Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is preparing for Saturday’s game against the Houston Texans unless his sore ankle puts him in a precarious position where he can’t protect himself or puts the football team in a bad position. .”
Mahomes suffered a mild ankle sprain late in Sunday’s 21-7 win at Cleveland.
He began receiving treatment on the team’s flight home. “I didn’t bend the knee or anything,” he quipped. And he spent more than 12 hours at the practice facility Monday putting in extra work. The team was given leave.
Mahomes returned to the practice field with Carson Wentz on Tuesday to support him.
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Highlights of the Kansas City Chiefs’ game against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 14 of the NFL season.
“You don’t want to go out there and put yourself in danger. It’s football. You’re going to get hits. But you want to be able to protect yourself,” Mahomes said.
“And I don’t want to limit the game plan. I want to be able to move around the pocket.”
Mahomes has plenty of experience with ankle injuries. He had a similar performance against Jacksonville in Week 1 of the 2019 season, and a more serious performance against the Jaguars in the 2022 playoffs. In this case, he didn’t finish the game, but he received enough treatment to play in the AFC title against Cincinnati and the Super Bowl against Philadelphia.
“Jacksonville was worse. That was pretty significant,” Mahomes said. “Obviously we were better, we reacted quicker, that would be the best thing to say, but I want to be in a better position than we are for the next game against the Bengals.”
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In Inside The Huddle, Jeff Reinebold said that the rivalry between Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen is a modern-day version of the battle between Peyton Manning and Tom Brady.
Mahomes has the luxury of time he didn’t have two years ago. The Chiefs have already won the AFC West title and secured a playoff spot, and could miss a game or two if they are fully healthy in the postseason.
But there are a lot of variables in the three-game series against Houston on Saturday, the Steelers on Christmas Day and the Broncos on the final weekend of the regular season.
The Chiefs (13-1) are two games ahead of the Buffalo Bills in the lone playoff duel for the No. 1 seed, but the Bills hold the tiebreaker thanks to a win earlier this season.
“Every game is important,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “If your players can play, unless they have a medical problem, they play.”
Mahomes is famous for being in pain and even arguing with Reid about staying in games with the injury, but Reid believes his quarterback will be honest about how his ankle feels all week.
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On the Inside The Huddle podcast, Neil Reynolds and Jeff Reinebold discuss whether Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen is now a favorite to win the NFL’s MVP award.
“He’s going to go through some things and we’ll see how it works for him, and if he can’t work, Carson will take the reps that Pat doesn’t,” Reid said.
“If (Carson) needs to step up and play, we have full confidence in him. I think both the coaches and players are fully confident that he can go in and do a good job.”
Wentz, who signed a $3325m (£2.6m) contract with Kansas City to replace Blaine Gabbert as Mahomes’ backup, has appeared in nearly 100 games during his NFL career.
He completed both of his pass attempts for 20 yards in the final minute against the Browns, allowing the Chiefs to run out the clock for the win.
“I got my feet a little wet at the end of the last game and it felt good out there,” Wentz said. “Nothing will change this week. Patrick has had a few cuts and bruises all year and I’ve prepared the same way.”
Watch the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Houston Texans live on Sky Sports NFL on Saturday from 6pm.. Stream NOW.
