Chiefs hoping for good news on Thornhill after safety exits with knee injury
The Kansas City Chiefs will hope for good news about their depleted secondary during their first-round playoff bye week.
Safety Juan Thornhill suffered a knee injury in Kansas City's victory Sunday over the Los Angeles Chargers, which coupled with New England's loss to Miami gave the Chiefs the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs. Thornhill's injury appeared serious — he needed the help of two trainers to limp off the field, never putting any weight on his knee.
The Chiefs already were missing cornerback Morris Claiborne to a shoulder injury, and cornerback Bashaud Breeland left the game with an illness.
For the Chargers, defensive back Desmond King left in the first half with an ankle injury.
Other playoff-bound teams were also unable to avoid injuries in their regular-season finales.
Starting Bills cornerback Levi Wallace was carted off with a right ankle injury in Buffalo's loss to the New York Jets. He was hurt when his cleat got caught in the turf as he intercepted Sam Darnold's pass, which caromed off the back of teammate Taron Johnson's helmet.
Bills right tackle Ty Nsekhe was also carted off the sideline after hurting his ankle on the opening drive of the third quarter. Nsekhe had just returned to the lineup after missing five games with an ankle injury.
The Bills are the No. 5 seed in the AFC playoffs and will play at AFC South champion Houston next week.
The Minnesota Vikings were locked into the No. 6 seed in the NFC but still lost defensive tackle Armon Watts and offensive tackle Rashod Hill to left leg injuries in their loss to the Chicago Bears.
For Chicago, Pro Bowl kickoff returner Cordarrelle Patterson entered the concussion protocol after taking a pair of end-around runs as a wide receiver in the first quarter. Anthony Miller replaced him on kickoff returns and hurt his shoulder on his first attempt. Tarik Cohen took over after that.
The Green Bay Packers had three players get hurt as they secured a first-round playoff bye with a victory over the Detroit Lions. They were: center Corey Linsley (back), right tackle Bryan Bulaga (concussion) and linebacker B.J. Goodson (neck).
For Detroit, wide receiver Kenny Golladay didn't return after being evaluated for a concussion following a 42-yard catch in the second quarter. Linebacker Devon Kennard and tight end Isaac Nauta each left with hamstring injuries.
Two playoff-bound teams that did not report any new injuries in early games were the New Orleans Saints and New England Patriots.
Dolphins safety Walt Aikens left in the fourth quarter of Miami's win over New England with an ankle injury.
Panthers rookie quarterback Will Grier left Carolina's loss to New Orleans in the second quarter with a foot injury, finishing his second NFL start with a 0.0 quarterback rating on 1 of 8 passing for 4 yards. He was replaced by Kyle Allen. The Panthers provided no update on the extent of the injury after the game.
Atlanta Falcons cornerback Kendall Sheffield limped off in the second quarter of his team's win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and did not return. For Tampa Bay, cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting left in the second quarter with an ankle injury, and defensive lineman Rakeem Nunez-Roches left in the third quarter with a foot injury.
In the Cincinnati Bengals' win over the Cleveland Browns, Bengals cornerback William Jackson III was sidelined with a shoulder injury.
