Five ups and downs from an uncomfortable Chiefs win in Houston

Up: Kadarius Toney still makes an impact

Chiefs fans have been looking forward to the return of injured wide receivers Kadarius Toney and Mecole Hardman back on the field for quite some time now, with Toney having missed the last three games due to a hamstring and Hardman even more than that on injured reserve with an abdomen issue. The losses of both players have limited the Chiefs offense, which relies on the speed of both to stretch the field for everyone else.

Hardman remained on the outside looking in on Sunday as he’ll return to the Chiefs later in the team’s schedule but Sunday was Toney’s time to come back and it was nice to see glimpses of what he could do.

While the box score shows very little on the part of Toney, those who watched the game will remember key moments in which Toney’s presence alone made the defense accommodate other players and what they were assigned to do. From Toney’s ability to manipulate a wave of defenders when trying to return a punt for greater yardage to the attention he garners when on the field from opposing defenders, the Chiefs have to love what they saw when he was in. Jerick McKinnon was one player with a nice long catch and run on a play in which defenders were angling to stop Toney on a deeper route that cleared space.

As Toney gets healthier and is able to take more reps, and Hardman can join him, the Chiefs offense will blossom even more. The presence of one helps the production of the others and the Chiefs are coming together at the right time.