On Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Buffalo Bills 30-22 but also sustained a major scare in the first half. On an innocent looking play, outside linebacker Justin Houston was inadvertently leg-whipped by safety Ron Parker, hitting Houston square in the knee.
Houston’s knee bent back awkwardly and he went down immediately before gingerly walking to the locker room. The initial fear from most fans and onlookers was that Houston tore his ACL or another ligament in his knee, but luckily, that does not appear to be the case.
#Chiefs OLB Justin Houston suffered a PCL sprain based on initial tests, source said. He's having tests, but believed to be minor.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 30, 2015
However, we won’t know anything for sure until Houston is fully examined, which apparently will be coming later in the day.
Justin Houston MRI coming at 1:00 p.m. ET, per source.
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) November 30, 2015
If Rapoport’s sources are correct, this is a major win for the Chiefs. Houston is the best player on this team by a country mile and without him, chances of making the playoffs go down significantly. Furthermore, making any noise once in the postseason would really hit the skids.
So how long will Houston be out? One well-known doctor is taking a guess…
Consisted with video.
— David J. Chao - ProFootballDoc (@ProFootballDoc) November 30, 2015
Non-surgical. Likely 1-4 week recovery.
May play with a brace.@TerezPaylor https://t.co/T5mcA6K3fq
If that is the case and Houston returns within 2-3 weeks, you would have to sign up for it. The Chiefs should be able to survive in the short-term without him, especially against sub-par teams.