The Kansas City Chiefs earned themselves yet another trip to the AFC Championship Game on Saturday by getting past the young and pesky Jacksonville Jaguars, 27-20, but it came at a price.
Superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes suffered a high ankle sprain during the contest, and although he was able to return and finish the game, he was clearly lacking his usual mobility.
Still, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid gave a positive update on his franchise player on Monday morning.
Andy Reid said this high ankle sprain is not as bad as the one in 2019. He’s getting treatment and they’ll take it day by day. Reid said Mahomes is planning to play. He’s never played without practicing, but it appears that hasn’t been ruled out if staying off it ends up the plan
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) January 23, 2023
Mahomes did well on Saturday, completing 22 of 30 passes while throwing two touchdown passes against zero interceptions and sacks.
Thanks to his play, Kansas City scored the first touchdown of the game, which came from tight end Travis Kelce, and it never trailed.
Kelce ended the day with a total of 98 receiving yards and two touchdowns on a whopping 14 catches.
The Chiefs will now move on to face Joe Burrow and the defending AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals in a rematch of last year’s conference title game.
It will also be their fifth consecutive appearance in the AFC Championship Game, which, in itself, is quite an accomplishment.
However, when a team has Mahomes under center, anything less than a victory in the Super Bowl is simply unacceptable.
Last year, Kansas City narrowly lost to the Bengals in overtime on a field goal by Evan McPherson, as Mahomes threw an interception early in the extra period that effectively torpedoed its season.
Without Tyreek Hill, who was traded to the Miami Dolphins, the Chiefs still managed to finish with the AFC’s best record, and they’re hoping for their third trip to the Super Bowl in the last four seasons.
