KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Kansas City Chiefs figure to need their entire roster at their disposal if they're to win Sunday in Pittsburgh against the Steelers, one of the teams they're chasing in quest of an AFC wild-card playoff spot.
The Chiefs may by the weekend have every one of their players available, but they'll spend anxious moments getting there.
Linebacker Tamba Hali, who has a sore knee, didn't practice Thursday. He worked on a limited basis Wednesday but took a step backward a day later. Hali had one of his most productive games of the season last week against the Oakland Raiders with a sack and four quarterback pressures.
The team also practiced for the second straight day without its top wide receiver, Dwayne Bowe, and a starting defensive lineman, Jaye Howard. Both have symptoms of the flu and Howard also has a sprained shoulder.
Hali's setback is surprising. Coach Andy Reid said earlier in the week the swelling that Hali had in the knee did not return immediately after the Oakland game.
The Chiefs survived with Hali playing a limited role against Oakland. Frank Zombo played in Hali's place on some running downs. But the Raiders aren't the Steelers, who have the NFL's fourth-rated passer (Ben Roethlisberger), second-leading rusher (Le'Veon Bell) and the league's leading receiver in catches and yards (Antonio Brown).
I'm guessing Hali will play. He won't sit out a big game without a significant injury. But the Chiefs may again limit his snaps against the Steelers.
The effect of Howard's absence this weekend would be lessened by the return of Allen Bailey, who looks like he will play Sunday for the first time since suffered a concussion Nov. 30 against Denver. But Howard has played some of his best games of the season in recent weeks, so it's not insignificant if he can't play.
I think Bowe too should be available but it's not a good thing if he's missing a couple of days of practice during the week of an important game. He might be the leader of a wide receiving group that hasn't through 14 games scored a touchdown but he's still second on the Chiefs in catches (51) and yards (667).