herbert is surely beat up at this point, and the Chargers might not want to risk him suffering a major injury just to go from, let's say, the seventh seed to the sixth seed.
This major decision could really have a massive impact on Denver's chances for the no. 1 seed, as they did not officially clinch that in Week 17.