Two key Chiefs defenders go down early in ugly Eagles rematch

When going against a team as deep and talented as the Philadelphia Eagles, the Kansas City Chiefs knew ahead of their Week 2 matchup that things would be tough even at full strength. That task just got a bit more difficult after watching two important defensive contributors leave the game due to injury in the first quarter.

The Chiefs have designated defensive end Mike Danna as questionable to return and cornerback Kristian Fulton as doubtful to come back to the game.

The Eagles are visiting Arrowhead in a rematch of Super Bowl LIX, with the home team hoping for much better results than the embarrassing championship loss from February that ended the run for a historic three-peat.

Defending against the Eagles was already going to be tough enough for the Chiefs.

Without Danna, the Chiefs are thinner on the edges against perhaps the best pair of offensive tackles in the NFL in Jordan Mailata on the left side of the Eagles' offensive front and Lane Johnson on the right side.

Danna suffered a hip injury, which means the team will be relying on rookie third-round choice Ashton Gillotte a bit more than expected until he's able to return—if that's the case.

The Chiefs are also down Felix Anudike-Uzomah coming into the season, which means that Charles Omenihu and Malik Herring are the only other backups besides Gillotte to play with George Karlaftis manning the other starting spot.

As for Fulton, the veteran cornerback was brought to K.C. to compete for an outside starting role in the secondary, but he spend the majority of training camp on the Chiefs' Physically Unable to Play list. He was able to return to practice before the regular season, but only played a few reps in the team's season-opening loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.

The Chiefs' secondary is at its best if Trent McDuffie is able to slide inside and play a slot corner role with Fulton and Jaylen Watson on the boundaries. However, Fulton's inabilty to stay healthy is keeping Steve Spagnuolo from having a full range of options available to him.

Without Fulton, the Chiefs have rookie cornerback Nohl Williams who can step in and learn on the fly with Joshua Williams waiting in the wings. The Chiefs will also rely on safety Chamarri Conner and Christian Roland-Wallace in the slot.

Hopefully one or both players will be able to return in Week 2 against the Eagles, or else the Chiefs defense might be in for a long afternoon at home.