Patrick Mahomes: Kansas City Chiefs quarterback hopes to face Houston Texans despite sprained ankle | NFL News

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is set to play against the Houston Texans on Saturday, unless his ailing ankle puts the two-time reigning MVP in a precarious situation where he can’t protect himself or “puts the football team in a bad position.” “.

Mahomes suffered a mild ankle sprain late in a 21-7 win at Cleveland on Sunday.

He began receiving treatment during the team’s flight home — “I wasn’t doing knee lifts or anything like that,” he joked — and spent more than 12 hours getting extra work done at the practice facility on Monday, even though most of the team got On a day off.

Mahomes returned to the practice field on Tuesday with Carson Wentz there to back him up.

“You don’t want to go out there and get yourself hurt. It’s football. You’re going to take hits. But you want to be able to protect yourself,” Mahomes said.

“And I don’t want to limit the game plan. I want to be able to move around in the pocket.”

Mahomes has plenty of experience dealing with ankle injuries to draw on. He suffered a similar accident against Jacksonville in Week 1 of the 2019 season, then suffered a more serious injury against the Jaguars in the 2022 playoffs. In that case, he was unable to finish the game but got enough treatment to play against Cincinnati for the AFC title and Philadelphia in the Super Bowl .

“Jacksonville was worse. That was very important,” Mahomes said. “He obviously responded better and faster. That would be the best thing to say. But I want to be in a better place than I was next game against the Bengals.”

Mahomes has the luxury of time that he didn’t have two years ago. The Chiefs have already clinched the AFC West title and a spot in the playoffs, and could potentially miss a game or two if it means staying healthy for the postseason.

However, there’s a lot riding on this three-game set against Houston on Saturday, the Steelers on Christmas Day, and the Broncos on the final weekend of the regular season.

The Chiefs (13-1) have a two-game lead over the Buffalo Bills for the No. 1 seed and the only playoff berth, but the Bills hold a tiebreaker over them thanks to their win earlier this season.

“Every game counts,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “If your guys can play, they’ll play, as long as they’re okay medically.”

While Mahomes has a reputation for playing through pain, and even arguing with Reid on the sideline to stay in games in which he’s injured, Reid believes his quarterback will be honest about how his ankle feels throughout the week.

“He’s going to go through some stuff and we’ll see how it goes for him. If he can’t work, Carson will take those reps that Pat doesn’t,” Reed said.

“We have full confidence in Carson if he has to step in and play. I think everyone – the coaches and players – have full confidence in his ability to come in and do a good job.”

Wentz, who signed a $3.325 million (£2.6 million) contract with Kansas City to replace Blaine Gabbert as Mahomes’ replacement, has appeared in nearly 100 games during his NFL career.

He completed two 20-yard pass attempts in the final minutes against the Browns, allowing the Chiefs to run out the clock for their win.

“My feet got a little wet at the end of the last game and I felt good out there,” Wentz said. “Nothing will change this week. Patrick has had some scrapes and bruises all year and I have prepared myself the same way.”

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