(Phelan M. Ebenhack / Associated Press)
Normally, this space would lead with Patrick Mahomes, but Mahomes won’t lead Kansas City on Sunday. With the game having no impact on playoff seeding, the Chiefs will start Blaine Gabbert at quarterback. Gabbert, 34, has appeared in two games over the last two seasons and hasn’t started since 2018, when he was with Tennessee and Herbert was a junior at Oregon. Jacksonville drafted Gabbert in the first round in 2011, one spot before Houston took J.J. Watt. With the Jaguars, Gabbert won five of 27 starts before being traded to San Francisco in 2014. He has started 21 times in the nine years since. Gabbert’s lone appearance this season came in Week 3, when he finished a 41-10 victory over Chicago by playing the final 21 offensive snaps. While resting some of their regulars, the Chiefs also will be trying to rediscover some magic before the start of the postseason. They’ve lost three of five and four of seven as they prepare to defend the Super Bowl title they won in Arizona in February. Right now, good luck trying to find a forecast that has Kansas City winning it all again next month in Las Vegas.