Why did Patrick Mahomes not play in today’s final preseason game vs. the Bears? Here’s the real reason why head coach Andy Reid sat them out.

Why did Patrick Mahomes not play in the last preseason game of the 2024-25 season? The Chiefs were aiming for nothing less than a win in their final preseason clash against the Bears, since they lost their first two. However, they had to succumb to their unfortunate fate as they lost against the Bears too, while the Bears capped a perfect loss-less preseason with their 34-21 win. Was it because the starting players were resting? Here’s all you need to know:

While the loss surely hurt the spectators at the Arrowhead Stadium, Patrick Mahomes’ absence puzzled their minds more. Did Coach Reid let the secondary depth players take the lead today because the starters weren’t able to win any of the two games? The natural question was all that plagued their mind. The real reason behind Reid’s move is quite far from it, actually.

The reason, per Chiefs’ analyst Pete Sweeny, is very simple. Head Coach Andy Reid relied heavily on the starters in the first two preseason games. This is why he wants the starters to have some rest on Thursday, so they can take on the next regular season opening clash in full swing. And it was not just Mahomes who sat out the game. O-Line starting stars like TE Travis Kelce, RB Isiah Pacheco, WR Rashee Rice, and center Creed Humphry, all were resting as well.

Even Matt Eberflus applied the same strategy and let his starters rest this final preseason game out. This is the reason why Caleb Williams, who is being compared to Patrick Mahomes, and other starters of the Bears were not playing as well.

This helped the team out in two ways: First, it gave the vital starting players some rest before a demanding season starts. And second, it gave the head coaches of both teams an idea of how well the secondary depth is prepared for the regular season.

The regular season is famous for getting a tad bit aggressive many times, resulting in the starting players getting injured. In such scenarios, the secondary players fill in their position. This game, where coaches got to observe their secondary players in action, gave both Reid and Eberflus all the things they needed to know about their secondary depth so that they can train them better, just in case.

Now that the Chiefs are marching towards their third consecutive Super Bowl, the first ever three-peat in the history of NFL which is never done before in the NFL, not even by the crème de la crème Tom Brady or Terry Bradshaw, Coach Andy Reid can not tolerate any fumbles either by the starters or by the secondary players.

This is why giving Patrick Mahomes and other star players some time to rest was important since the Chiefs’ can’t afford any major number of losses this season. Despite all the challenges, the Chiefs are looking pretty poised to make it to the Super Bowl this year, and unlock the never-done before three-peat.