Mahomes completed 28 of 41 passes for 260 yards and one touchdown in Saturday's 27-19 win over the Texans. He also rushed five times for 33 yards and a touchdown. Mahomes quickly demonstrated that the ankle sprain he suffered in the Week 15 win over the Browns isn't inhibiting his ability to run, as he scrambled for a 12-yard gain on Kansas City's eighth offensive play and added a 15-yard rushing touchdown three plays later. The star quarterback tacked on an eight-yard touchdown pass to Xavier Worthy in the third quarter as Kansas City improved to 14-1. The Chiefs need one win over their last two games or a Buffalo loss to clinch the No. 1 seed in the AFC and a first-round bye. Unless the Bills lose to the 3-11 Patriots on Sunday, Mahomes won't be rested against the Steelers on Christmas.
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Mahomes completed 28 of 41 passes for 260 yards and one touchdown in Saturday's 27-19 win over the Texans. He also rushed five times for 33 yards and a touchdown. Mahomes quickly demonstrated that the ankle sprain he suffered in the Week 15 win over the Browns isn't inhibiting his ability to run, as he scrambled for a 12-yard gain on Kansas City's eighth offensive play and added a 15-yard rushing touchdown three plays later. The star quarterback tacked on an eight-yard touchdown pass to Xavier Worthy in the third quarter as Kansas City improved to 14-1. The Chiefs need one win over their last two games or a Buffalo loss to clinch the No. 1 seed in the AFC and a first-round bye. Unless the Bills lose to the 3-11 Patriots on Sunday, Mahomes won't be rested against the Steelers on Christmas.
Mahomes (ankle) doesn't carry an injury designation for Saturday's game against the Texans, Adam Teicher of ESPN.com reports. Mahomes, who was listed as a full practice participant Tuesday through Thursday, thus is cleared to start versus Houston. In terms of how the QB looked at practice this week, head coach Andy Reid noted that Mahomes "did look good out there. He moved around pretty good," while wideout DeAndre Hopkins said that Kansas City's QB looked "like he always does.'' With Mahomes' availability confirmed, the team also appears poised to welcome back speedy wideout Hollywood Brown (shoulder, no injury designation) who is on IR but is expected to be activated by the Chiefs ahead of Week 16 action.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said Thursday that Mahomes (ankle) "will most likely" start Saturday's game against the Texans, Nate Taylor of The Athletic reports. Mahomes sustained a high-ankle sprain during Sunday's win over the Browns, but the issue is clearly less severe than the injury he suffered two years ago during the divisional round of the AFC playoffs. The star quarterback managed to practice in full Wednesday, potentially putting him on track to head into Week 16 action without an injury designation at all. Meanwhile, Reid also offered optimism that wide receiver Hollywood Brown (shoulder) will be activated from IR and make his season debut versus Houston on Saturday, Pete Sweeney of ArrowheadPride.com reports.
The Chiefs listed Mahomes (ankle) as a full practice participant Wednesday. He got the same listing Tuesday after a walk-through practice, telling reporters beforehand that his current high-ankle sprain is less of an issue than the one he played through during the playoffs two years ago. Mahomes is on track to play against the Texans this Saturday, albeit with a slightly lesser rushing projection than usual in light of the mild sprain he suffered during the fourth quarter of a 21-7 win over the Browns on Sunday.
Mahomes (ankle) was listed as a full participant in Tuesday's practice. The Chiefs didn't hold a rigorous practice session to kick off Week 16 prep just two days after Sunday's 21-7 win over the Browns, but Mahomes' full listing nonetheless suggests that he's on track to play Saturday against the Texans. Even if Kansas City continues to list Mahomes as a full participant Wednesday and Thursday, fantasy managers planning on using him in Week 16 will still want to keep a close eye on reports pertaining to the quarterback's health leading up to Saturday, as he was diagnosed with a mild right high-ankle sprain following his early exit from Sunday's win in Cleveland. For his part, Mahomes told Sam McDowell of The Kansas City Star prior to Tuesday's session that he has responded "better quicker" to his latest injury than the high-ankle sprain he sustained in the divisional round of the AFC playoffs two years ago. His ability to practice in any fashion so soon after spraining the ankle would seem to support that notion.
Head coach Andy Reid said that Mahomes (ankle) will attempt to practice Tuesday, Matt McMullen of the Chiefs' official site reports. "We'll see how Pat does. He's going to go through some stuff and we'll see how it works out for him," Reid said. While the fact that Reid hasn't entirely ruled Mahomes out from practicing to kick off Week 16 prep offers encouragement, the Chiefs aren't likely to hold anything more than a light walk-through session just two days after Sunday's 21-7 win over the Browns. As such, even if Mahomes is listed as a limited participant for Tuesday's practice, it shouldn't be interpreted as a clear sign that he'll be on track to play Saturday against the Texans while he manages a right high-ankle sprain that he sustained late in the Week 15 win. Comments from both Reid and Mahomes over the next few days rather than his listing on practice reports will likely provide greater insight into the two-time NFL MVP's true odds of playing this weekend against Houston, and backup Carson Wentz is expected to get in plenty of reps with the first-team offense to keep himself prepared in the event Mahomes is forced to miss his first game of the season.
Mahomes (ankle) has been diagnosed Monday with a 'mild' high-ankle sprain and is considered week-to-week, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports. Mahomes was forced out of Sunday's 21-7 win over the Browns in the fourth quarter, leaving backup Carson Wentz to close out the contest. Now, with the Chiefs facing a short turnaround for Week 16's matchup against the Texans on Saturday, then a road matchup against Pittsburgh on Christmas coming Week 17, Mahomes' availability for the remainder of the regular season is murky at best. Currently, at 13-1, Kansas City has a two-game lead on Buffalo, at 11-3, for the top seed in the AFC, and the Chiefs have already clinched a playoff spot. The team figures to take a cautious approach to Mahomes' health in order to prioritize his effectiveness for the postseason, making it appear especially likely that Wentz starts Saturday versus Houston. For Week 17 and Week 18, though, playoff standing could potentially factor into decisions made on Mahomes' availability.
Mahomes (ankle) admitted after Sunday's 21-7 win over the Browns that he's uncertain if he'll be able to play in Kansas City's Week 16 game Saturday versus the Texans, Adam Teicher of ESPN.com reports. "It's hard to say right now,'' Mahomes said, when asked about his status for Week 16. "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...You just do what you have to do to get back, and I think that's the most important thing. 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." Mahomes left Sunday's game midway through the fourth quarter after taking a hit to his right ankle while throwing an incomplete fourth-down pass. With the defending Super Bowl champions holding a 14-point lead by the time they regained possession with 5:23 left in the quarter, head coach Andy Reid opted to go with Carson Wentz at quarterback for the rest of the game. Reid said after the contest that Mahomes' ankle wasn't broken, but Kansas City fears that the signal-caller may have suffered a high-ankle sprain, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. Mahomes is scheduled undergo further testing Monday, but if a high-ankle sprain is confirmed, he'll likely be viewed as week-to-week and would face an uphill battle to get cleared for the matchup with the Texans. With three games left in the regular season and a two-game lead on the 11-3 Bills for the top seed in the AFC, Kansas City could take a cautious approach with Mahomes to ensure he's in optimal health for the postseason.
Coach Andy Reid said after Sunday's 21-7 win at Cleveland that Mahomes' left ankle isn't broken but "is sore," Sam McDowell of The Kansas City Star reports. Mahomes was on the receiving end of a high-low hit in the fourth quarter that resulted in him needing some assistance to get to the sideline and with a very visible limp. He eventually was deemed questionable to return due to an ankle injury, but backup Carson Wentz handled QB duties the rest of the contest while Mahomes was seen getting his left ankle taped on the bench. In addition to Reid's initial comment on Mahomes, the coach told Nate Taylor of The Athletic, "It'll literally be day by day. He probably could've gone back in. He wanted to go back in. There was no need for that." When Mahomes injured his left ankle in the first half of a Week 9 victory against the Buccaneers, he also missed some time but was able to gut through it and finish the game. Considering the Chiefs were up by Sunday's final margin at the time of Mahomes' exit, being cautious with their franchise signal-caller seemingly was the prudent approach, but his status now will need to be monitored in advance of Saturday's matchup with the Texans.