Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Jaylen Watson exited Sunday’s 28-18 win over the San Francisco 49ers during the fourth quarter with an ankle injury and did not return to the game. Just after midnight on Monday, October 21, Zach Gelb of Infinity Sports Network revealed that the Chiefs fear Watson suffered a broken ankle in Week 7.
Source: Chiefs fear that CB Jaylen Watson has a broken ankle.
If Watson did break his ankle he could be sidelined several weeks or even months, depending on the severity of the break.
During his press conference after the game, Kansas City head coach Andy Reid didn’t have a definitive update on Watson but said he didn’t expect good news on the third-year corner.
“I mean, we’ll see what the MRI says, but I don’t think that’s going to be great news,” Reid said.
Watson, 26, was fifth among Chiefs defenders in snaps played heading into Week 7 (347), according to PFF. Through five games he had allowed 14 receptions on 27 targets — a 51.9% catch rate.
Chiefs Improve to 6-0 With Win Over 49ers
The Chiefs remain undefeated with the win over the 49ers, who fell to 3-3 on the season.
Kansas City’s offense didn’t do too much through the air in the 28-20 win, but it didn’t need to. Despite Mahomes throwing for just 154 yards and two interceptions, the two-time defending Super Bowl champions rushed for 154 yards and four touchdowns. That helped them win the time of possession (35 minutes to 24 minutes for San Francisco) and get a 28-point win over the 49ers.
Veteran Kareem Hunt led the Chiefs in rush attempts (22), rushing yards (78) and rushing touchdowns (2) against the 49ers. Mahomes and receiver Mecole Hardman score the two other rushing touchdowns. Tight end Noah Gray led the two-time defending Super Bowl champions in receiving with 66 yards on four catches.
As for Kansas City’s defense, the unit forced three turnovers — all of which were interceptions thrown by 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy — and allowed San Francisco to convert on just 2-of-11 third downs. The 49ers’ run game — which was averaging 5.0 yards per carry (YPC) heading into this game — averaged 4.2 YPC against Kansas City.
X Users Reacts to Chiefs’ Week 7 Win
Users on X, formerly Twitter, reacted to Kansas City’s win over San Francisco in Week 7 as well as the injuries piling up for the Chiefs.
“Jaylen Watson injury is going to hurt more than the average fan realizes,” one person wrote. “Lost JuJu [Smith-Schuster] early in the game today. Injuries continue to pile up. Somehow, some way, this team just wins games. The Chiefs have this insane intangible ability to make teams play their worst against them.”
“The Jaylen Watson loss is worse than any other the Chiefs have had so far,” another person wrote. “You probably won’t notice it next week against the Raiders, but Baker [Mayfield] will carve up the secondary on MNF when all he has to do is avoid [Trent] McDuffie.
“With Jaylen Watson expected to miss some time I guarantee you Spags is gonna find some creative way to get Jaden Hicks some snaps,” another person wrote. “Reminds me of when he moved Kendall Fuller from CB to safety. Not sure what the move will be but he’ll do something with [Chamarri] Conner, Hicks & [Nazeeh] Johnson.”
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Chiefs ‘Fear’ Long-Term Injury for Defensive Starter: Report