After falling flat against the Colts last Sunday, Kansas City has a reason for optimism heading into their next game with the return of their biggest offensive playmaker.
According to NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport during the latest airing of “Good Morning Football”, wide receiver Tyreek Hill will undergo some tests today to make sure his shoulder injury has healed the way it should and if it’ll be safe for him to return to the field.
“They are going to scan the bone to make sure that it has healed properly and that it’s safe for him to be out there,” Rapoport said.
Rapoport reports that if Hill’s scans go well, he should be cleared to play this Sunday against the Houston Texans. Hill has been a limited participant in practice this week and was a full participant on Thursday.
Hill was also active during team warmups in the previous two games against the Detroit Lions and Indianapolis Colts.
Hill couldn’t come back at a better time when his team needs him more than ever with how injuries have piled up. One of which is wide receiver Sammy Watkins, who’s been sidelined with a hamstring injury.
Kansas City’s high powered offense lost some traction the last two weeks and teams are catching up on how to beat them by using man coverage schemes that have thrown Patrick Mahomes out of sync with his receivers.
According to NFL.com’s Kevin Patra, NFL Research shows that with Hill on the field, Kansas City has faced man coverage on 29.7 percent of Mahomes’ dropbacks and his passer rating is 126.3.
However, in the last four games, they’ve been without Hill, the Chiefs have faced man coverage on 47.6 percent of pass plays and Mahomes’ passer rating dropped to 85.9.
Tyreek Hill’s return to the offense is going to be the Chiefs’ ticket to beating man coverage. His world-class speed is something that not a lot of defensive backs can coverage, let alone keep up with, which makes playing him man to man almost a fool’s errand. It’ll also take some of the attention away from the other receivers that have struggled to get separation.
Kansas City’s official injury report will be released later this afternoon along with the official word from the Chiefs on Hill’s status.
