Kansas City, Mo. ? None of the Kansas City starters have missed a game because of injury during what’s been a perfect season, and no one wants to be the first.

Offensive right tackle John Tait, who’s been nursing a sprained ankle all week, said he would be especially troubled not to make his start Sunday at Cincinnati. He would be the first offensive lineman since 2001 to miss a game for the Chiefs (9-0).

“It’s definitely a motivating factor,” said Tait, who’s been held out of heavy practice all week. “I’m not going to do anything stupid. But I want to be out there with my guys playing. We’ve got a thing going. It would be good to be out there with them.”

Also on the mend Thursday was wide receiver/kick returner Dante Hall, who’s been slowed by a badly bruised shoulder. While Tait still is listed as questionable, Hall seemed much closer to being ready for Sunday.

“Once I got the blood pumping, it felt good,” Hall said. “I got kind of jammed a couple of times and the pad helped a little bit. I think I’ll be OK.”

Tait said he didn’t know if he would draw a team fine for breaking the non-injury string.

“(But) if you can go, you need to go. I think we all band together as a team within a team, the offensive line,” he said.

“I want to be out there with those guys. It’s been tough just watching them practice.”

Coach Dick Vermeil admitted his team had been fortunate on the injury front.

“Hopefully, it’s a byproduct of the way we do things. But you have to be a little bit lucky and we have been,” he said. “I don’t think anybody wants to be the first guy to break that streak, just like we don’t want anyone to break our winning streak.”