The Kansas City Chiefs wrapped up the regular season on Sunday afternoon against the Los Angeles Chargers, and with the top seed in the AFC playoffs secure, the game provided several young players with an opportunity to show what they could do. Kansas City ultimately lost the game, but there were still plenty of positives to come out of the contest.
Here are six quick facts and stats about the matchup.
1. Several young players and reserves saw extended playing time on Sunday.
Numerous players had an opportunity to show what they could do in Sunday's game courtesy of the Chiefs' playoff situation being all locked up. That meant right guard Yasir Durant, tailback Darwin Thompson, defensive end Tim Ward and cornerback BoPete Keyes each made the first starts of their careers while various other reserves saw significant snaps.
Offensively, linemen Martinas Rankin, Stefen Wisniewski, Daniel Kilgore, Patrick Omameh, Durant and quarterback Chad Henne all played 100 percent of the Chiefs' offensive snaps. For Rankin, it was his first live action since suffering a season-ending knee injury last year.
On the other side of the ball, safety Juan Thornhill, safety Armani Watts and linebacker Darius Harris each played every defensive snap. In total, 17 different players recorded a defensive snap on Sunday.
2. Thompson certainly made the most of his opportunity.
The second-year tailback had a game to remember on Sunday, tallying 110 yards from scrimmage on 21 touches (14 rushes, 7 receptions). He led Kansas City in both rushing (45 yards) and receiving (65 yards) while finding the end zone twice.
Thompson is just the second member of the Chiefs to record both a rushing and a receiving touchdown in a single game this season, joining wide receiver Tyreek Hill.
3. Byron Pringle also put together a strong performance.
Pringle hauled in four catches for 52 yards on Sunday, marking season highs in both categories. That included a 31-yard grab on third down that helped move the chains and featured a number of broken tackles. The third-year receiver also found the end zone for the first time this season with a 3-yard touchdown catch on the Chiefs' opening drive. It all helped Pringle earn the second-highest grade of any Chiefs' offensive player, per Pro Football Focus, trailing only fellow wide receiver Demarcus Robinson.
Additionally, Pringle returned three kickoffs for 77 yards.
4. Chad Henne made his first start since 2014.
Henne saw the field for the third time this season on Sunday, but it marked his first start at quarterback in six years. He made the most of it, too, completing 23-of-32 passes for 218 yards and two touchdowns. In fact, the 12-year veteran led Kansas City to touchdowns on each of his first two drives under center, tallying his first multi-touchdown performance since Sept. 7, 2014.
Henne spread the ball around to seven different receivers in the contest and posted a 111.2 passer rating, the fourth-highest mark of his career.
5. Tim Ward had a nice day on defense.
Ward, playing in his first career game as a professional, sure looked like a guy who knew what he was doing. The Old Dominion product racked up three pressures, two quarterback hits and a sack in the game as part of a strong performance.
Ward's three pressures led the team.
6. The Chiefs wrapped up a truly special regular season on Sunday.
Kansas City may have dropped the finale, but the 2020 regular season was still one to remember for the Chiefs. Kansas City is just the 14th team in the last 20 years to win 14 or more games in the regular season, and it's also a franchise record.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes finished the campaign with 4,740 passing yards and 38 touchdowns to just six picks, while tight end Travis Kelce finished second in the NFL in receiving yards (1,416) and Hill finished second in touchdown grabs (15).
It was simply a remarkable campaign, and with the Chiefs set to return to action next weekend for the Divisional Round of the playoffs, they're just getting started.
