Getty Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Skyy Moore.
During the Kansas City Chiefs’ 27-24 win over the Denver Broncos in Week 17, starting Pro Bowl left guard Joe Thuney and rookie receiver Skyy Moore suffered injuries that knocked them out of the outing at Arrowhead Stadium. After the game, head coach Andy Reid provided updates on the injured players.
Thuney injured his ankle in the second half vs. Denver but was able to return during the Chiefs’ next offensive drive despite being helped off the field by teammates. However, he was not spotted on the field after that drive and was ruled out officially in the fourth quarter.
After the game, Reid confirmed that Thuney injured the same ankle that kept him sidelined during Weeks 12-13 and will get re-evaluated on Monday, January 2, per Sam McDowell of the Kansas City Star.
Joe Thuney’s injury is to the same ankle. He will get further testing tomorrow.
Reid also shared that Moore had a laceration on his hand, which forced him out of action in the second half of the victory over Denver, per Charles Goldman of Chiefs Wire.
#Chiefs HC Andy Reid confirms that Thuney reinjured his ankle will have an MRI.
Skyy Moore has a laceration on his hand.
Prior to being injured, Moore had 3 catches for 33 yards, one of which was an 18-yard screen pass in which he broke a couple of tackles inside Denver’s red zone to set up rookie Isiah Pacheco’s touchdown in the first quarter.
Chiefs rookie WR Skyy Moore picks up 18 yards on the screen pass. On the following play, RB Isiah Pacheco scored from 5 yards out. PAT was botched.
Chiefs Still in Pursuit of AFC’s No. 1 Seed
In a game in which divisional opponents exchanged blows, the Chiefs defeated the Broncos 27-24 in Week 17 to improve their record to 13-3.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes completed 29-of-42 pass attempts for 328 yards and 3 touchdowns against Denver. He also had an end zone interception in the first half. In that game, Mahomes became only the third quarterback in NFL history to throw for over 5,000 yards in multiple seasons, per PFF.
Mahomes’ top pass catcher vs. the Broncos was running back Jerick McKinnon, who caught 5 passes on 6 targets for 52 yards and 2 receiving touchdowns. McKinnon now has 8 touchdowns (7 receiving, 1 rushing) over the last 5 games, per Pro Football Reference.
#Chiefs RB Jet McKinnon puts on the spin move☝️and picks up 28 yards on the pass from Patrick Mahomes. #ChiefsKingdom
The leading rusher for Kansas City was rookie Isiah Pacheco, who ran the ball 9 times for 31 yards and also had a five-yard rushing touchdown in the first half.
The Chiefs’ defense forced two turnovers on Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson by way of a fourth-quarter interception by cornerback L’Jarius Sneed and a strip-sack by rookie Trent McDuffie late in the second quarter.
Turnovers continue to be an issue for Kansas City, as the Mahomes interception and a fumble by Kadarius Toney on a punt return gave extra opportunities to Denver, which was part of why the score was close through all four quarters. However, some key plays on defense along with enough chunk plays on offense gave the AFC West champions their second win over Denver this season.
On 4th & 2, #Broncos QB Russell Wilson is swarmed by the #Chiefs pass rush & forced to throw an incompletion. Turnover on downs with 1:19 left in the game. #ChiefsKingdom #BroncosCountry
With another win in their pocket, the Chiefs need the Buffalo Bills to lose on Monday Night to the Cincinnati Bengals or in Week 18 against the New England Patriots for Kansas City to reclaim the No. 1 in the AFC.
The Chiefs close out the regular season with a road game against the 6-9 Las Vegas Raiders.
Twitter Reacts to KC’s Victory
Twitter users reacted to the Chiefs’ victory over the Broncos.
“Barely over one of the worst teams in the league…who just fired their head coach,” one Twitter user wrote. “Play like this you will lose your first game in the playoffs. The Broncos are far from a playoff caliber team and you almost lost.”
@Chiefs Barely over one of the worst teams in the league…who just fired their head coach. Play like this you will lose your first game in the playoffs. The Broncos are far from a playoff caliber team and you you almost lost.
“You needed to get bailed out by the refs to barley beat the BRONCOS AGAIN. this team has first round exit written all over it,” another user wrote.
“A dub is a dub but holy sh*t, I don’t have a lot of playoff confidence for this team. Special teams is a disaster,” another user wrote.