The Kansas City Chiefs have continued to weather the storm this season, delivering their sixth trip to the AFC championship round in six years, this one by virtue of a 27-24 win over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday night. That win, highlighted by a Patrick Mahomes performance where he completed 17 of 23 passes for 215 yards and two touchdowns, puts the Chiefs on a collision course with the AFC’s top seed: the Baltimore Ravens.
The route to the Super Bowl now runs through one of the best teams in the NFL, as the Ravens crushed the Texans 34-10 in the divisional round after their first-round bye. The Chiefs are at on the spread in what could be their toughest test yet of their hopes of repeating as Super Bowl champions. You can watch the game on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on CBS.
Kansas City Chiefs AFC championship game injury report
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Potential key missing players
Kadarius Toney
Toney missed last week’s divisional round matchup but is once again questionable ahead of the Chiefs’ conference matchup against the Baltimore Ravens. Before last week’s game, Toney was limited at practice but likely did not show enough progress before the matchup in Buffalo. He will continue to get limited practice this week as we move closer to a decision for the championship round.
Joe Thuney
Thuney’s status as one of the best guards in the NFL is secure. The former third-round pick was a first team All-Pro selection for the first time in his career this season and has been an integral part of the offense, even when things looked bleak. His 74.9 PFF grade is ninth among all guards, while his 84.5 pass-blocking grade is first.
He had to leave Sunday’s divisional round win versus the Bills due to a pectoral injury that now puts his status for the AFC championship game in jeopardy. Thuney had an MRI, and the results came back positive for the Chiefs, but as of now, he’s still up in the air.
Willie Gay
During the Chiefs’ win over the Bills, Willie Gay left with a neck injury and didn’t return. The linebacker had three combined tackles and a tackle for loss in the win before departing, but he could now miss the AFC championship game due to the injury.
Gay played in 16 regular season games for the Chiefs this season, starting 15 of them, and he is a part of one of the best Chiefs’ defenses in recent times. He’s a stout run defender and has 17 stops against the run this season per PFF. That expertise could be vital against a Ravens team that rushed for 229 yards on the ground against the Houston Texans.
