The Kansas City Chiefs will play the final month of the NFL season with no chance of making the playoffs — and could do it without quarterback Patrick Mahomes on the field.
Mahomes was hurt late in Sunday’s loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, which came amid a series of other outcomes that officially eliminated the Chiefs from playoff contention. With Mahomes injured, the Chiefs could face a decision on whether to put the two-time MVP back on the field or start his healing process now.
Chiefs Could Choose to Bench Patrick Mahomes
As ESPN’s Nate Taylor noted, it was immediately apparent that the injury to Mahomes was serious.
“Mahomes was hurt after he scrambled out of the pocket and was chased down by Chargers defensive end Da’Shawn Hand before throwing an incompletion,” Taylor wrote. “He remained down on the ground for several minutes before standing up and leaving and was replaced by Gardner Minshew.”
Taylor noted that Mahomes was quickly taken from the game and evaluated.
“A few minutes later, Mahomes exited the medical tent with a towel over his head while being assisted by the medical staff, walking gingerly to the locker room,” Taylor wrote.
The Chiefs are awaiting further testing of the injury to Mahomes, but it was serious enough that he had to leave the game early and head to the locker room. The game ended when backup Gardner Minshew threw a late interception.
Even if Mahomes is healthy enough to play next week, the Chiefs could choose to bench him and give him more time to heal. It’s not clear what action the Chiefs will take, as this is uncharted territory. This is the first time that Mahomes has been eliminated from playoff contention in his career — with three games remaining.
The decision would likely not come until later in the week, after the team has more time to evaluate the injury. Mahomes has pushed to play through pain in the past, including several playoff games with varying levels of injuries. But given the team’s playoff elimination, the decision could come down to head coach Andy Reid.
Chiefs Have Precedent of Benching Patrick Mahomes
While Mahomes has never faced a regular-season game with no chance of reaching the playoffs, the team does have a precedent of giving him rest in meaningless regular-season games. The team benched him in Week 18 last season, after the Chiefs had clinched the No. 1 overall seed in the playoffs.
Reid announced days before the season finale against the Denver Broncos that Mahomes and other key starters would ride the bench to avoid injury or added fatigue.
“It wasn’t a hard decision,” Reid said. “I’ve been through it before. … It gives the other guys an opportunity to grow.”
The Chiefs suffered a blowout loss to the Broncos, which allowed their division rival to surpass the Cincinnati Bengals for the final playoff spot. But it also paid off for the Chiefs, who won their divisional-round game and took down the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship to reach their third straight Super Bowl.
