On Saturday night, the Kansas City Chiefs advanced to their fifth consecutive AFC title game by defeating the Jacksonville Jaguars 27-20 in the divisional round. Depending on the result of Sunday’s game between the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals, the Chiefs will either host the title game (if Cincinnati wins) or travel to Atlanta to play the game at a neutral site (if Buffalo wins).
No matter which of those eventualities comes to pass, there will undoubtedly be a ton of attention paid throughout this next week to the health of Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes started the game against Jacksonville on fire, completing 6-of-8 passes for 58 yards and a touchdown on the Chiefs’ opening drive.
He was off to a strong start on their second possession as well, only to suffer an ankle injury when he got rolled up on by Jaguars defensive lineman Arden Key.
Mahomes was visibly injured, hopping around on the injured ankle and barely able to put any weight on it. The Chiefs called a timeout to give him some extra time to get taped up, and did an even more thorough tape job between the first and second quarters. But after that drive stalled out at the Jacksonville 32-yard line and ended in a field goal, the Chiefs sent Mahomes to the locker room to get X-rays.
He could be seen on the sideline telling the coaching staff and medical staff that he did not want to go to the locker room and could stay in the game, but he told NBC’s Melissa Stark during his on-field interview following the game the medical staff would not let him return to the field unless and until he got an X-ray on the ankle. “X-rays were negative,” Mahomes said. “They haven’t diagnosed anything yet but I’ll be good to go [next week].” (Mahomes told Trevor Lawrence the same thing.) According to an ESPN report, Mahomes will undergo an MRI on Sunday.
Mahomes was able to get through the ankle injury after he returned to start the second half against the Jags. He missed a long second-quarter drive on which Chad Henne led the team 98 yards on 12 plays, but managed to return to action. Upon returning, Mahomes completed 10-of-15 passes for 111 yards and a touchdown without taking a sack. That performance was a testament to his toughness, the quality of Kansas City’s offensive line and his ability to do spectacular things even when his body is compromised.
His touchdown pass to Marquez Valdes-Scantling was the best example…
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