Joe Thuney, Chiefs' All-Pro guard, reportedly not likely to play in AFC championship
The day went from bad to worse for the Kansas City Chiefs on Wednesday.
The Chiefs' preparation for the AFC championship began without guard Joe Thuney at practice, and finished hours later with ESPN reporting that the All-Pro guard is unlikely to play versus the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.
At the end of Kansas City's 27-24 win over the Buffalo Bills in the divisional round, Thuney suffered a pectoral injury and left the game. Backup Nick Allegretti came in to replace the first-time, first-team All-Pro selection. Now, Allegretti, a fifth-year veteran, is anticipated to start the 14th game of his career.
"All the guys look at him like he's a starter, so everybody's got confidence that he can come in and do a nice job," Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said of Allegretti.
Ed Oliver & DaQuan Jones were held to 0 pressures on 38 combined pass rushes, Oliver's first game without a pressure since Week 13, 2021.
Jones was double teamed on 12 of 17 pass rushes (70.6%), while Oliver had 10 one-on-one matchups vs Joe Thuney.#KCvsBUF | #ChiefsKingdom pic.twitter.com/ZECLd8KyHf— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) January 22, 2024
On Monday, the Chiefs learned that Thuney strained his pectoral muscle versus tore it, which would have ended his season.
If Thuney, who didn't miss a start this season, can't go Sunday, it'll be a massive loss for Kansas City. Thuney's pass block win rate (99.1 percent) led all players this season. It helped him receive the second Pro Bowl selection of his career.
