Kansas City Chiefs

Report: Chiefs fear LB Houston (knee) out for regular season

Published Dec. 17, 2015 1:58 a.m. ET

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The Patriots currently have the top seed, and all the name recognition. The Bengals and Broncos have the inside track to a first-round bye, though each are dealing with issues at quarterback. With Ben Roethlisberger and his high-flying offense looking like world beaters, the Steelers look like the team no one wants to play right now.

But the hottest team in the AFC plays in Kansas City, where the Chiefs have bounced back from a seemingly disastrous 1-5 start with seven straight wins to sit at 8-5 in the heart of the playoff race.

The way Alex Smith & Co. are playing right now, it seems injury is the only thing that can slow them down right now.

Uh-oh. Make that a really big uh-oh.

Justin Houston, the NFL’s sack leader last season with 22 and the most feared player on the Chiefs defense, may miss the rest of the season with a knee injury, the NFL Network’s Rand Getlin reported.

Over the three seasons prior to this one, Houston had 43 sacks in 43 games played. He originally injured the knee in Week 12 against Buffalo and did not play in the Chiefs’ last two games. In 11 games this season, the 26-year-old Houston has 30 tackles, 7.5 sacks and a pair of interceptions.

I’m told #Chiefs LB Justin Houston was set to visit Dr. Andrews regarding his knee. Some fear he’ll miss the rest of the regular season.
— Rand Getlin (@Rand_Getlin) December 16, 2015

But, as Rotoworld.com pointed out, Kansas City may not be in as bad a shape as it seems.

The Chiefs sit two games behind Denver in the AFC West standings but currently occupy the first wild-card slot. They play at Baltimore this Sunday before closing out the season with back-to-back home games against the Browns and Raiders; the three teams’ combined record is 13-26.