Taylor was a late scratch prior to last weekend's game against the Chiefs ... after the 31-year-old suffered a punctured lung while receiving a painkiller injection for a cracked rib.

This isn't an everyday injury, so we hit up the Doc to make sense of it all ... and he gives a great explanation of what exactly happened.

But, the REAL question on everyone's mind -- is TT gonna be okay?? Oz is optimistic.

"Every doctor who has ever numbed someone's ribs knows it's a potential complication," Oz tells us.

"I don't think Taylor is gonna be getting many more injections in there, I suspect, and I'm hoping the hole is a very small one because the needles we need and use to numb up the nerves are very small."

"So hopefully it recovers on its own and by game 3 or 4 rather, it will be forgotten

As for the doctor responsible for the mishap, Oz thinks it'll be a learning experience moving forward, saying, "I mean, doctors make mistakes. The key for us is that we own it and improve from it."