The Kansas City Chiefs’ journey to Denver for their final regular season game took an unexpected turn Saturday. An ice storm, part of a larger blizzard warning issued earlier in the week, grounded the team at Kansas City International Airport for approximately four hours. Despite attempts to reschedule their flight to avoid the worsening weather, a delay in the arrival of their chartered jet forced them to stick with their original mid-afternoon departure time. Just as they were preparing for takeoff, airport officials suspended all flight operations due to rapidly accumulating ice.
A brief respite between the initial ice storm and the predicted heavy snowfall, expected to last throughout Sunday, proved crucial. This window allowed crews to de-ice the plane, clear the runways, and finally get the Chiefs airborne. Their chartered jet became the first aircraft to depart once operations resumed, with the team posting a picture of themselves disembarking in Denver at 8:25 PM CT.
While the game holds little consequence for the already playoff-bound Chiefs (15-1), who have secured the number one seed and a first-round bye, it’s a crucial match for the Denver Broncos. A Broncos victory would clinch their own playoff berth. Reflecting this, Chiefs coach Andy Reid announced earlier in the week that star quarterback Patrick Mahomes would be rested, with backup Carson Wentz starting in his place. Several other key players, including right tackle Jawaan Taylor (knee), running back Isiah Pacheco (ribs), defensive tackle Chris Jones, and tight end Travis Kelce, were also slated to sit out the game.
The Chiefs will now await their divisional-round playoff opponent, with their earliest possible game scheduled for January 18th.