KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes suffered a right ankle injury in the first quarter of a division playoff game against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday and later went to the locker room with practice staff before returning to action in the third quarter .
Mahomes scored twice in the second half and led Kansas City to a 27-20 win. The Chiefs meet the winner of Sunday’s Cincinnati Bengals-Buffalo Bills matchup in next week’s AFC Championship Game.
“It’s a credit to the guys around me. The guys kept me clean and knew my team was making great games around me,” Mahomes said in his on-field interview with NBC after the game. “That’s what a great team does.”
During the second quarter, the Chiefs announced the injury and listed Mahomes’ return as a question. But the former NFL MVP threw warm-up shots and took the field with his teammates after the second-half kick-off.
On a first-down play from midfield at 2:40 in the first quarter, Mahomes found himself uncomfortably pressured after a 4-yard close on Blake Bell. Mahomes moved up in the pocket when Jaguar’s pass rusher Arden Key landed on his ankle.
At the end of the quarter, Mahomes went to the bench and got his right ankle taped and returned to the field in time for the next game.
Mahomes ended that possession and the Chiefs opted for a field goal and went 10-7 ahead with 14:09 remaining at halftime. He was 12 of 15 passing 84 yards on a touchdown as he departed.
During the subsequent possession for the Jaguars, Mahomes removed his jacket and trotted into the locker room. Jacksonville bet on that possession while the Chiefs’ backup quarterback Chad Henne warmed up on the sidelines.
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Later in that next drive, with Henne in the middle, Mahomes returned to the sidelines, again wearing a jacket. The Chiefs scored on Henne’s first drive and took a 17-7 lead.
“Listen, he went down there and put them right in the end zone,” Jacksonville coach Doug Pederson said of Henne during his halftime interview on NBC. “So we have to button up here at half-time.”
And although the Jaguars forced punts in the second half, Mahomes ultimately had enough to keep Jacksonville at bay.
It wasn’t the first time the 37-year-old Henne had featured in the playoffs. During a division round game against the Cleveland Browns in January 2021, Mahomes got on concussion protocol in the third quarter. Henne played 6 of 8 passes for 66 yards down the stretch, including a bold fourth pass to Tyreek Hill that helped the Chiefs to a 22-17 win and a berth in the AFC Championship game.
Mahomes – who quickly passed the credit to Henne and the Chiefs practice staff after Saturday’s contest – completed 22 of 30 passes for 195 yards and two touchdowns.
“They tried to take care of me; we have a lot of great people here,” Mahomes said. “But it’s going to take a lot to get me out of a ball game.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.