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Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has “continued to get a little better” after spraining his ankle in last weekend’s win over the Jaguars … but remains timid about his chances of facing the Cincinnati Bengals in the conference championship.
Patrick Mahomes says he has continued to improve since spraining a high ankle he suffered against the Jaguars last weekend despite remaining coy about his chances of facing the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
The Chiefs quarterback was temporarily ejected in their NFL playoff win over Jacksonville on Saturday, limping out of the game after going awkwardly under a tackle from Arden Key in the first quarter.
Returning to the locker room for a test, backup Chad Henne drove Kansas City 98 yards in 12 plays for a touchdown, before Mahomes finally returned in the second half and went 4 of 7 for 50 yards in the third quarter and 6 8 for 61 yards in the fourth.
He also produced a touchdown pass to Marquez Valdes-Scantling for a 27-17 lead with 7:08 remaining.
Patrick Mahomes says he’s made progress on his high ankle sprain all week
The former NFL MVP and two-time All-Pro said after the win that his ankle felt much better than expected, and in a new update on Wednesday revealed that more progress has been made during the week.
“It’s working out well,” Mahomes said. “I have done a few days of treatment, a few days of rehabilitation. Excited to get on the practice range and try it out and see where I am at. But it feels good so far.
‘I felt better than I thought I would after the game. Moving around during the game definitely hurt, but after the game I was able to rest and freeze it and do different things like that, and I felt in a bit better position.
“So obviously the next morning I felt a little bit better and I kept getting a little bit better throughout the week. So we’ll see how I feel today in practice and I’ll get a better feel for all of you and I think I’ll be able to respond a little better tomorrow.
Mahomes was briefly ejected during the Chiefs’ victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday.
The Kansas City quarterback remains coy about his chances of facing the Cincinnati Bengals.
While Kansas City topped the Jaguars to reach Sunday’s AFC title game, Cincinnati defeated the Ravens and Bills to advance to the conference championship.
And if he passes his fitness tests this week, Mahomes is well aware of the strong defensive team he’ll face at Arrowhead Stadium.
“They’re well trained, man,” he admitted of the Bengals.
‘Your defensive coordinator [Lou] Anarumo has done a great job changing the game plan.
“I think that has been the best, it is very specific in the game plan. It is never the same, it gives you the same look but different coverage.
He has praised Bengals defensive coach Lou Anarumo (pictured) before the game.
“That’s what I think a lot of great defensive coordinators do, they’re able to train their team to do a lot of different things and a variety of things, but they’re still solid.” I think that’s what they do well.
‘And then they have great players. At the end of the day, they have great players who are extremely easy to train and go out and do their job to the best of their ability.
“So when you’re at this point in the playoffs, you’re playing against great teams and it’s about who can execute it at a higher level.”