KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Wanya Morris' day looked finished.
Someone had rolled into the outside of his right knee, sending him to the GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium turf in pain.
Flanked by two trainers, Morris limped his way to the sideline and went straight to the team’s sideline medical tent, where trainers poked and prodded a bit.
Eventually, Morris retreated to the locker room to have X-rays on the knee, which were negative.
But when the Chiefs returned after halftime, Morris wasn’t on the sideline.
Officially, he was listed as questionable, but Morris conceded the team came close to ruling him out completely.
Meanwhile, Kansas City’s offense was sputtering and rookie Kinglsey Suamataia, who had replaced Morris at left tackle, was a big reason why.
The Denver Broncos led 14-13 as the fourth quarter dawned, threatening to end the Chiefs' unbeaten run when Morris rejoined the offensive line for the game-winning field-goal drive.
"He’s a fighter," quarterback Patrick Mahomes said. "He’s someone that gets in there and puts it all on the line. That’s what you want on the football team — someone who can fight through injury and play some good football."
Morris entered the offseason as the presumptive starter at left tackle, but Suamataia usurped the job as the offseason progressed. But Morris showed his mettle in a gritty performance against Denver.
"This is a tough a** job," right guard Trey Smith said. "It’s a tough a** job at the end of the day, and you’re not going to be at your best every time you step on that field. We understand that coming into it. For him to push through and gut through it and be resilient in the moment, it’s impressive."
Chiefs coach Andy Reid said he didn’t consider bumping left guard Joe Thuney out to left tackle and putting Mike Caliendo at left guard with Suamataia struggling.
Suamataia’s dream start to his NFL career took a turn after only two weeks.
He was anointed as the two-time reigning Super Bowl champions' starting left tackle early in training camp.
Suamataia, a rookie second-round pick from BYU, seemed comfortable and confident protecting Patrick Mahomes' blindside, but he struggled mightily in his second career game.
In fairness, Cincinnati defensive end Trey Hendrickson has abused plenty of tackles during an NFL career that includes more than 70 sacks, including an NFL-best 11 this season.
But Chiefs coach Andy Reid had seen enough by the middle of the fourth quarter and benched Suamataia for Wayna Morris.
With Morris at left tackle, Kansas City won on a walkoff 51-yard Harrison Butker field goal and he’s been entrenched in the starting role for the last six weeks.
But Suamataia’s time arrived again early in the second quarter Sunday against Denver when Morris suffered a right knee injury and exited the game — and it didn’t go well once again.
Things actually started OK.
The Chiefs, who trailed 7-0 at the time of Morris’ injury, responded with consecutive scoring drives to stay within 14-10 at halftime, but he struggled to stay in front of the Broncos’ pass rushers, especially speedy Nik Bonitto off the edge.
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