Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes suffered a high-ankle sprain in Week 15, and he did not return against the Cleveland Browns. With the Chiefs on a short week, all eyes are on Mahomes to see if he can suit up on Saturday against the Houston Texans. Here’s the latest on the superstar quarterback.
What’s The Latest on Patrick Mahomes’ Injury Status?
On Thursday, it was revealed that Mahomes will play against the Texans. In fact, he doesn’t even have an injury designation for Saturday’s game.
The fact that this decision was made on Thursday afternoon is a great sign. If he were limited or in worse shape, he likely would’ve been listed as questionable or been deemed a game-time decision so he had more time to recover before a decision was made.
Despite initially being described as week-to-week, Mahomes was surprisingly a full participant in practice this week, and he won’t even miss a single game.
While addressing the media on Tuesday afternoon, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid explained that the team wanted Mahomes to do some work in practice and then see how he feels.
“My hope is that I am able to go out there and play,” Mahomes said on Tuesday, adding that his ankle has made progress.
Mahomes noted that the Chiefs’ battle for the AFC’s No. 1 seed and the “long break” that the first-round bye would provide certainly factored into the decision-making process around whether he plays.
Mahomes injured his ankle when he took a big shot on a 4th-and-3 play in the fourth quarter against the Browns. While getting tackled around the waist, a second defender hit him in the chest, causing him to buckle to the ground. Mahomes had been slow to get up earlier in the game and appeared to be favoring his ankle at one point.
Patrick Mahomes was hurt on this play and is no longer in the game with the Chiefs up 21-7 and five minutes remaining.pic.twitter.com/FhB9xjkyr4
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) December 15, 2024
Mahomes was seen getting both ankles retaped on the sideline, and he did not return. Chiefs backup QB Carson Wentz filled in for Mahomes for the remainder of the contest.
After the game, Mahomes noted that he “could have finished the game in different circumstances,” but since the Chiefs were up by 14, he didn’t fight to re-enter the contest.
As Mahomes noted, his injury could have an impact on the race for the No. 1 seed in the AFC. Fortunately for the Chiefs, they have already clinched their division.
Mahomes’ Fantasy Outlook in Week 16
Before the injury, Mahomes was just 3-of-8 against the blitz against the Browns (37.5% completion rate, his worst game of the season with at least five passes thrown in such spots).
The Chiefs have their eye on the playoffs, so I’m not expecting an aggressive version of Mahomes, leaving me in a position to recommend you plan around a different fantasy option if you’d otherwise look Mahomes’ way.
The box score could have looked a little better last week if Mahomes’ sideways pass to Xavier Worthy was ruled to be forward, but such is life in this low-octane attack.
Mahomes is a player that no team wants to face in the postseason… and no fantasy team wants to play right now.
I’m plugging in Matthew Stafford and Sam Darnold well ahead of him right now and not thinking twice about it, even if he’s fully cleared.
How Has Mahomes Fared This Season?
In PFN’s QB+ metric, Mahomes is currently the 12th-best quarterback on the season with an 82.9 (B-) grade.
Week 15 continued a run of underwhelming performances from Mahomes. He turned it on in a couple of key clutch moments — especially at the end of the first half — to wrestle the game into the Chiefs’ control. However, he ranked in the bottom half of qualified starters in overall EPA (-0.14), nYPA (4.2), and EPA/DB from either a clean pocket (-0.03) or when pressured (-0.38).
This whole season has been somewhat weird for Mahomes, who has posted a similar QB+ over the last two seasons. However, the Chiefs won the Super Bowl last year and are well on the way to clinching the top seed in the AFC, so it is hard to complain too much. When you watch the games, it is clear Mahomes is not playing at the level he was earlier in his career, and that is reflected in the unconvincing wins that the Chiefs have strung together.
The biggest concern in Mahomes’ numbers this season has been a 0.24 EPA/DB from a clean pocket, which ranks 18th in the league. The other numbers are good without being special, and only five QBs have more interceptions than Mahomes (11). He has relied on a lot of help after the catch, ranking eighth in YAC/Cp at 5.8, but it seems to be working in key spots with a 47.9% third-down conversion rate.
Mahomes’ ankle injury is certainly a concern for Kansas City. Even though he’s playing on Saturday, it remains to be seen if he’ll be limited, which is a bit scary given his lackluster production when healthy this season.
