Down their top two wide receivers, the Kansas City Chiefs managed to defeat the New York Giants in convincing fashion on Sunday night. Week 3 brought a 22-9 victory for the reigning AFC champs — their first win of the 2025-26 campaign.

Throughout the week, there was plenty of optimism that second-year wideout Xavier Worthy would return to the lineup. After originally being deemed questionable to play, though, the 2024 first-round pick got downgraded to out.

Speaking to the media in the aftermath of Week 3, Reid explained the Chiefs’ decision to sit Worthy on Sunday

Although Worthy practiced all week long, Kansas City just didn’t think he was quite ready to return to action.

“Yeah, so he was really positive coming in,” Reid said. “Mentally, he was saying, ‘I’m going to play in the game.’ You’ve got to kind of take that kind of approach with that type of an injury, and he did. He came out and he practiced and he did the best he could, but it just wasn’t right. Between Xavier and the doctors and so on, we thought it was best if he didn’t play.”

It’s now been several weeks since Worthy sustained a dislocated shoulder. In the Chiefs’ regular-season opener in Brazil against the Los Angeles Chargers, the star pass catcher lasted just three plays into the contest. On a third-down pass to tight end Travis Kelce, the two collided and Worthy was ruled out by the time the second half started.

Worthy has been back practicing for a while now, but he spent all of last week stuck as a limited participant. Until he’s back to getting 100% of reps in practice, it’s hard to see him getting in a game.

Fortunately for the Chiefs, they bought themselves some time and secured a road win without one of their most exciting young players.

The smoke-and-mirrors approach panned out in Week 3. Against a porous Giants secondary, quarterback Patrick Mahomes went 22-of-37 for 224 yards and a touchdown. That’s nothing special for the two-time NFL MVP, but it was enough to get the job done. The hero of the game wound up being receiver Tyquan Thornton, who is quickly making a name for himself. He had 5 receptions for 71 yards and the only score from No. 15.

Two other veterans in the wideout room managed to step up as well. JuJu Smith-Schuster (4 catches for 55 yards) and Marquise “Hollywood” Brown (4 catches for 42 yards) played supporting roles on Sunday, just like they have all year. Once the Chiefs get everyone back in the fold, those two will slot into more appropriate jobs within the offense. The same is true for rookie Jalen Royals, who dressed for what would’ve been his NFL debut but didn’t log a single snap.

Assuming Worthy continues to make progress, help could be on the way. There’s a world where he gets a game, two or even three in before Rashee Rice returns from suspension. Rice is back in the building for Kansas City as he serves the rest of his six-game sentence. While he isn’t allowed to practice, he can participate in meetings and continue ramping up for his eventual season debut in Week 7.

Still below .500 on the year, the Chiefs are far from out of the woods. They have a difficult task in balancing health, readiness and general workloads as they attempt to get back on track.

Jordan Foote is a seasoned sports writer who covers the NFL for Heavy.com with an emphasis on the Kansas City Chiefs, New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers. He has years of experience publishing NFL and MLB content for Sports Illustrated’s On SI vertical, in addition to a background in NBA coverage for multiple outlets. Foote is a Baker University alumnus, earning his degree in Mass Media. He’s based in Kansas City. More about Jordan Foote