KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Patrick Mahomes entered Arrowhead Stadium in style, wearing a puffy white coat, three shiny necklaces, black sunglasses, black pants and bigger-than-usual black sneakers. And he walked without a noticeable limp, a good sign that his truncated rehab this week to ease the pain in his right ankle was successful.
Mahomes knew his mobility would be tested by the Houston Texans on Saturday afternoon. The moment arrived early, too, with a third-and-13 snap on the eighth play of the Chiefs’ opening drive. Mahomes rolled to his right, surveyed the field for his receiving options and then made a decision: It was time to run. As Mahomes sprinted, the crowd reaction was part surprise, part fear. Mahomes gained 12 yards. Tackled out of bounds, he finished the play with a huge exhale. Coach Andy Reid, Mahomes’ teammates and the crowd likely exhaled, too, when Mahomes stood up and requested that the Chiefs offense stay on the field for fourth down.
Mahomes converted with a pass to continue the drive. He then finished the possession with his best individual highlight from the Chiefs’ 27-19 victory. Once again, he scrambled out of the pocket, maintained his balance after getting tripped and ran through two defenders for a 15-yard touchdown.
“It all opened up,” Mahomes said. “I knew I could run. It’s just the stopping that was going to be hard. Once I got running, I saw the end zone and just tried to get up in the air and get in. I just tried to play football.”
Playing through a high ankle sprain, Mahomes once again was excellent in leading the Chiefs to a one-score win. It marked the franchise’s 16th consecutive victory in a game decided by one score, the longest streak in NFL history.
Mahomes finished with 28 completions on 41 attempts for 260 yards and two touchdowns. Under his leadership, the Chiefs moved one victory away (or a Buffalo Bills loss) from earning the No. 1 playoff seed in the AFC, a first-round bye and home-field advantage in the postseason.
Inside the Chiefs’ locker room, Mahomes’ teammates said they weren’t surprised that he made such an emphatic statement to the Texans with just his second rushing touchdown this season.
“He tries to elevate the play around him in any way he can,” right guard Trey Smith said. “He puts his body on the line. He’s the ultimate competitor in my mind. I’ve never been around a guy like that.
“I think it’s almost more demoralizing for the other team. They put a lot of credence into the ankle injury and he just sort of laughed it off and ran it right into the end zone.”
PATRICK DOES IT HIMSELF.@PatrickMahomes + #ProBowlVote pic.twitter.com/XmaWNwfCgL
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) December 21, 2024
Six days earlier, Mahomes missed the final eight minutes of the Chiefs’ comfortable victory over the Cleveland Browns. With the Chiefs up 14 points in that game, Reid kept the offense on the field for a fourth-and-3 snap from the Browns’ 39-yard line. Mahomes was hit low and from behind by defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson before colliding with rookie defensive tackle Mike Hall Jr. Mahomes grimaced as he hobbled off the field after the incompletion.
After the flight from Cleveland, Mahomes headed to the Chiefs’ training facility instead of his home so that he could receive even more treatment and do an initial assessment of the flexibility he had in his right ankle. It was much of the same on Monday as he stayed at the training facility for 12 hours.
Two days later, Mahomes was back on the practice fields. He also said Tuesday that this injury isn’t as severe as the sprain he suffered during the 2022 postseason when he had his right ankle rolled up on in a win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Mahomes said Wednesday’s practice was when he knew he could play well this week because he didn’t feel too much pain while operating the offense from under center.
“I ask a lot from the guys around me,” Mahomes said. “If I’m going to ask them to play through pain, if I’m going to play through little nicks and bruises, I’ve got to do it as well. That’s something that I pride myself on, being out there with my guys and playing. I’m not going to put us in a position to be in a bad spot. But if I feel I can compete and win, I’m going to be out on that field.”
Mahomes moving comfortably so far today.
📺: #HOUvsKC on NBC/Peacock
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/dSb3seTWxD— NFL (@NFL) December 21, 2024
Mahomes also didn’t make a major mistake — unlike Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud, who threw two interceptions — and used all of his skill-position teammates. Mahomes completed a pass to eight teammates. One of the most impressive parts of Mahomes’ performance was how his scrambles in the first quarter exposed the Texans’ use of man-to-man coverage.
“More than anything, once I did run, they put the spy (defender) there, which helps other guys get open,” Mahomes said. “My plan was to not run — and then I ended up running (in) the first drive. But you’ve got to play ball. That’s a good team and it’s going to take everything.”
Between two defenders in zone coverage, Mahomes threw passes in tight coverage to receiver DeAndre Hopkins and tight end Travis Kelce.
Another positive for Mahomes was that Saturday’s game was his first with receiver Marquise Brown, the Chiefs’ biggest free-agent acquisition. On the opening snap of the preseason, Brown suffered a dislocated collarbone when he was driven to the turf awkwardly on his left shoulder. Brown made his first reception of the season Saturday on the fourth-and-1 snap on the Chiefs’ opening drive by effectively running a shallow crossing route against man-to-man coverage.
“It felt good to get a few catches and make some plays,” said Brown, who finished with five receptions for 45 yards. “I feel I can be an asset to the team. That’s all I’m trying to do. Just the juice I got from my teammates, everything felt good.”
The Chiefs’ final touchdown, an 8-yard pass from Mahomes to rookie receiver Xavier Worthy late in the third quarter, gave them their largest lead.
The play was the byproduct of proper post-snap adjustments from Mahomes and Worthy. Instead of running his designed route, Worthy ad-libbed and ran a short out route toward the front pylon. Mahomes noticed Worthy’s altered route and threw a perfect pass, which allowed his teammate to score untouched.
“We originally called that play for man, but they ended up going zone,” Worthy said. “I just tried to get a feel for what they were going to do in the zone and I just (saw) an open area and just tried to rush to it. They (before the snap) yelled out ‘Zone it, zone it.’”
X GON’ GIVE IT TO YA#ProBowlVote + @XavierWorthy pic.twitter.com/RsXdDZ8OgJ
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) December 21, 2024
Mahomes was at his most efficient Saturday when unleashing quick passes. He finished with 17 completions on 19 attempts for 155 yards and a touchdown on passes released under 2.5 seconds, according to Next Gen Stats. He also averaged his fastest time to throw (2.50 seconds) in a game since Week 4 of the 2021 season.
The only embarrassing moment of Mahomes’ performance came when he slid in the third quarter after an 8-yard gain, a move that looked clunkier than usual because of his right ankle.
“The stopping and cutting isn’t great yet,” Mahomes said. “I just tried to keep moving and make a play happen.”
When Mahomes exited Arrowhead with wife Brittany and daughter Sterling, his gait was as smooth as it was hours earlier.
(Photo: David Eulitt / Getty Images)
