Chiefs’ hopes for another Super Bowl appearance buoyed by this defensive back’s return

Game after game passed as Chiefs cornerback Jaylen Watson healed from a fractured fibula.

The original projection for his return wasn’t positive. He was told he’d likely miss the rest of the NFL season.

Except Watson heard something after surgery that not only kept hope alive, but supercharged his resolve: He was told there was a slight chance he could return to action toward the end of the season.

That’s all he needed to know.

“It was about waking up each day and getting after it,” Watson said. “I had to take advantage of every 24 hours I got.”

The work paid off. Watson beat the odds and returned, last week seeing the field for the first time since Week 7. He didn’t start but got 40 snaps against the Houston Texans in the Chiefs’ Divisional Round victory.

His playing time figures to increase on Sunday when the Chiefs play host to the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship Game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.

“We kind of slow-ed him in there,” Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said. “Hopefully this week we get a little more out of him.”

Watson helped the Chiefs hold off the Texans’ 23-14 and logged the team’s seventh-highest grade, according to Pro Football Focus. He was credited with one pass defended.

“I had to knock off some rust and get back up to speed,” Watson said.

Watson, in his third season, became a full-time starter for the first time in 2024. Earlier in his young career, he had a 99-yard interception return for a touchdown against the Chargers; that was his second game as a pro. He also logged two picks in the playoffs as a rookie.

But the Chiefs entered this season in need of a second cornerback behind Trent McDuffie after the loss of L’Jarius Sneed in free agency. Watson won the spot after a spirited battle with fellow 2022 draft class selections Joshua Williams and Nazeeh Johnson.

Watson got off to a solid start in 2024. Opposing quarterbacks were completing just 53.3% of their passes against him with a collective QB rating of 75.4. He had not surrendered a touchdown.

Then, for the first time — even going back to high school football in Augusta, Georgia, and college football stops at Ventura (California) College and Washington State — Watson suffered an injury that was serious enough to cost him extensive playing time.

It happened in the fourth quarter of a game at San Francisco and he emerged from the locker room on crutches.

“It was hard, man,” Watson said. “For the first time in my life, I sat out with an injury and didn’t play football.”

Johnson and Williams filled in with mixed results — everybody seemed to have a rough day in the regular-season loss at Buffalo — but the Chiefs worked their way to a ninth straight AFC West title. Now they’re in a seventh straight conference championship game with Watson one game closer to full strength.

This group of cornerbacks has never failed to win a Super Bowl, and Watson said he doesn’t take such success for granted — especially after missing nearly three months of action.

“It means a lot,” he said. “I missed playing football, having to watch it every day, watch my teammates. Now that I can be out there and contribute to win, it means a lot.”