Upon first viewing of Patrick Mahomes' ankle injury in the first quarter of last Saturday's Divisional Round matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars, it felt like the Kansas City Chiefs' season was over. Even after veteran backup Chad Henne led an impressive 12-play, 98-yard touchdown drive on their next possession, any hope of another Super Bowl ring was lost with Mahomes' exit.
Then Mahomes went full Willis Reed, re-entering the game in the second half with the help of enough drugs to kill a horse the K.C. team doctors and helping his team squeak past the feisty Jags, 27-17, to reach the franchise's fifth consecutive AFC Championship Game. Without knowing the true severity of his ankle injury, though, there was still plenty of concern regarding the level Mahomes would be able to play at in their rematch with the Cincinnati Bengals.
On Wednesday, video emerged of Mahomes at practice, where he was fully dressed and doing some light jogging without any noticeable limp. Social media analysts, ASSEEEMMMMBBBLLLEEEEE:
As Cris Collinsworth explained on the broadcast last week, as did a number of former players on social media and television afterward, chances are Mahomes' was running on pure adrenaline (and definitely not drugs) in the second half, and that the ankle was only going to feel much, much worse after the game and in the coming days. Judging off this one 45-second clip, that doesn't really appear to be the case. Plus, if it were the case, the Chiefs likely wouldn't have sent him out there limping around for the Bengals, and all of us amateur doctors, to witness.
Here's what Mahomes had to say before taking the practice field:
Feels good, looks good. Of course, nowhere in the practice video does it show him throwing, making a cut, planting on his right foot, etc. That said, we know he has the type of arm to still perform at a high level even with a nagging lower-body injury. Whether or not he'll be able to run like he normally does remains to be seen, as that's an integral part of his game. The good news is he's definitely playing and we should all feel fortunate we get to run back Mahomes vs. Joe Burrow even if it's Mahomes at 80 percent.
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