Save for his ACL tear in December of last season, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has had an uncanny ability to take monster hits that would seriously injure almost any other professional athlete and return not just to action, but immediately to his own elite standard of play. And the two-time MVP did so again on Sunday after what looked like a scary injury to his throwing elbow late in the first half against the New York Jets.
Following the game, Mahomes spoke about his decision to continue playing and his status going forward with a road game against the Atlanta Falcons looming on Sunday, November 15.
“If I’m able to play, then I’m going to play,” Mahomes said.
He added that the medical team will do more testing on Sunday afternoon, as he had some concerns about how he was throwing the football early in the second half.
“We’re gonna go do some testing here whenever I get done at this media stuff … and we’ll get a better understanding of it,” Mahomes said. “I feel like out of half, I wasn’t throwing the ball the way I wanted to. But as the game went on … I thought I kinda started throwing the ball better toward the end of the second half.”
He finished the day 23-of-31 passing for 242 yards and two scores while also rushing the football twice for eight yards. And while the game was close in the first half, the Chiefs ended up running away with the contest, winning by a score of 35-12 to move to 6-2 on the season and break a two-game losing streak.
Patrick Mahomes ‘More Hurt Than Injured’ After Shot to Throwing Arm, per Sports Doctor
Mahomes did not initially look too strong on the sidelines after he limped off with what appeared to be a dead right throwing arm and wearing a grimace of pain across his face.
Cameras caught tight end Travis Kelce reacting on the sidelines, clearly distraught and concerned that he might lose his starting quarterback before the season’s end for the second straight year.
But as he has done so many times before, Mahomes returned to the field of play and helped the Chiefs get their season back on track.
Former longtime NFL team doctor David Chao offered some insight into Mahomes’ injury via X during the game based on what he saw from the video.
Patrick Mahomes elbow injury does not look like a UCL/Brock Purdy injury. He went back in the game, completed a pass. More hurt than injured.
“Well, it looks scary at first because his arm was cocked,” Chao explained. “Mahomes has shown great ability to play through injuries … before, and I think he’s more hurt than injured in this case in relation to his elbow.”
Chiefs Have QB Justin Fields on Roster to Protect Against Further Injuries to Patrick Mahomes
Kansas City brought quarterback Justin Fields into the fold over the offseason to guard against Mahomes’ potential inability to start in Week 1. However, Mahomes was able to return to the field exactly nine months to the day following his injury and played in the season opener against the Denver Broncos.
Fields remains the team’s QB2 and offers an insurance policy if Mahomes can’t go at any point this season. However, that does not appear as though it will be a problem moving into Week 10.
The Chiefs could probably get a decent return for Fields ahead of a trade deadline from a QB-needy team, but after Mahomes’ scare on Sunday it would be surprising to see Kansas City move on from Fields, even with rookie Garrett Nussmeier waiting in the wings.
Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes Sends Blunt Message on Elbow Injury, Status for Week 10