Arrowhead Pride
The Kansas City Chiefs saw the already-fading playoff hopes go completely on life support with Sunday’s 20-10 loss to the Houston Texans. The loss was costly from that reason and from an injury standpoint.
On the first play from scrimmage, tackle Wanya Morris suffered a gruesome-looking knee injury. Morris was already forced into action after starting left tackle Josh Simmons was placed on injured reserve this week, and right side starter Jawaan Taylor was ruled out for the game. The third-year pro was shown leaving the field in the back of a cart and was quickly ruled out.
On Kansas City’s second defensive series, star cornerback Trent McDuffie was slow to get up while defending Texans wideout Nico Collins. The NBC broadcast did show footage of trainers examining McDuffie’s knee for stability. Although he was seen running on the sideline and using a stationary bike, McDuffie was ruled out with a knee injury after halftime.
Head coach Andy Reid briefly addressed the injuries after the game while revealing that McDuffie suffered a hyperextension.
“We had a couple of injuries,” he remarked. “Wanya Morris hurt his leg. It’s [his] lower leg. We’ll just have to see in the next day or so how he is. Then, Trent McDuffie hyperextended his knee. So, we’ll have to see how it works out for him.”
Undrafted rookie Esa Pole then saw his first NFL action at left tackle — lined up against one of the NFL’s best pass rushes. While the Chiefs suffered their fourth loss in five games, Pole held his own and was far from a key reason for the defeat.
Reid was impressed with the rookie.
“He’s one that probably didn’t practice much in there,” the coach recalled. “With limited time, he stepped up and was asked to play a crucial position at a crucial time. I thought he did a respectable job. It wasn’t perfect, but it was good enough.”
The Chiefs’ most important player also seemed to have an injury concern. Although he played every offensive snap, the broadcast also showed quarterback Patrick Mahomes using a heating pad on his knee while on the sideline in the second half. Although he practiced fully and had no injury status for the game, Mahomes was on all three injury reports this week with a knee issue.
Mahomes spoke after the game, but neither he nor Reid made any mention of the knee treatment.
