The end of the Kansas City Chiefs’ Week 15 game against the Cleveland Browns went about as poorly as it possibly could have.
Faced with a fourth-and-3, leading by 14 points, Chiefs HC Andy Reid opted to keep star QB Patrick Mahomes on the field. Not only did the play result in an incomplete pass and turnover on downs, but disaster struck. The K.C. offensive line was crumpled by Cleveland’s pass rush, and Mahomes was bent backward with his legs trapped beneath him, leading to an apparent lower-body injury. He limped off the field and had his right ankle heavily taped on the sidelines.
The team ruled him questionable to return to the game with a right ankle injury.
With about 5.5 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter of the game, backup QB Carson Wentz came into the game to replace Mahomes. Had this been a closer game where the defense hadn’t been dominating, perhaps Mahomes would have convinced Andy Reid and Matt Nagy to keep him in the game. Instead, they played it safe with the Chiefs playing next Saturday, Dec. 21 (Houston Texans), then again in a game on Wednesday, Dec. 25 (Pittsburgh Steelers).
After the game, Mahomes was spotted leaving the locker room under his own power before hopping on a cart to undergo further examination of his ankle. The team will likely have him go through MRI imaging to rule out any substantial injuries.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid spoke with reporters after the team’s Week 15 win about Mahomes’ injury and the decisions that led up to it.
Mahomes also discussed the injury and the decision to switch to Carson Wentz at the end of the game.
It’s generally good news that Mahomes spoke to the media after the game. The Chiefs typically don’t allow players with injuries to speak to the media, so this suggests that his injury is not considered serious. According to a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, postgame X-rays came back negative, and Mahomes will undergo more testing on Monday.
Still, there are lots of concerns about how things were handled in the final quarter of that game. Had the Chiefs not thrown the ball for six consecutive plays on the two series prior and drained some clock by running the ball, they might not have felt the need to go for it on fourth down on the play where Mahomes was injured. The whole end of the game felt mismanaged, and the results are some serious questions about the health of their star quarterback. The good news is that it’s not immediately considered a serious injury, but Mahomes’ status for the next two games is certainly in question.
