The lengthy absence of Kansas City Chiefs rookie Josh Simmons, the team’s first-round draft pick this year, has come to an end. The 22-year-old offensive lineman missed four games after abruptly departing the Chiefs on October 12, just hours before the defending AFC champions’ Sunday Night Football clash with the Detroit Lions — not returning until November 3 when he showed up at the Kansas City practice facility.

Simmons’ return came at the start of the Chiefs’ bye week, following a stunning defeat to their arch-rivals, the Buffalo Bills. The loss dropped the Chiefs to 5-4 and into the eighth seed in the AFC — out of the playoff picture.

Now the Chiefs face their most important game of the season so far, a make-or-break road contest with the Denver Broncos who lead the AFC West at 8-2 — 2 1/2 games ahead of Kansas City.

If the Chiefs lose this one, their chances of winning the division all but disappear — dropping to a mere seven percent according to a statistical projection model created by The Athletic.

Reid Offers Little Insight Into Simmons’ Availability

In fact, according to the model, a loss would leave the Chiefs, who have played in five of the last six Super Bowls and won three of them, with a 39 percent chance — barely more than one out of three — of missing the playoffs altogether, effectively ending the Kansas City dynasty.

Will Simmons be available to help his team when they need him most?

Speaking to the media on Monday, coach Andy Reid gave his answer to that question and it was a definite maybe. Or maybe not.

“I think what we’ll do is just see where we’re at here,” Reid said, as quoted by Pete Sweeney of the Kansas City Star. “We know we’ve got a good player in there now, and we know what Josh is capable of and all that, so we’ll just see where we’re at when they get back.”

Broncos Pose ‘Significant Challenge’ For OL

All players are required to report to the Chiefs practice facility on Tuesday to begin preparations for the weekend’s game in Denver. Reid did confirm that Simmons would practice with the team, saying, “We’re expecting everybody back, Josh included,” per Charles Goldman of A to Z Sports.

But though Reid said backup lineman Jaylon Moore has done “a respectable job” filling in for Simmons, it seems clear that the team would prefer to put their star rookie back into the starting offensive line, if he is judged to be ready after four weeks away from the NFL.

“The Broncos also present the most significant challenge the Chiefs’ offensive line will face this season,” wrote Chiefs correspondent Jesse Newell of The Athletic. “Denver leads the NFL with 46 sacks this season, well ahead of second-place teams Pittsburgh and Seattle, each with 32.”

Time For Mahomes to Throw is Crucial

Chiefs future Hall of Fame quarterback Patrick Mahomes has suffered 17 sacks in nine games this season, placing him in a tie for ninth-most in the NFL.

The Broncos have allowed the 11th-fewest passing yards in the NFL so far at 1,795, and the fewest passing touchdowns with only eight, so allowing Mahomes the maximum amount of time to get the ball away will be critical to the Chiefs’ chances to win on Sunday and keep themselves in the AFC West race.