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Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs will face the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship game for the second consecutive season. However, the status of the 2018 NFL MVP is up in the air as the game inches closer.
While speaking to reporters, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid answered questions about Mahomes' status for the game against the Bengals.
Reid said:
"[Mahomes has] worked hard in the treatment and is doing OK. He mentioned it to me that he's going to play. That's his mindset, and then we'll just take it day by day and see how he does.''
The star quarterback suffered a high ankle sprain injury in the first quarter of the Chiefs' divisional round game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. He didn't finish the first half of the game. When he returned in the second half, Patrick Mahomes and his ability to move outside the pocket was limited. The way he played significantly changed as he threw zero passes outside the pocket, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.
It was just the second time this season that he made all of his passes from within the pocket in a half. During the regular season, Mahomes made 113 throws from beyond the pocket. The quarterback threw for 195 yards and two touchdowns in the victory over the Jaguars.
Patrick Mahomes on his status against the Bengals
After the 27-20 win over the Jaguars, the Kansas City Chiefs star spoke to the media regarding his injury. The Super Bowl 54 MVP commented that he'd have time to heal and that he'd be in treatment for the injury:
"It feels better than I thought it was going to be now. Obviously, I have a lot of adrenaline going right now, so we'll see how it feels. But I'll hop right in the treatment and try to do whatever I can to be as close to 100 percent by next week. Luckily for us, we played the early game on Saturday, so we get an extra almost half a day that I can let that ankle rest."
It seems unlikely that Patrick Mahomes will want to miss the AFC Championship game against the Bengals. The Chiefs fell to the Bengals 27-24 last season in the conference championship game. It remains to be seen if fans will get Mahomes versus Joe Burrow once again for a spot in Super Bowl 57 on the line.
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