With the AFC's No. 1 seed locked up, the Kansas City Chiefs rested their starters in Sunday's regular-season finale against the Broncos, a game that Denver won by 38 points to clinch the final playoff spot in the conference.
This was the reasonable and expected thing to do. With nothing at stake, putting the health of key players at risk by playing them would have been foolish and irresponsible.
Alas, the decision has prompted fan theories that the Chiefs intentionally threw their game against the Broncos in order to avoid facing the Cincinnati Bengals in the playoffs.