Getty Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Patrick Mahomes, who suffered a high ankle sprain during the AFC Divisional Round of the playoffs, said not long after the Kansas Chiefs Chiefs defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 27-20 that he planned on playing in the AFC Championship Game. Chiefs head coach Andy Reid confirmed Mahomes’s status for the AFC Title Game during his press conference two days after Mahomes sustained the injury.
“He told you guys that he’s going to play. That’s his mindset. We’ll take it day-by-day and just see how he does,” Reid said of Mahomes during his January 23 press conference.
X-rays on Sunday confirmed that Mahomes had suffered a high ankle sprain during the first quarter of Saturday’s playoff matchup at Arrowhead Stadium, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Despite the sprain, Mahomes said after the game that his ankle was feeling better than expected.
“I was just talking to them. It feels better than I thought it would feel now,” Mahomes said during his postgame presser. “Obviously, I have a lot of adrenaline going right now we’ll see how it feels but I’ll hop right into treatment tonight and try to do whatever I can to be as close to 100% by next week but luckily for us we played the early game on Saturday so we get an extra almost half a day that I can let that ankle rest.”
Despite having the lead in the game and Chad Henne leading a 98-yard touchdown-scoring drive late in the first half, Mahomes went back onto the field in the second half. He led two scoring drives in the second half — drives that ended with a field goal and touchdown respectively — which was enough to hold off the Jaguars at home.
Mahomes completed 22-of-30 pass attempts for 195 yards and 2 passing touchdowns against Jacksonville.
Andy Reid Describes Mahomes’s Ankle Injury
When asked about the severity of Mahomes’s ankle injury, Reid said “this one isn’t quite as bad as that one,” referring to the ankle injury Mahomes suffered against the Jaguars during the team’s season opener in 2019.
Kansas City’s superstar quarterback did not miss time after suffering that injury. In fact, Mahomes threw for 443 yards and 4 touchdowns against the then-Oakland Raiders the following game.
That’s good news for those wanting positive news from Kansas City’s coaching staff regarding Mahomes’s injury.
Mahomes’s practice workload could look very different leading up to the AFC Championship Game due to his ankle. However, Mahomes being on the field on gameday — whether he’s 100% healthy or not — gives the Chiefs the best chance to defeat the Cincinnati Bengals.
Twitter Reacts to Reid’s Update on Mahomes
Twitter users reacted to Reid’s injury update on Mahomes.
“This is all smoke and mirrors… if I’m a betting man, and I am, I’d put money on Mahomes not being able to play,” one Twitter user wrote.
“He’s downplaying it. Anyone who has ever had a high ankle sprain knows how bad they can be,” another user wrote.
“Never understand why coaches come out and say a key player is going to play when it’s somewhat up in the air,” another user wrote. “Obviously best thing to do is say it’s a 50-50 chance (even if u know he’s gonna play) so the other team has to spend time prepping for two QBs. Bozos.”