Patrick Mahomes’ Injury Could Mean the End of the Chiefs’ Super Bowl History Hopes
The Kansas City Chiefs remain the best team in the NFL a year removed from their second Super Bowl win in a row and third in the last five years. But there’s now concern that Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs QB and biggest star, might not be in his best shape to face the last few games of the season—and the upcoming playoffs.
Kansas City is looking to do something no team has done in the Super Bowl era—win three Championships in a row. They certainly have the team for it, with perhaps the best QB in the league in Mahomes, and superstar tight end Travis Kelce, who is these days better known for dating Taylor Swift, alongside RB Isiah Pacheco. That, coupled with one of the best defenses in the NFL has the team looking good and feeling good with only 3 games to go in the regular season.
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Mahomes suffered an injury during the team’s 21-7 victory against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, December 15. The Browns, whose current record is 3-11, never posed a real threat to the Chiefs, so when Mahomes was first injured, he was quickly replaced by his backup. But what happened to Patrick Mahomes’ ankle? Will he be available for Kansas City’s next game on Saturday, December 21, against the Houston Texans?
What happened with Patrick Mahomes’ ankle injury?
Mahomes is currently considered day-to-day. That means that his injury isn’t serious, but he is being monitored to see how it progresses. The Kansas City Chiefs QB exited the game midway through the fourth quarter with his team ahead 21-7. He stayed on the sideline until the game ended and could be seen limping to the locker room afterward, which added to people’s concern.
He spoke about the play where he got injured after the game, “I was trying to run up in the pocket, obviously fourth down, trying to make a play happen,” Mahomes said. “And as I threw the ball, I kind of got hit — and I haven’t seen it — but it felt like someone hit me from behind as well. And so I kind of just got rolled up on. It kind of happens in football, and so I tried to bounce back up, but obviously, it hurt a little bit. But now we’ll just get after the rehab part of it and try to be ready for next week.”
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The QB was also asked whether he might play the next game, but he didn’t have a clear answer. “It’s hard to say right now,” he explained. “You still [have the] adrenaline rolling and usually it’s kind of the day after when you kind of get a good sense of it. I feel like I could have finished the game in different circumstances, but I thought the smart decision … was to put Carson Wentz in.”
Mahomes likely meant that, had the game been more contested or even a playoff game he would have likely fought to stay in the game. As it was, he felt there was no need to. “You just do what you have to do to get back, and I think that’s the most important thing,” Mahomes also said. “And now we just get back to the rehab part, the treatment part, and try to get ourselves ready on a short week against a good football team.”
Kansas City Chief coach Andy Reid also said after the game that Mahomes’ ankle was not broken. “It’s sore and he’ll get started on the rehab part of it as we go, and then we’ll just have to see how he does down the road here,” Reid said, adding that Mahomes could have stayed in the game if needed, but “There was no need for that.”
Considering the Houston Texans are a pretty good football team, chances are we will see Patrick Mahomes on the field next Saturday, as long as his rehab goes well. He wouldn’t want to miss it.
