Chiefs rule out Jeremy Maclin; Marcus Peters, Justin Houston questionable

The injury bug has made its way through the Kansas City Chiefs’ locker room.

If the Kansas City Chiefs have any plans of extending their current winning streak to six games on Sunday, it isn’t going to come easy. The Chiefs will once again be without top receiver Jeremy Maclin, and for an offense that can struggle to get going at times, this is not good news.

Maclin has battled a groin injury that has bothered him since the Jags game a few weeks ago. Luckily for the Chiefs, rookie receiver and playmaker Tyreek Hill has been very productive of late.

What could be a bigger issue on Sunday for the Chiefs is the potential absence of star, CB Marcus Peters. He single-handedly stole the Chiefs a win last week vs. Carolina after stripping Kelvin Benjamin and coming away with the fumble recovery with seconds remaining. Tied for the league lead for interceptions with five, this kid has magnets for hands. If he can’t go, KC could have a tough time defending Tampa Bay’s vertical passing attack. My money is on Peters playing Sunday; he hates not being able to compete on game days.

The bright side? Not all the injury news for Kansas City this week is somber. Head coach Andy Reid announced that All-Pro outside linebacker Justin Houston has a good shot of returning this weekend. While it can be expected Houston will be limited early on, Chiefs fans will be elated to see one of league’s best back in action.

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One of the best pass rushers in the NFL, Houston notched 22 sacks back in 2014, half of a sack shy of Michael Strahan’s single-season record. With Dee Ford having a breakout season with 10 sacks thus far, the possible duo of Houston and Ford could make the Chiefs defense even more dangerous down the stretch as they battle for playoff positioning.