The Kansas City Chiefs are riding with the hot hand regarding their situation at left tackle. According to NFL insider Jeremy Fowler, three-time pro bowler Joe Thuney will continue to protect the quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ blind side while the Chiefs are in the playoffs.
Left tackle has been an Achilles heel for Kansas City this season as second-year tackle Wanya Morris and rookie Kingsley Suamataia struggled in their pass protection and run blocking. The Chiefs tried mending the woes along the o-line by adding veteran D.J. Humphries, but the former Arizona Cardinal injured his hamstring in his Kansas City debut against the Chargers in Week 12.
Since then, Kansas City moved left guard Joe Thuney outside to play left tackle, and backup Mike Caliendo plays left guard. The combination has resulted in the Chiefs’ offense being more productive and looking more in sync because Mahomes has the time he needs to move the ball around from the pocket.
As the Chiefs prepare for the Houston Texans in the Divisional round of the NFL playoffs, Reid had the choice of moving forward with the combo that’s worked or plug in a healthy D.J. Humphries at left tackle.
It turns out Reid is choosing the latter. While Humphries is back to full strength, Reid doesn’t want to ruin the chemistry his offense built in the final weeks of the regular season by changing up the offensive line following a three-week layoff.
Kansas City’s upcoming divisional matchup with the Houston Texans is the first meaningful game the Chiefs will play since their Week 17 game against Pittsburgh on Christmas Day (23 days ago).
Reid also wants to go with the o-line combo that gives his team the best chance to have success against one of the top defenses in the league. Houston’s pass rush, led by defensive ends Danielle Hunter (12 sacks) and Will Anderson (11 sacks), has accounted for 49 sacks this season.
In their matchup from December 21, Kansas City’s o-line did fairly well against Houston’s defense as Patrick Mahomes threw 28 of 41 for 260 yards and a touchdown. He was also sacked only once, and that’s because of the solid protection from the o-line with Thuney at left tackle.
While Houston likely made some adjustments going into Saturday’s game, the Chiefs should feel pretty good about the o-line combo that has worked the best all season long.
