KSHB 41 reporter Tod Palmer covers sports business and eastern Jackson County. Share your story idea with Tod.
—
Kansas City’s offense continues to slowly lose the season-long war of attrition — or so we thought.
The Chiefs were already without four offensive linemen and starting wide receiver Hollywood Brown when speedster Xavier Worthy left the game with a suspected head injury.
The Chiefs announced that he was in the concussion protocol after he remained down late in the first quarter and retreated to the locker room for evaluation.
Late in the second quarter, the club announced Worthy had cleared concussion protocol and he was set to re-enter the game.
Worthy was on the field for a drive that started at the Chiefs’ 6-yard line with 2:50 remaining.
One quarter earlier, Patrick Mahomes targeted Worthy on third-and-8 in the closing minute of the first quarter, but the former first-round wide receiver fell awkwardly trying to adjust to make the catch.
Worthy fell to the ground and may have hit his head. He also took a knee to the helmet from Chargers cornerback Donte Jackson.
After the play, Worthy, whose 542 yards from scrimmage ranked second for the Chiefs this season, stayed down.
He eventually made his way to the sideline medical tent and, after several more minutes of evaluation, was taken to Kansas City’s locker room.
Worthy missed two games in September with a shoulder injury after colliding with Travis Kelce on a crossing route on the third play of the season — oddly enough, also while facing the Chargers in the season-opening loss in Sǎo Paulo, Brazil.
Without Brown and Worthy, the Chiefs’ offense turned to JuJu Smith-Schuster and Tyquan Thornton along with Rashee Rice, who missed the season’s first six games due to suspension.
Earlier in the game, right tackle Jaylon Moore got knocked from the game for a few plays and linebacker Nick Bolton missed part of a series with injury.
But Worthy, Moore and Bolton all returned to the field.
—
