KANSAS CITY, Mo. — For a second Monday evening, Patrick Mahomes mentioned he feared the worst. He needed to be helped to his toes after injuring his left ankle within the fourth quarter and for a couple of seconds questioned whether or not he would be capable to end the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs’ sport towards the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“Positively scary,” Mahomes mentioned later. “I believe it damage extra simply because it is the identical ankle I rolled final week, so it scared me a bit bit.
“When you do not know precisely what occurs and also you get that sharp ache, you all the time worry the worst.”
All the pieces labored out for Mahomes, who was capable of keep within the sport and threw one other landing go to place the Chiefs forward. After the Bucs scored to ship the sport into time beyond regulation, Mahomes engineered a 10-play drive that ended with a 2-yard landing run from Kareem Hunt to present the Chiefs a 30-24 win and an 8-0 document.
Mahomes injured his proper ankle in a 2022 playoff victory towards the Jacksonville Jaguars. Coach Andy Reid pulled him from that contest over protests from Mahomes and would not enable him to return till he had gone for an X-ray.
This time, Reid once more informed Mahomes he was popping out of the sport.
“I assumed he was joking,” Mahomes mentioned. “I used to be like, ‘Come on, we’re not doing this once more.'”
Reid went so far as telling backup quarterback Carson Wentz to prepare.
“He is a competitor,” Reid mentioned of Mahomes. “I informed him I used to be going to take him out, and he in all probability wished to battle me, so he is a troublesome child.”
Reid relented after Mahomes mentioned the harm wasn’t as severe because the one from the 2022 postseason. Mahomes additionally was examined by medical doctors and did some mobility exams on the sideline.
Mahomes mentioned he can be able to play in Sunday’s house sport towards the Denver Broncos.
Mahomes was injured on a noncontact play when throwing a landing go to working again Samaje Perine.
“I used to be clearly working for the aim line and was sort of dedicated to working the soccer and on the final second [passed to] Samaje, and so I sort of awkwardly rolled the ankle a bit bit,” Mahomes mentioned. “You are feeling the ache, and that scares you. I’ve handled ankles earlier than, however I simply sort of laid there, and as time went on, the ache subsided.
“I simply sort of obtained again to it and obtained again shifting once more and felt snug going on the market.”
“The one within the playoffs a few years in the past was a bit little bit of how I obtained tackled,” he defined. “It obtained caught, and it damage much more. [This time] I may transfer, I may nonetheless have mobility in my ankle, and I nonetheless do after this sport. I am going to in all probability get a bit swelling tomorrow. However with a brief week, you go in there and maintain it and be ready to play subsequent week.”
