The Kansas City Chiefs finally got some relief on the offensive line when Josh Simmons returned after a short break. For a moment, the unit looked complete again. But before the third quarter ended, things took a turn, Kingsley Suamataia went down with an injury. Head coach Andy Reid has now spoken about what happened.

“Kingsley was the only one that got hurt on the interception there. So he hit his head on the turf,” the head coach said.

That play came on a Patrick Mahomes turnover. Suamataia entered concussion protocol and was ruled out. The game kept moving, but his absence changed everything. However, Andy Reid added more. He shifted the blame to the execution.

“Denver played a good game, and they got us today. I’ve got to make sure that we don’t go three and out with those last couple of offensive series. There were a variety of things that went on that we all contributed to, so throughout both sides of the ball and special teams. There were some good things. But when you’re playing a good football team, you’ve got to cut back on your penalties, too. There were too many, and then some of the other mistakes we had. So we’ll get that cleaned up, and we’ll get ready for the Colts.”

After Suamataia went down with an injury, Mike Caliendo stepped in to anchor the offensive line. He finished the drive, and the Chiefs scored to tie the game in the third quarter. But early in the fourth, the team made it official, Suamataia was ruled out. Arrowhead Stadium fell silent once again.

As of now, there is no timeline for when Suamataia will return. The rest will need to step up for Week 12 against the Colts. In the midst of that uncertainty, Josh Simmons’ return stood out as the biggest positive.

Andy Reid will be happy with Josh Simmons’ update

In the post-game interview, Andy Reid did not hide his interest in Josh Simmons starting. He said, “Yeah, listen, he did good,” when asked about Simmons’ practice work.

“I’m going to get with (offensive line coach Andy) Heck here and just go back, we look at the video here and just make sure everything is okay there. But he’s done some good things, and we’ll want to check with him first before I say anything here.”

Then more news came in before kickoff. The Chiefs added Jaylon Moore to the injury list because of an illness. The full inactive list included RB Isiah Pacheco, WR Jalen Royals, TE Jared Wiley, C G Hunter Nourzad and CB Joshua Williams.

So, Simmons’ return in uniform is a huge positive for Reid and the Chiefs. However, his first assignment was tough. Nik Bonitto and that Broncos rush came fast. Yet Simmons looked strong.

Now the mission is clear. The Chiefs finally have a protector for Patrick Mahomes. So now the Chiefs must stack wins again.