Patrick Mahomes didn’t want to leave the field. He begged and pleaded with Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid to stay in the game. He even threw his jacket off when Reid gave him an ultimatum to go the locker room and get his ankle checked out.
“He wanted to fight,” Reid said.
Mahomes, though, eventually left the field late in the first half and had X-rays. They were negative, and he returned in the second half. And despite playing on one leg, Mahomes led the Chiefs to a 27-20 win against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium. With the win, the Chiefs earned a spot in the AFC championship game for the fifth year in a row.
“For a while I thought I could play through it, Mahomes said. “And he said, ‘I’m not putting you back in so you might as well go get the X-ray and if it’s negative, I’ll put you back in.’ So I ran back there, got the X-ray and was able to play and finish the game.
“It feels better than I thought it was going to be now. Obviously I have a lot of adrenaline going right now and I’ll jump right into treatment tonight to do whatever I can to be as close to 100 percent by next week.”
If Cincinnati wins Sunday at Buffalo, the AFC title game will be played at Arrowhead. Should the Bills beat the Bengals, the game will be played in Atlanta. Mahomes, though, said he was proud of how the Chiefs rallied when he went out of the game and Chad Henne went in.
“It’s a credit to the team I have around me and the organization in general,” Mahomes said. “We prepare ourselves every year from training camp in St. Joe to be here. But it takes a day-by-day process. And I think the coaches preach that and the players do that and the organization around us supports us in that mission. And we just try to do whatever we can to get to the AFC championship game and get to the Super Bowl. And that’s going to take a great week of preparation and practice. That process will be tough, but I’ll be ready to go.”
Mahomes completed 22 of 30 passes for 195 yards and two touchdowns despite missing most of the second quarter. When Henne came in, the Chiefs were 98 yards away from the end zone. Twelve plays later, Henne found Travis Kelce in the end zone for a touchdown.
“Its special,” Mahomes said of Henne’s 98-yard drive. “You’re in the playoffs, and he doesn’t get any reps during the week, and he prepares himself to be able to go in for stuff like that. And he got a 98-yard drive and was able to get us into the end zone, and that was a big point in the game. That gave me the ability to come back and rest and wait until halftime to get retaped and get everything ready to go for the second half.”
Mahomes said he didn’t really receive a lot of treatment at halftime as there wasn’t enough time. But he got a heavy wrap on his ankle and showed coaches and trainers enough that he could move around and protect himself on the field.
Harrison Butker kicked a field goal in the third quarter, and in the fourth quarter Mahomes found Marquez Valdes-Scantling for a 6-yard touchdown to put the Chiefs up 10.
“It’s a credit to the team,” Mahomes said. “The offensive line did a great job in that second half protecting me. I got the ball out of my hands quick in in the second half and guys made plays. It’s a team sport for a reason, and guys stepped around me.”
That includes Kelce, who had 14 catches for 98 yards, and Isiah Pacheco added 95 yards rushing on 12 carries. Kelce said he wasn’t surprised Mahomes wanted to stay in the game and he wasn’t surprised when he returned.
“We’ve been through a lot of ups and downs on this team since I’ve been here,” Kelce said. “And I’ve seen all the grit out of that guy I need to see to know that he’ll do anything he can to help us win that game. And sure enough you saw it today. Nothing is ever surprising. It’s always just appreciated, very much appreciated.”
