Chiefs' Nick Allegretti gets emotional after filling in for Joe Thuney in AFC Championship Game
This week was one where the Kansas City Chiefs' PTSD started to resurface. With Joe Thuney, one of their best offensive linemen, being out, the flashbacks of the Super Bowl loss against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers started to fly in. That game saw the Chiefs with several backup options up front. And as a result, […]
This week was one where the Kansas City Chiefs' PTSD started to resurface. With Joe Thuney, one of their best offensive linemen, being out, the flashbacks of the Super Bowl loss against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers started to fly in. That game saw the Chiefs with several backup options up front. And as a result, Mahomes was rushed all game long.
In a way, there was still some positivity and belief they would be okay, but the fanbase certainly had a few worries going into the AFC Championship Game against a great Baltimore Ravens defense.
However, the guy who came in for Thuney played great and really played the role of the unsung hero. 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.
After the game, in which he played great, he was emotional about it all.
"The fans were incredible support," Allegretti said after the game. "I tried to stay off Twitter, but every time I opened it, it was a ton of support towards me. I'm not used to ever seeing anything about me on Twitter, so that was incredible. You can't overstate what Joe [Thuney] means for this team. I had the challenge; I knew that. They [teammates] were there for me all week with communication, making sure I was engrained in this offense. God, I'm so proud of this team."
Allegretti was right, too, as his entire team was indeed giving him praise all week, and his play at the end of the game in Buffalo was great. In Allegretti's 13 snaps against the 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.
After that, his teammates all praised him for his professionalism.
"Nick (Allegretti) is awesome, man," right guard Trey Smith said earlier in the week. "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."
Now, Allegretti is one of the biggest reasons the Chiefs are going to their fourth Super Bowl in five years.
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