Broncos
Broncos TE Albert Okwuegbunam entered this season as the expected starter given Denver traded away former first-round TE Noah Fant in the deal to acquire QB Russell Wilson. He fell out of favor rather quickly, however, and was even a healthy scratch for games at a time. New interim HC Jerry Rosburg gave Okwuegbunam a fresh start and he responded with three catches, 45 yards and a touchdown on six targets.
“You might be in a situation where you don’t understand it or you don’t agree with it but I was faced with two decisions,” Okwuegbunam said via KUSA’s Mike Klis. “I could pout and throw a fit and be negative. Or I could come to work every day with a high intensity, practice hard every day with the intent that I would be playing as I was earlier. And that’s the decision I made. Because I knew I would get another opportunity at some point whether it was a week from then, three weeks from then or with a few weeks left in the season. So I feel fortunate I did get another opportunity.”
- Broncos LT Garett Bolles on the team searching for a new head coach: “You’ve got to be consistent, having a consistent coach is going to be vital for us. Somebody that’s disciplined, somebody that has accountability … We need a tough guy.” (Jeff Legwold)
Chargers
Chargers HC Brandon Staley was forced to defend his decision to play his starters deep into the final game of the season, especially after WR Mike Williams sustained a lower back injury.
“There are only 48 guys that you can choose from and these aren’t easy decisions,” Staley said, via Nicholas Cothrel of SI.com. “Hindsight is perfect for everybody on the outside, but these games are not easy to manage. They’re not, because you don’t have that many players. We did it to the best of our ability.”
- Ian Rapoport reports that Williams underwent x-rays that were negative and will undergo more tests tomorrow.
- Lindsey Thiry later reported that Williams suffered back spasms and should be available for the playoff game against the Jaguars.
Chiefs
The Chiefs have a reputation for creativeness on offense, as HC Andy Reid loves to break out unusual trick plays, sometimes from decades ago. In Week 18 against the Raiders, they showed something new yet with a play that defies description but featured a ring-around-the-rosy huddle. Dubbed “Snow Globe,” the play actually resulted in a touchdown before being called back for holding.
“It was something we had kind of practiced on actually last year of doing that, of getting confusion going and getting to the line to snap, and we didn’t get the chance to run it last year,” Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes said via NFL Media’s Coral Smith. “As the season went back on, I was kind of nudging coach (Andy) Reid like, ‘Hey, let’s bring it back in a different way.’ We didn’t have that throw back on it the last time we ran it. Hopefully we can maybe do it again and get back to whatever we ran last time and get another touchdown.”
“We go out there and we try to get the best out every single day, but the coaches let us have fun. That’s what keeps us going,” Mahomes added. “We built this culture of, ‘Let’s go out there and practice, have a great time doing it, enjoy it, have fun, but same time, let’s be great.’ That stuff was here before I even got here, and I’m just glad I’m in this organization and get to do it every single day.”
- Tom Pelissero reports WR Slade Bolden is working out with the Chiefs on Monday.
- Chiefs DE Frank Clark was fined $13,261 for unsportsmanlike conduct in Week 17. (Pelissero)
Raiders
- Raiders HC Josh McDaniels on the team’s performance this season: “I am not satisfied with any phase of our team, but that doesn’t mean we didn’t try hard.” (Vic Tafur)
- Tafur mentions that the team doesn’t plan to move on from DC Patrick Graham.
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