Patrick Mahomes remains undefeated against ankle injuries.
The Kansas City Chiefs star quarterback took the field on Saturday, battling through an ankle sprain to deliver a 27-19 win over the Houston Texans. Mahomes passed for 260 yards with one touchdown pass and one touchdown run.
Mahomes was never a guarantee to play after leaving last Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns with the sprain. But it didn’t even stop him from missing any practice this week, as Mahomes went through his typical routine despite the injury.
It was familiar territory for the three-time Super Bowl champion. Mahomes has played through an ankle sprain in the 2022 playoffs, when he returned in the AFC championship after suffering the injury to beat the Cincinnati Bengals and then played two weeks later to beat the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl.
Mahomes’ most recent ankle sprain was said to be mild, which typically still takes two to four weeks to fully heal. However, Mahomes has proven to be a player who returns from injury more quickly than expected.
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The last time Mahomes missed a game due to an injury was 2019 when he missed just two games after suffering a dislocated patella against the Denver Broncos.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid told reporters during the week that he was “amazed” by his quarterback’s ability to return from injury so quickly.
“I’ve been through it with him before, and he amazes me every time he does it,” Reid said. “He’s so mentally tough. It’s a mindset he has going into it. Where he was a few days ago, I’d probably say it was a longshot. He’s done well with it.”
Mahomes, meanwhile, under-promised and over-delivered on his availability this week. He suggested to reporters on Tuesday that he wouldn’t play unless he felt he wouldn’t “limit the game plan” with his injury.
“I don’t want to limit the game plan,” Mahomes said. “That’s another thing for me. I want to be able to still be able to move around the pocket so we’re not just sitting in one spot the whole entire game and leading the D-line to get after it. So, it’s about me finding that balance and seeing where I’m at and, like I said, I won’t know until closer to the end of this week.”
But with the win, Mahomes and the Chiefs close in closer on history. For vanity’s sake, they have won their 16th straight game by one possession, breaking a tie with the 2004 New England Patriots.
More importantly, they are now just one win away from securing the No. 1 seed in the AFC. That would grant the Chiefs a first-round bye and home-field advantage en-route to the Super Bowl.
Mahomes and company are looking to become the first team in NFL history to win three straight Super Bowls. Their road to achieving that just got shorter with Mahomes’ latest heroics.
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