The Kansas City Chiefs had a rough night on Sunday, ending in a 38-20 defeat against the Buffalo Bills. Not only did the team get outclassed and fail to avoid continued mistakes, but it was unable to escape with a clean bill of health.
In the third quarter against Buffalo, running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire exited the contest with a knee injury. He was carried off the field by teammates and had a brief stint in the medical tent, then walked to the locker room and was ruled out of the game shortly thereafter. He wasn't the only Chiefs player to suffer an injury in the game, though.
Per head coach Andy Reid's postgame press conference, wide receiver Tyreek Hill injured his knee "a little bit" and tight end Travis Kelce suffered a stinger. Perhaps the most significant of the Chiefs' injuries happened to guard Joe Thuney.
Reid said Thuney came away with a fractured hand. While it's unclear exactly when the fracture occurred or how serious it is, those injuries are never positive. Considering the nature of how important hand usage is for offensive linemen, that doesn't bode particularly well for Thuney or the Chiefs.
The Chiefs have experience with hand injuries happening to their offensive linemen. Guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif suffered a broken bone in his hand two months ago and was originally expected to miss four-to-six weeks. He's been a healthy scratch in recent weeks, but perhaps he can fill in should Thuney miss a chunk of time. Nick Allegretti also remains on the roster and has starting experience on the interior of the team's offensive line.
Any amount of time Thuney misses is a clear negative for the Chiefs. The All-Pro signed a five-year, $80 million contract in free agency during the offseason, making him the second-highest-paid guard in the NFL in terms of both total contract value and average annual value. With a new offensive line still needing time to jell together, possibly missing a critical piece presents the Chiefs with a tough situation to handle moving forward.
More must-reads: