Five KC Chiefs players who stepped up against Broncos
By Matt Conner
The Kansas City Chiefs saw a few key players step up at key moments in a close game against the Denver Broncos in Week 17.
Look, no one will come away from this game saying the Kansas City Chiefs played like they should have against the Denver Broncos in Week 17. It was the last home game of the year. The Broncos have nothing to play for. In fact, they don’t even have an official head coach. The Chiefs struggled in multiple ways, made several miscues, and largely made it tougher on themselves in a 27-24 win.
That said, the Chiefs game on Sunday did have a few key heroes who stood tall at key moments to help usher in their 13th win of the year. Some players were working behind the scenes while others had highlight moments, but either way, we thought we’d accentuate the positive, as Johnny Mercer once sang, and focus on some guys who showed up strong.
Joe Thuney is a rock
Earlier this year, offensive lineman Joe Thuney kissed his ironman streak of 107 consecutive starts at left guard goodbye when an ankle injury suffered at midseason proved to be too much to handle. Instead of being able to tough it out, Thuney did the responsible things—and made a team-first call—when he decided to sit out a couple of games. After all, the Chiefs were in control of the AFC West and the ultimate goal was for a Super Bowl.
Fast forward a few weeks and Thuney was forced out of the Chiefs’ game against the Broncos for a hot minute. It looked like Thuney might have suffered a more serious injury to his right leg, but then trainers began to work on his ankle. Given the previous injury, the hope was that he’d not tweaked anything, but it wasn’t long until Thuney was getting taped up and going right back into the game.
There’s a downside to that, of course, given that Thuney’s play against Denver is nothing to be focused upon. Instead, he should be making sure there are no long-term concerns. The Chiefs training staff must feel that way now, but let’s hope Thuney isn’t rushing back too soon. The truth is that he’s a Pro Bowl performer for the first time who anchors the line and makes everyone around him better and the Chiefs gotta love the toughness they see from the veteran.