No new names on injury report (finally) is welcome news for the Chiefs

By Blair Kerkhoff

November 4, 2019 2:09 PM

The figurative stiff arm gets applied by coaches when it comes to injury questions, specifically how a player’s absence can impact a team. Next-man-up and reserves-are-expected-to-play-like-starters are common responses.

Not that the Chiefs will express anything different, but if a team deserves to go off-script...

Sunday’s victory over the Minnesota Vikings marked the third straight game in which six players who started the season opener didn’t play because of injury.

The Chiefs are 2-1 in those games and stand an AFC West-leading 6-3 heading into Sunday’s game at the Tennessee Titans.

Three players — offensive tackle Eric Fisher (core muscle), cornerback Kendall Fuller (broken thumb) and defensive end Frank Clark (neck) — have missed all of those games, and Fisher has missed seven starts this season.

Against the Vikings, quarterback Patrick Mahomes (knee), guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif (ankle) and defensive Alex Okafor (ankle) also missed action.

But there was good news on Sunday. For the first time in five games, Chiefs coach Andy Reid stepped to the podium after a game and said, “No injuries to report.”

Also, two players who had missed action over the previous weeks returned Sunday. And both players had an impact in the 26-23 triumph over the Vikings.

Chris Jones was part of the defensive end rotation and played 45 of 71 snaps. He recorded the team’s lone sack and was credited with two of the team’s four quarterback hits.

The three games Jones missed were the first in his four-year career and the motor was revving when he got back on the field.

“I haven’t been out there in over a month,” Jones said. “I haven’t been out there to enjoy the crowd and enjoy my brothers. It was an emotional game for me.”

Andrew Wylie, who had started five games at left guard to open the season, moved to the right side. The Chiefs kept Wylie’s replacement, Martinas Rankin, at left guard.

The offensive line had an solid game, highlighted by the gaping hole that allowed Damien Williams to rumble 91 yards for a third-quarter touchdown.

“Words cannot describe how happy I am and how happy the offensive line was to see that,” said Wylie, who played all 60 snaps.

There’s been no word on whether any of the players who sat out last week will be back on the field Sunday when the Chiefs visit Tennessee. The team’s first injury report for the week will be released after Wednesday’s practice.

Those lists have been long for the Chiefs this season. Based on the starting offensive and defensive lineups in the season opener against Jacksonville, the Chiefs have lost 31 games by those starters to injuries this season.

It started in the opener, when Tyreek Hill sustained a sternoclavicular dislocation. He missed the next four games, sitting out with an injury for the first in his pro career.

The list grew to two starters missing, then three for the Colts game, five for the Texans and six in each of the last three weeks.

By contrast, through nine games in 2018, Chiefs who had started the opener had missed nine games to injury.

But with no players reported injured last week, perhaps the Chiefs’ fortune has changed in that department. And while starters have been healing, others have been gaining experience.

“We were able to get guys back in,” Reid said. “We’ll just add (reserves) to the mix to get a little more depth. It’s good experience that these guys have gotten. It will help us down the road.”