Chiefs vs. Cardinals: Lessons learned from dominant Week 1 victory

Injuries add up ahead of short week

Any injury is a negative, especially when they affect the starters on the team, but the Chiefs know they have a short week ahead as they host the visiting Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday Night Football in Week 2.

The injuries started to pile up in the first minutes of the game when Butker slipped on a kickoff, as we already mentioned, following the Chiefs’ opening touchdown. Following that, Patrick Mahomes went down awkwardly on his left wrist a bit later in the first quarter and was forced to tape it up. He was also forced to work around the injury for the rest of the game.

In the second quarter, the Chiefs saw Nick Allegretti enter the game to take over for starting right guard Trey Smith after he was forced to leave with an ankle injury. Then cornerback Trent McDuffie left the game with a hamstring injury that was quickly designated as “out” in the second half. From there, linebacker Willie Gay was also seeking medical attention in the fourth quarter, as was wide receiver Justin Watson.

Typically the Chiefs would at least have a full week to get an MRI, put together a treatment plan, and potentially rest for a few days, if needed, before playing another 60 minutes on the field. Instead the Chiefs only have a few days to turn around and play a team who might be the primary threat to their status as division leaders.