The Kansas City Chiefs captured a big win on Sunday, improving to 6-0 by defeating the San Francisco 49ers in a Super Bowl rematch. However, the Chiefs suffered a significant loss during the game as cornerback Jaylen Watson went down with a major injury.
Watson fractured his ankle, via NFL Media, and is in danger of missing the remainder of the season. Meanwhile, according to ESPN, Watson will undergo surgery this week after additional imaging confirmed a broken fibula and tibia, and while it's possible he could push for a return during the playoffs, his season could indeed be over.
The Chiefs officially placed Watson on the reserve/injured list Tuesday.
Watson had played at least 90% of the Chiefs' defensive snaps in each of the first five weeks of this season, starting across from Trent McDuffie as one of Kansas City's two main perimeter corners. In his absence, Joshua Williams and rookie Nazeeh Johnson got additional snaps and they would likely be counted on to do the same through the rest of the year.
The defensive back room is extremely young, and even younger this year after Kansas City sent L'Jarius Sneed to the Tennessee Titans this past offseason. Watson's potential absence becomes even more important when you consider that the Chiefs have been relying on their defense more than ever this season as the offense has (relatively) struggled due to the deterioration of the receiving corps.
The Chiefs are almost certainly going to the playoffs, though, so if Watson can avoid a season-ending diagnosis and make it back for the postseason, that would provide a major boost to their hopes of a three-peat.