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After Patrick Mahomes was wedged between Corey Peters and Arden Key and Key fell onto the quarterback’s right ankle and bent him sideways, Mahomes’ day, if not his season, seemed to be over. Mahomes missed just 13 games and played through obvious pain.
“He’s a tough guy,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said of arrowheadpride.com’s Pete Sweeney. “He wanted to be there. He wanted to compete and that is a tribute to him and his competitiveness. However, you have to make sure he’s okay, physically fit, where he can protect himself and if he can’t then he can’t play. You have to go with the next guy. He’s a tough nut. And if I tell you he’s competitive, he’s very, very competitive.”
Mahomes stayed in the game initially, playing on his injured ankle for five games while leading the Chiefs to a field goal and a 10-7 lead.
But Reid informed Mahomes that he would not be returning to the game without negative x-rays. Mahomes angrily threw off his parka and headed into the dressing room.
“It was hard to get him out of the game at first,” Reid said. “He wanted to fight, so we took him out, went to the x-ray, got an x-ray, looked at it, took it. He came back and said he felt well enough to be protected where he wouldn’t get hurt. That is of course the most important thing.”
X-rays were negative, although Mahomes will have an MRI to confirm the injury isn’t nearly as bad as it looked.
He played the entire second half of the 27-20 win over the Jaguars.
“You felt like his mobility was good enough where he can do that,” Reid said. “We did a few little things with him on the sidelines to see where he is. [We] put him in and it was short leash. If I felt like he couldn’t handle it, he would be out – and back in [Chad] hen [would go].”
Mahomes completed 10 of 15 passes for 111 yards and a touchdown in the second half and finished 22 of 30 for 195 yards and two touchdowns.
The question now is: Can Mahomes do it again next week? The ankle will swell; it will be sore; and last but not least, he certainly won’t practice much this week, if at all.
Mahomes said Saturday night that he would begin treatment immediately.
“I don’t want to jump to things now,” Reid said. “Let’s see how things go here over the next few days. It’s gonna hurt, I know. Let’s see where he is. He’s had it before and kept going – actually a few years ago against Jacksonvlle. The same kind of deal. He did that. The main thing is that it’s as safe as a football field. That’s the most important.”
Mahomes injured his ankle in the 2019 season opener against the Jaguars. He played it through and didn’t rest it until a midseason knee injury kept him two games out. The Chiefs went on to win the Super Bowl.