The second that the adrenaline wore off and Tyquan Thornton fell to the ground and grabbed his leg, thousands of posts were typed up and sent out on X.
Not just about the gruesome injury and how incredible it was that the wide receiver even attempted to stand up on his dislocated ankle, but about how the Chiefs might replace him.
The most common answer was the easiest two-foot putt: Tyreek Hill.
News broke last week that the former Chiefs and Dolphins star was getting up to speed and nearing a return to full health from his own severe leg injury, suffered last year with Miami.
With Kansas City in apparent need of another deep threat and weapon at WR, the team reportedly could be interested in signing Hill.
Of course, there’s another potentially massive roadblock: Hill’s divorce trial.
During opening statements on Tuesday, Hill was accused of assaulting his estranged wife, Keeta Vaccaro, while she was pregnant. That’s something that both teams and the league will have to investigate before he suits up.
The Chiefs have their bye this week, which means that Rashee Rice — who also left the Raiders game with a hamstring injury — may not miss any game time.
But if Hill passes all the necessary tests, fans of the Chiefs dynasty certainly wouldn’t mind seeing him back in their red and yellow — even if rookie RB Emmett Johnson has swiped his old No. 10.
How are the Vikings winning with an awful offence?
Along with the Chiefs, San Francisco 49ers and the Minnesota Vikings are one of the three only remaining undefeated teams. But unlike the first two, the Vikes have been getting by with one of the worst offences in the league.
The numbers, quite frankly, are staggering.
The Vikings rank dead last in passing yards (709) and second last in total yards (1,051). While their rushing total is around the league average, it hasn’t been efficient at 3.7 yards per carry.
The Chiefs and 49ers, meanwhile, rank second and fifth in total yards, respectively.
Minnesota also became the first team since the 1934 Detroit Lions to go 4-0 while failing to score an offensive touchdown in at least two of the games — although we should note that T.J. Hockenson opted to take a knee instead of scoring against Miami.
The analytics aren’t any better, either. Their offence ranks second last in DVOA, ahead of only the moribund Chargers, who can’t seem to do anything right.
While injuries and an adaptation period for new QB Kyler Murray may be valid reasons for the struggles, this team just hasn’t been able to move the ball against some mediocre defences.
So how are they doing it? It has been all about defence and special teams.
Kicker Will Reichard has been outstanding, going a perfect 12-for-12 on field goals this season. In fact, the 42 points he has put on the board for Minnesota is equal to the entire offence combined.
And the defence, run by coordinator Brian Flores, has been outstanding, allowing a league-best 51 points.
This isn’t a defensive unit chock-full of stars either — no members of the Vikings defence made an NFL All-Pro team last year.
Instead, Flores applies pressure by sending blitzes — from all sorts of levels and angles — at the highest rate of any team in the NFL.
That pressure leads to mistakes (4 INTs, 3 fumbles recovered) and, of course, sacks. Minnesota leads the league with 15 QB takedowns, including 5.5 by Dallas Turner.
Next up is a Saints team that just got crushed on Monday night. Can Murray and the offence finally take a bit of pressure of the other two units? That remains to be seen.
What other trends should you look out for?
The Chiefs’ offence actually already has one of the best weapons it has had in years with Kenneth Walker. The Super Bowl MVP’s 537 rushing yards through four games already is the eighth-most in a full season by a KC RB in the Patrick Mahomes era.
The Philadelphia Eagles clearly didn’t learn from the L.A. Rams. Coach Nick Sirianni has made the decision for his team to practice at home all week and then head to London on Friday before their matchup with the Jags.
Even worse, the Eagles will have to do it without Lane Johnson, the anchor of their offensive line, who retired abruptly on Tuesday. The team also surprisingly traded starting centre Cam Jurgens to the Baltimore Ravens, creating another hole of their line.
But if they had paid any attention to the Rams-49ers game in Australia, they would’ve seen L.A. come out completely flat and uncompetitive. Not sure what Philly is thinking with this call.
Of the winless teams, the Texans and Buccaneers apparently aren’t all that bad. According to NFL analytics guru Aaron Schatz, both Houston and Tampa Bay rank in the top four 0-4 teams in the NFL by DVOA.
Now let’s see how the Bucs fare on a short week, on the road, against a Dallas Cowboys team that has been dynamite on offence but mediocre at best on defence.
While we’re not overlooking their opponents, the Atlanta Falcons are going to be must-see TV as long as it stays healthy. Bijan Robinson and Brian Robinson Jr. combining for 214 total yards and five touchdowns on a Monday night is something that fantasy managers drool over.
Up next for the Falcons, another prime-time matchup, taking on the Baltimore Ravens — who likely will be without star QB Lamar Jackson.