Chiefs find depth tested as injuries mount
Andy Reid was never under any pretense that Jamaal Charles was irreplaceable.
Shortly after the four-time Pro Bowl running back went down with a season-ending ACL injury, the Chiefs coach was among the first to acknowledge the difficulty in replacing him.
So far, that challenge has proven to be bigger than even Reid estimated.
In their first game without No. 25 in the backfield, the Chiefs were bottled up a week ago by the Minnesota Vikings. Charcandrick West ran for 33 yards, Knile Davis managed just 13 more on five carries, and the Chiefs finished with 57 yards rushing in a 16-10 defeat.
In the five games before Charles was hurt? The Chiefs averaged 110 yards on the ground.
“There were some positive things that are going to get overlooked because we didn’t win the game,” Reid said. “Charcandrick did some nice things — nice things, really.”
Then again, he also fumbled late in the game, squandering a chance at a go-ahead touchdown.
It’s not just running back where the Chiefs are having trouble plugging holes, either.
Wide receiver Albert Wilson has been dealing with injuries most of the season, and fellow pass-catcher Jeremy Maclin could miss Sunday’s game against Pittsburgh because of a concussion.Sofindingsomeone for quarterback Alex Smith to throwtohasbeenanotherchallenge.
Then there’s the defensive side of the ball. Inside linebackers Josh Mauga and Ramik Wilson have been hurt much of the season, and outside linebackers Justin Hous- ton and Tamba Hali showed up on this week’s injury report. Nickel back Phillip Gaines recently had surgery on his torn knee ligament, robbing the defensive backfield of another playmaker.
But none of those losses has been nearly as visible — or nearly as devastating — as that of Charles, whose gamechanging ability made him invaluable to the Kansas City offense.
The Chiefs (1-5) only managed 51 yards of first-half offense against Minnesota. If not for some points late in the game, they could easily have been shut out by the Vikings.