The Kansas City Chiefs have two full weeks to decide what they want to do when they play their first playoff game on their quest for a third straight Super Bowl. The playoff seeding in the AFC is now officially set. The Chiefs already knew they were the top seed in the AFC, so they were able to rest most of their starters in their 38-0 loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday. However, there was one potential starter vs the Broncos that most fans were watching intently in an otherwise meaningless game. That player was left tackle D.J. Humphries.

As most Chiefs fans know all too well, left tackle was a problem through much of the regular season. The combination of Kingsley Suamataia and Wanya Morris didn’t just struggle, their play made Patrick Mahomes noticeably uncomfortable. He lost his faith in the pocket and got happy feet. He was bailing out at times even when they didn’t lose and just couldn’t get in a rhythm as a passer.

D.J. Humphries was signed later in the season (after recovering from a major knee injury from the previous season) to help fix that problem. Unfortunately, he came up with a hamstring injury in his first game with the Chiefs and just got back in time for the regular season finale. However, while he was out, Joe Thuney filled in admirably at left tackle. The All-Pro left guard got a lot of help from chips and the play-calling, but the bottom line was that it stabilized the position and the offense.

The Chiefs were hoping Humphries would play well enough to make him the playoff starter, but unfortunately, questions remain.

In the Chiefs’ final two games with their starters playing against the Houston Texans and Pittsburgh Steelers, the Chiefs’ offense looked the best it had all season. The return of Marquise “Hollywood” Brown and the continued improvement of rookie Xavier Worthy finally gave Mahomes the weapons he needed. When combined with the stabilized left tackle position, Mahomes looked as comfortable as he had all season. It was exactly what you wanted to see before heading into the playoffs.

The hope coming into the Denver game was that Humphries would look good enough at left tackle that they could use him there in the playoffs. That would allow Thuney to return to left guard where he’s a true All-Pro caliber player instead of just being “good enough” at left tackle. Unfortunately, there are going to be plenty of questions about whether that is a good idea after Humphries’ performance vs the Broncos.

Humphries’ first half was very encouraging. He looked strong and I only charted him with one pressure allowed on 14 passing plays. There was one other passing incident where he was noticeably slow off the snap, but because it was a quick pass and his man didn’t rush outside, it didn’t hurt him. He also had a couple of really nice pass-pro reps and a couple of nice run-blocking plays (despite them only running the ball four times in the first half).

If we were making the decision based only on the first half, I would have 100% said start Humphries at left tackle and let Thuney move back to guard. However, things took a turn for the worse for Humphries in the second half. I had him with four clear pass rush losses where his guy beat him quick enough that it was reminiscent of what we saw from Suamataia and Morris at times. Humphries gave up one sack and, on another play, his man would have had yet another if another Bronco hadn’t beaten him to the quarterback.

This is where things get hard and there is some nuance to the discussion. Humphries had some really bad losses in the 2nd half. He also had a couple of nice plays and several “neutral” plays where he didn’t really help or hurt the play. A fair question to ask is how Thuney would have fared in those exact same situations.

Chiefs fans may be quick to say something like, “Thuney hasn’t given up those kinds of pressures/sacks the past few weeks”, but the Chiefs also went out of the way to help him with chips and play-calling. Humphries got some of that, but he was also left on an island multiple times against Nik Bonitto, who is a pure speed rusher who ended the season with 13.5 sacks. It’s certainly possible that Thuney could have given up a sack or two if he was in that same situation.

The question here is what Andy Reid and Mahomes feel more comfortable doing. If they saw enough from Humphries that they feel they can give him the same help and play-calling approach they did with Thuney and get similar results, then they may still give him the call in the playoffs. However, if they saw his quick losses and think they are too reminiscent of the play of Suamataia and Morris that threw the offense (and specifically Mahomes) out of sync, they may decide not to mess with what was working before the Broncos game.

When it comes down to it, it isn’t really about if Humphries is as good as Thuney at left tackle. It’s about whether Mahomes trusts him as much as he does Thuney. They could play at the exact same level, but if Mahomes is skittish with Humphries back there then they just need to keep Thuney at left tackle. Again, the offense looked great the last two games the starters played, so you don’t want to lose that rhythm coming off a long break because of the starters resting and the bye week.

The bad news for the Chiefs is that Humphries’ performance was questionable enough that it puts his playoff reliability in doubt. The good news is that the Chiefs may still think they can make things work with him and even if they don’t, they have an option in Thuney that they have proven they can be very successful with. It would have been nice if Humphries put all those doubts to rest, but this isn’t the end of the world either. It’s just going to be an interesting thing to watch as the Chiefs’ first playoff game gets closer.

So what do you think Chiefs fans? Did you see enough from Humphries on Sunday that you think the Chiefs can start him in the playoffs and run the same offense they did with Thuney at left tackle? Did his struggles in pass protection in the second half make you too worried that it will be Suamataia/Morris all over again and you’d rather just stick with Thuney? I’d love to read your thoughts in the comments below.