Between the baffling timing of star linebacker Justin Houston's knee surgery in February and the vague six-to-12 month timetable for his return, the inexplicable gap in prompt and proper treatment threatened to derail a promising season.
Instead, the distressing scenario announced in March has been navigated rather deftly by the Chiefs ... if not becoming an outright benefit with Houston back on the 53-man roster this week and apparently set to make his long-awaited return on Sunday at Carolina.
They are 6-2 without him, after all. And vulnerabilities notwithstanding, they have allowed just 59 points in the four games since the Pittsburgh debacle as much-doubted linebacker understudy Dee Ford has emerged as a genuine asset under the presumed duress of stepping in for Houston.
Now, add this:
"I expect (to do) what I normally do _ dominate," Houston said with a smile, acknowledging his endurance might keep his time limited.
In truth, there's no way to know just how much Houston will play on Sunday. Most likely, he won't start and will have a limited number of snaps. Ten? Fifteen?
In the smoke-and-mirrors world of the NFL, it's also not beyond reason to think his announced return may be gamesmanship to keep the Panthers guessing even as the Chiefs still are determining how much he can do this week.
"He's done a lot of scout-team work, where you get to see him against the first offense," defensive coordinator Bob Sutton said. "I think (he) appears to feel like he's back, moving good, changing directions, rushing passers, setting the edge on the run. I'm not a medical expert, but ... it looks like he's ready to play."
No matter how ready he is right now, though, the time figures to be coming soon when he will be 100 percent.
And no matter how much time it takes for him to scrape off the rust, his anticipated return to most of his true form will add a force after midseason that few, if any, teams can expect to enjoy.
Think, say, Ben Zobrist joining the Royals for the stretch run in 2015.
That's a nice get this time of year.
So the benefits of the misadventure in timing and his time out may turn out to have been multifold.
From the injection of energy and talent and freshness he'll presumably bring ... to the adrenaline he should inspire around him ... to the mere fact that Ford and others got key playing time to develop and demonstrate depth.
This is the half-full way Sutton prefers to see it, and who's to say otherwise?
"It made all of us, coaches, players, whatever, work hard (to) try to develop different players," Sutton said. "Obviously, that can be beneficial if you take advantage of it. ...
"So, in the end, you'd like to believe that this has made us a stronger team, because it has helped develop players, guys have had a lot of playing time and been in tough situations. ...
"Hopefully, it will pay off for us down the road."
Houston had 22 sacks for the Chiefs in 2014 but just 7.5 last season, reduced in strong part because he suffered a hyper-extended left knee on Nov. 29 against Buffalo and didn't return until the Chiefs' wild-card playoff victory over the Texans in January.
He played 44 snaps at Houston, but somewhere along the way tweaked his knee again and was on the field for only eight plays in the loss at New England a week later.
As he looks back now, Houston says he has no regrets about trying to play through an injury that evidently led to the surgery to repair an ACL that was not torn but weeks after the season was deemed not functioning properly.
"There's guys who play their whole career, 10-plus years, and never go to the playoffs," he said. "I would never turn down that opportunity to be in the playoffs with my guys."
Along the same lines, Houston said he was never discouraged about his timetable for a return this season even though at its most extreme he wouldn't have been back before February.
"I (always) had in my mind I knew I was going to be back," he said. "No matter what anybody said, who said it. I didn't care who said it, I know who I am and what I can do, and I just know how I work."
So, too, do his veteran teammates.
"Somethings, you don't even have to communicate," safety Eric Berry said, adding that that sort of chemistry "helps you play faster."
Then there's the mix with younger players, which could include some schemes with Ford on the field, too.
"We feed off each other," Houston said. "So we got the whole family out there together: It's just like having Christmas dinner (but you've been) missing your brother. It's not the same."
Reunited soon, if not now, the Chiefs have a chance to convert the makings of a fiasco into their advantage _ the sort of thing that makes you wonder how much fate is on their side this season.
