KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The injury-riddled Kansas City Chiefs lost left tackle Wanya Morris to a left knee injury on the first play against the Houston Texans on Sunday night, leaving their makeshift offensive line with rookie Esa Pole protecting Patrick Mahomes’ blind side.

Not exactly an ideal situation against Danielle Hunter, Will Anderson Jr. and one of the best pass rushes in the NFL.

Then things got worse for Kansas City: Trent McDuffie hurt his knee later in the first quarter, when the former All-Pro cornerback jumped high in the air while trying in vain to defend a 46-yard pass from C.J. Stroud to Nico Collins.

Meanwhile, the Texans lost running back Nick Chubb to a rib injury. That left Dare Ogunbowale to back up Woody Marks.

The Chiefs already were forced into a patchwork offensive line after rookie left tackle Josh Simmons went on injured reserve this week following surgery to repair a fractured and dislocated wrist, and right tackle Jawaan Taylor was inactive due to a triceps injury.

That meant that primary backup Jaylon Moore was the starter at right tackle and Morris was in the lineup at left tackle.

The Chiefs also were missing standout right guard Trey Smith because of an ankle injury. Mike Caliendo started in his place.

Pole played two seasons at a California junior college and two at Washington State. He went undrafted in April and signed with the Chiefs the following month. He also had a stint with the Jets before returning to Kansas City in late October.

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Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov’s threats against Ukraine following a drone strike echo a 2022 plot to infiltrate Kyiv and target President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a former Ukrainian government official has said.

The leader’s latest threat came after a Ukrainian drone reportedly struck a high-rise building near Kadyrov’s home in Grozny on Nov. 5.

The strike prompted the Chechen strongman to vow retaliation in an online video post, according to Reuters.

“This new threat would just be another assassination threat for Zelenskyy. The Chechens are really serious about revenge,” a former government official told Fox News Digital.

RUSSIAN CRUISE MISSILES HIT US COMPANY IN MASSIVE UKRAINE STRIKE AMID TRUMP’S PEACE PUSH

“But in Kyiv they are not panicking about this like they were in 2022,” the former official said under condition of anonymity.

“Zelenskyy is now better protected, feels more powerful and is less fragile,” they said.

The recent Ukrainian strike, reported by Reuters, hit the 28-story Grozny-City tower that sits roughly 830 meters from Kadyrov’s home.

TRUMP EYES NEW SANCTIONS ON PUTIN AFTER LARGEST-EVER DRONE ATTACK

Kadyrov, who is loyal to Russia, later allegedly confirmed the attack in a Telegram post, stating there were no casualties, but he condemned the strike as making “no tactical sense.” 

He also warned that retaliation was imminent.

“Starting tomorrow and in the course of the week, the Ukrainian fascists will be feeling a stern response,” he threatened.

Unlike Ukraine’s strike, he added, “we will not be making a cowardly strike on peaceful targets,” per Reuters.

Ukrainian attacks have hit sites in Chechnya before now, including a police barracks and a training academy. Chechen units were also deployed during Russia’s 2022 invasion and were among the Kremlin’s most loyal forces.

RUSSIA LAUNCHES MASSIVE DRONE AND MISSILE BARRAGE ON UKRAINE HITTING KYIV, OTHER TARGETS THROUGHOUT COUNTRY

At the time of the 2022 invasion, the official said there was intense anxiety in Kyiv.

“At the beginning of the large-scale invasion in 2022, Chechens were sent to Kyiv to murder top politicians,” the former official said.

“This included Volodymyr Zelenskyy and top politicians from the government and security services and Parliament, and many other agencies.

“Zelenskyy and Yermak were very scared,” they claimed. “They were calling from the office, asking some people in the military and security service to secure the metro station in Kyiv.”

The source said one metro station in Kyiv was a potential infiltration route for the Chechens into Zelenskyy’s presidential bunker.

RUSSIAN ATTACK ON UKRAINE LEAVES 25 DEAD IN TERNOPIL AFTER MASSIVE OVERNIGHT STRIKES

At the time, the station in Kyiv that was deep underground and near the presidential bunker, was viewed as the most vulnerable entry route, the source said.

“They were afraid that Chechens would get to the bunker through this metro station, but in the end the Chechens were killed before they reached Kyiv.

“They tried to reach Kyiv, somehow downtown, somehow via the river, but it’s quite a complicated way to get there,” the former official said.

Meanwhile, with the Nov. 5. Grozny strike landing so close to his home, Kadyrov, already one of Putin’s most aggressive enforcers, is signaling a harsher stance as attacks reach inside Russian territory.

The Moscow Times reported that the drone struck a building that houses regional government offices, including the Chechen Security Council and agencies connected to tourism and religious affairs.

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Despite the rhetoric, the former Ukrainian official claimed Zelenskyy is unfazed this time around.

“These days, Zelenskyy isn’t afraid of Kadyrov’s actions against him or the Ukrainian people. Zelenskyy is feeling very powerful right now,” they added.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Zelenskyy’s office for comment.

As Israel and Hamas prepare to move towards phase two of a United States-led blueprint to end Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, disagreements loom over the as-yet undefined role of an international stabilisation force in the besieged Palestinian enclave.

Senior Hamas official Basem Naim said on Sunday that the US draft required “a lot of clarifications”. While the group was ready to discuss “freezing or storing” weapons during the ongoing truce, he said it would not accept that an international stabilisation force take charge of disarmament.

“We are welcoming a [United Nations] force to be near the borders, supervising the ceasefire agreement, reporting about violations, preventing any kind of escalations,” he said, adding that Hamas would not accept the force having “any kind of mandates” on Palestinian territory.

His comments came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier in the day that he would meet with Donald Trump to discuss entering a new phase of the US president’s plan at the end of the month. The focus of the meeting, he said, would be on ending Hamas governance in Gaza and ensuring it fulfilled its “commitment” to the plan, which calls for demilitarisation of the enclave.

“We have a second phase, no less daunting, and that is to achieve the disarmament of Hamas and the demilitarisation of Gaza,” Netanyahu said during a news conference with visiting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

It was not clear whether Naim’s comments on the group freezing or storing arms would satisfy Israel’s demands for full disarmament. The Hamas official said the group retained its “right to resist”, adding that laying down arms could happen as part of a process leading to a Palestinian state, with a potential long-term truce lasting five to 10 years.

The US-drafted plan for Gaza leaves the door open to Palestinian independence, but Netanyahu has long rejected this, asserting that creating a Palestinian state would reward Hamas.

Vague plan

Trump’s 20-point plan offers a general way forward on such plans as the establishment of the stabilisation force and the formation of a technocratic Palestinian government operating under an international “board of peace”, but does not offer concrete details or timelines.

US officials have said they expect “boots on the ground” early next year, but while countries like Indonesia have agreed to contribute troops, there is no roadmap for setting up the force, and its exact makeup, command structure and responsibilities have not been defined.

Netanyahu appeared to recognise the plan’s vagueness. “What will be the timeline? What are the forces that are coming in? Will we have international forces? If not, what are the alternatives? These are all topics that are being discussed,” he said on Sunday.

The Israeli prime minister said that phase two of the plan, which will be set in motion once Hamas returns the last Israeli captive, a policeman killed in the October 7 attack on southern Israel, would be “more difficult”.

Stage one of the plan has already proven challenging, with Israel continuing to bomb Gaza throughout the ceasefire, killing more than 370 Palestinians, according to health officials. Meanwhile, it has accused Hamas of dragging out captive returns.

Israeli army says yellow line ‘new border’

The plan’s initial steps saw Israeli forces withdraw to positions behind a so-called yellow line in Gaza, though the Israeli military remains in control of 53 percent of the territory. The Israeli military said on Sunday that the line of demarcation was a “new border”.

“We have operational control over extensive parts of the Gaza Strip, and we will remain on those defence lines,” said Israeli military chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir. “The yellow line is a new border line, serving as a forward defensive line for our communities and a line of operational activity.”

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani warned at the Doha Forum on Saturday that the truce was at a “critical moment” and could unravel without rapid movement towards a permanent deal.

He said a true ceasefire “cannot be completed unless there is a full withdrawal” of Israeli forces, alongside restored stability and freedom of movement for Palestinians, which has so far not transpired under phase one of the plan. He did not allude to the yellow line in his comments.

Amid growing momentum for a move to phase two of the peace plan, Israeli and Qatari officials met with US counterparts in an effort to rebuild relations after Israel’s air strike on Doha in September, Axios reported, citing unnamed sources.