CLEVELAND — Even a comfortable win on the scoreboard wasn’t comfortable for the Chiefs.
While the scoreboards inside Huntington Bank Field displayed the Chiefs’ 21-7 victory over the Cleveland Browns, Patrick Mahomes gingerly walked off the turf with a slight limp. Instead of his usual postgame routine, when he jogs to the middle of the field to greet the opposing quarterback and various defenders, Mahomes had to be stopped several times — by Browns defensive end Myles Garrett, defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz and quarterback Jameis Winston — on his way to the tunnel.
The Chiefs’ biggest margin of victory this season was diminished by Mahomes’ newest injury, a sprained right ankle sustained in the middle of the fourth quarter.
“I felt like I could have finished the game in different circumstances,” Mahomes said just minutes after an X-ray scan revealed no broken bones. “I thought the smart decision was to put (backup quarterback) Carson (Wentz) in.”
The Chiefs could wind up regretting the call on Mahomes’ final snap. With a 14-point lead, coach Andy Reid didn’t have to keep the Chiefs offense on the field for a fourth-and-3 play from the Browns’ 39-yard line.
“I thought we had a good play,” Reid said. “I wanted to go for it and get it. We’ve been pretty good in those situations, but not (Sunday).”
With the Browns’ man-to-man coverage bottling up the Chiefs’ five receivers, Mahomes tried what has worked so many times in his eight-year career: scramble upfield through the middle of the offensive line. But this time, 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.
“It’s fourth down, so I’m trying to make a play happen,” Mahomes said. “As I threw the ball, I got hit and rolled up on. It happens in football. I tried to bounce back up, but obviously it hurt a little bit.
“My nature is to try to make the big play happen. Sometimes defenses stop that. When it’s not there, go for the underneath stuff and keep it moving. It’s something I have to get better on as the (regular) season ends here and we go into the playoffs.”
Patrick Mahomes limps off after getting tangled up on a failed 4th down pic.twitter.com/WnIgmsscfN
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) December 15, 2024
Even before Mahomes’ injury, bizarre, overaggressive play calling by Reid and offensive coordinator Matt Nagy, especially with a 21-0 lead in the third quarter, resulted in the quarterback taking more hits than he should have.
The Chiefs (13-1) ran just five designed running plays for running backs Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt in the third quarter. Meanwhile, Mahomes attempted 13 passes, completing just three. Mahomes’ six consecutive incompletions late in the third quarter took less than a minute off the clock.
“I’ve got to take care of business on my end for the third quarter, just giving our guys things they can work with,” Reid said. “I can give the guys better options. We’ll get that taken care of.”
The Chiefs started a different left tackle for the fourth time this season. Reid elected to have Joe Thuney, the All-Pro left guard, switch to the left tackle instead of playing second-year left tackle Wanya Morris in place of D.J. Humphries, who strained his left hamstring last week.
With Thuney at left tackle, Mike Caliendo made his first career NFL start at left guard. The results for the Chiefs were overwhelmingly positive through three quarters. Mahomes was not sacked, a rarity this season.
“It was just Joe and I working together all week and getting as prepared as we can be,” Caliendo said. “We just had a really good week of prep and we went out there and cut it loose. Joe is such a professional. This is my third season and I’ve constantly just tried to learn from him. It’s helped me get to this point, for sure. I had a blast.”
In his first full game at left tackle in his nine-year career, Thuney was effective one-on-one against Garrett, who entered Sunday with 11 sacks, 22 quarterback hits, three forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. Thuney allowed six pressures to Garrett in 24 matchups, according to Next Gen Stats.
Mahomes, who didn’t commit a turnover, had plenty of time to survey the field from the pocket on his second touchdown pass, a 6-yarder to tight end Noah Gray.
“I just tried to do the best I could,” Thuney said. “It was a total team effort to block (Garrett). I had a lot of great chip (blocks) and help. Mike was great and Pat was great getting the ball out. I just tried to stick with good technique.”
Defense locked it down 🔒 pic.twitter.com/n4dIAjl7CR
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) December 15, 2024
With less than seven minutes left, Mahomes needed to have both of his ankles re-taped by the athletic training staff as Wentz began warming up. A couple of minutes later, Reid and Nagy informed Mahomes that his day was over.
“He’s a tough kid, but there was no need for that,” Reid said of Mahomes. “I’m going to just see how it goes. It’ll literally be day to day as we go forward. I don’t know how much swelling he has.”
When the Chiefs exited the stadium, they didn’t know the answer to two major questions about their offense: Who will start at quarterback and who will start at left tackle next week?
Reid will have less time than usual to make those decisions, too. The Chiefs will host the Houston Texans on Saturday — and then have a road game four days later against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Christmas Day.
Mahomes said he believes he’ll play Saturday afternoon at the Chiefs look to clinch the AFC’s No. 1 playoff seed and a much-needed first-round bye.
“Now, we’ll just get after the rehab part of it and try to be ready for next week,” Mahomes said. “Every injury is different. You know what you have to do to get back.”
(Photo: Nick Cammett / Getty Images)
