What Chiefs players, coaches are saying about expected AFC Championship Game starter Nick Allegretti

Nick Allegretti may not play much, but he has been a part of the Kansas City Chiefs offensive line for the last five years. With the recent news of All-Pro left guard Joe Thuney being out with a pec injury, the Chiefs are turning to Allegretti, who has done it all in the playoffs, including catching a touchdown pass.

With Thuney being out, the memory many Chiefs fans try to ignore these days of the offensive line held together by tape and glue during the Super Bowl, which ultimately led to Patrick Mahomes running for his life and losing the Super Bowl. This time is a bit different, though. Thuney's backup, Nick Allegretti, is a guy who could be a starter on a few teams in the league, though.

When you hear the way his teammates talk about him, you understand why everyone in the building is calm, cool, and collected, knowing Thuney is out.

"Nick (Allegretti) is awesome, man," right guard Trey Smith said. "Talk about a hard worker, a guy who really loves the game and brings passion to the game week in and week out. A guy that I've been able to lean on from time to time, early in my career, especially just for advice and different things to help my game get better. Definitely, a guy that can bring it to play after play after play."

In Allegretti's 13 snaps on Sunday against the Buffalo Bills, which came in crunch time while Thuney was hurt, he finished with a Pro Football Focus grade of 80.0, which was the third-highest grade on the offensive line.

Obviously, it's a small sample size, but the time he saw on the field was crucial, and Allegretti delivered. In fact, he was a huge part of some big plays during the game. In his very first snap of the game, Allegretti took three defenders out of the play and cleared a gap for Isiah Pacheco to run for 29 yards.

The Chiefs know their "backup plan," when it comes to the interior offensive line, is about as good as it gets.

"Allegretti is a guy that has started for us for a number of games," Andy Reid stated. "All of the guys look at him like he's a starter, so everybody's got confidence that he can come in and do a nice job. Tough kid, not everything is the prettiest thing that you've ever seen, but he's going to fight you right to the end, and he's a smart, good combination."

Allegretti has played in 75 games and started 13 in five years with the Chiefs. He has played valuable snaps in eight playoff games, including 75 snaps in the Super Bowl against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

"Allegretti is a great player, you know, he's been around for a long time," Creed Humphrey said earlier this week. "He's got a ton of experience, played in huge games before. Whoever is up this week will do a great job."

The guys next to him up front in the trenches are not worried about there being an issue on Sunday. Sure, the Baltimore Ravens have a great defense, one of the best in the league, but the Chiefs have been in these situations before. Allegretti has played valuable postseason snaps before, and we will see more of that on Sunday.