Kansas City Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid indicated on Friday that his team would be without four key starters against the Buffalo Bills. How will those losses impact the Chiefs on Sunday.
In missing the entire week of practice, the NFL’s fourth-leading rusher, Isiah Pacheco, leads a long list of injured Chiefs players who won’t be on the field Sunday against the Buffalo Bills. Along with Pacheco, Head Coach Andy Reid announced that LT Donovan Smith, LB Drue Tranquill, and Safety Bryan Cook will also not play.
The loss of Pacheco is not going to be easy to overcome. In his place, the much-maligned and often injured Running Back, Clyde Edwards-Helarie, will get the start. Also, Jerrick McKinnon is expected to be back in action Sunday, so Reid will have his thunder and lightning backs available. Still, replacing the energy and power displays with the rock in his hand will take a lot of work for Reid’s backups.
None of the other injured Chiefs comes as a surprise. Cook, who twisted his foot; Smith, who has a neck stinger; and Tranquill, who has a concussion, were not expected to play. Pacheco seemed okay after the Packers game but never made it to the practice field this week.
The Chiefs have struggled with the offense for much of the year, and rookie Wanya Morris will make his first NFL start replacing Smith. Reid has confidence in Morris, who did extraordinary things against the Packers.
Patrick Mahomes now has more pressure on his shoulders to win against a hungry and desperate Bills team that has their entire season riding on this matchup at Arrowhead on Sunday.
However, the silver lining in today’s injury news, it does appear Lineback, Nick Bolton will be active Sunday.
