The Chiefs should sit Patrick Mahomes vs Houston
For a variety of reasons, the most sensible course is to let the QB rest and recover from a grind of a season and a bad ankle.
The Chiefs have in front of them one of the most unique decisions that I’ve seen in the dozen or so years I’ve been covering the team.
You all know what occurred, but a brief summary feels relevant. Mahomes left Sunday’s win against the Browns after getting rolled up on when climbing in the pocket (unfortunate). You could see him limping on the sideline, though he was able to move around a little. After the game it was reported to be a high ankle sprain of his right ankle (so not the ankle that’s been giving him trouble previously) and that MRI’s were negative in terms of a break. Mahomes talked about it a bit after the game in terms of what it felt like, and the reports are the Chiefs will know more today (even as I write this at 9:11 in the morning, my expectation is that by the time you read this we’ll have a little more information).
Regardless of what the reports are today though (and for all I know they could be “it’s bad, he needs to miss time” or “he’s fine, it’s a miracle!”), I have a take that I need to get off my chest.
The Chiefs should rest Mahomes against Houston on Saturday… REGARDLESS of what further testing shows today or the rest of the week.
Allow me to explain. This isn’t an attempted at being reactionary, it’s more taking a long hard look at where Mahomes is currently at physically and mentally, as well as where the Chiefs are at in terms of standings and their upcoming schedule. It’s been well-documented that the Chiefs face two games against playoff teams in the next 10 days, including a Christmas-day matchup with potential one-seed Pittsburgh (though PIT reaching that spot seems highly improbable after their loss to the Eagles and the Bills’ win over the Lions). It’s a gauntlet coming up, both physically and mentally.
Further, the Chiefs are sitting at 13-1 and have a 1.5 game lead on the Bills (the only realistic competition for the one-seed at this point). They’re in the driver’s seat and control their own destiny with some cushion. But that’s not the reason I think Mahomes should be sat on Saturday.
The biggest reasons have to do with Mahomes himself, and how he looked both during and leaving the game yesterday. Let’s talk about how this is a unique situation, and how the Chiefs have a legitimate opportunity to try an maintain their lead in the NFL while protecting their QB for a playoff run. I’ll walk through each argument as to why I’d sit Mahomes Saturday, starting with the biggest and going through why I think they can get away with it.
Obviously you want to have every bit of space (in terms of a lead for the one-seed) you can get down the stretch and potentially be able to rest starters the final week of the season (if you combine that with a bye you could get players a LONG stretch to get healthy). But there are larger factors at play here, especially when you take into account what this season has looked like for Mahomes, who has been generally very good but has at times fallen short of his normal level of play (even when accounting for the situation around him, which we do in our weekly film reviews).
So let’s start with Mahomes himself and two separate issues that make me think the star QB needs a break.
The physical aspect (Mahomes is clearly not at 100%) and the risk created
The only thing that can help a sprained ankle is time, some physical therapy, and rest. Mahomes is famously a grinder with PT and has shown the ability to come back from injuries more quickly than most players, but he’s no exception to the physical realities of being human. The fact of the matter is that there’s absolutely no way for Mahomes to be at 100% on his right ankle (and remember, his left ankle was already acting up a bit this year) by Saturday, and any lingering issue has the potential to get significantly worse with the wrong sort of hit.