Frank Clark can still wreak havoc and other lessons from Chiefs vs Falcons
By Matt Conner
Some rest is needed
The list of injuries at this point is unsettling. Coming into Sunday’s game against the Falcons, the Chiefs offense was already down Mitchell Schwartz at right tackle and Clyde Edwards-Helaire at running back. Tyreek Hill came into the game with hamstring concerns, and Eric Fisher had battled a back injury the week before. On Sunday, Sammy Watkins was forced to leave with a calf injury and center Austin Reiter left late in the fourth quarter. This is, of course, on the heels of the team losing running back Damien Williams and offensive linemen Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, Lucas Niang, and Kelechi Osemele either before or during the season.
And that’s just on the offensive side.
On defense, the Chiefs were missing Anthony Hitchens (COVID/reserve list) and Damien Wilson (knee) coming into the game against the Falcons and then watched Ben Niemann disappear with a hamstring injury. The only available linebackers in the second half were Willie Gay, Jr., Darius Harris, and Omari Cobb. Yep.
When you hear the news that the Chiefs will not have to play in two weeks because they earned a first-round bye, this is why it is so valuable. Head coach Andy Reid has already questioned whether or not the Chiefs will have Schwartz back at that point, but it seems as if Edwards-Helaire could be back by the team’s first postseason game or soon thereafter. The Chiefs can also afford to rest players like Watkins, Wilson, Niemann, and Reiter for the next week or even two, if they’d like, given their position in the standings.
Basically this is a team that’s hurting on several fronts, but the Chiefs now have some important down time built into the schedule. They have to field some sort of roster and play a real game on Sunday against the Chargers, but there’s very little reason for all parties involved to suit up and every reason for them to give their quarterback as much space as he needs.