Andy Reid Provides Injury Updates After Win Against Chargers
The Kansas City Chiefs took a while to get going on Thursday night against the Los Angeles Chargers but once they did, the club was solid enough down the stretch to secure a 27-24 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers. Much like with the team's Week 1 win over the Arizona Cardinals, however, Kansas City wasn't able to escape with a clean bill of health.
Three players suffered notable injuries during the Chiefs' win. In his postgame press conference, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said that wide receivers Mecole Hardman (ankle) and Justin Watson (shoulder), as well as defensive lineman Mike Danna (calf), got hurt against Los Angeles. Danna, in particular, got injured late and was ruled out thereafter. Reid describes his injury as a strained calf. Prior to his exit, Danna hadn't recorded a tackle in the game.
With the Chiefs attempting to drive down the field early in the third quarter, Hardman limped off the field gingerly and had his ankle taped up before coming back into the game, logging a target, then exiting again. Upon his re-entry shortly thereafter, he did haul in a critical third-down reception to keep the Chiefs' drive alive. In all, the fourth-year wideout caught three passes for 49 yards.
Watson, who dealt with a chest injury throughout the week but did progress to being a full participant in practice on Tuesday and Wednesday, appeared to have gotten hurt on the Chargers' late-game onside kick attempt. The Chiefs' offseason free agency signee caught his first touchdown as a member of the team in the third quarter on a long-distance strike from quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Watson finished behind only Travis Kelce in receiving yards on the team (50 to Kelce's 51).
Speaking of Mahomes, he was spotted walking gingerly on multiple occasions during Thursday night's broadcast but wasn't mentioned by Reid postgame in regards to injuries. Mahomes fully participated in practice all week with a left wrist injury and took some lower-body hits against the Chargers, but all appears to be well for him now. Coming up, Kansas City gets nearly a week-and-a-half of rest before a Sept. 25 matchup against the Indianapolis Colts.
