Patrick Mahomes ran into the locker room when he was forced out of the Chiefs divisional playoff game against the Browns after taking a hard hit. Mahomes was declared out for the rest of the game after he was assessed by a concussion in the locker room, but coach Andy Reid didn’t seem concerned about his star defender after the Chiefs won 22-17 with Chad Henne taking over.
“He was hit in the back of the head and it kind of took his breath away and everything with that,” said Reid. “He’s doing very well now, which is very positive when we look at that. He passed all the agreements he needed to pass, so we’ll see where he goes from here.”
The ex-MVP left after being approached by Browns linebacker Mack Wilson, with 7:44 remaining in the third quarter. Kansas City led 19-10 when Mahomes left the game. Veteran Chad Henne replaced Mahomes in the center. A 14-year-old veteran, Henne led the Chiefs to a field goal before completing a decisive pass to Tyreek Hill, who won the game. The conversion of Henne’s victory to Hill came after he almost converted a third and long with his legs. Kansas City will host the Bills in the AFC title game next Sunday.
Mahomes went to Twitter after the Chiefs’ victory. Specifically, Mahomes gave props to his reserve, who had never played in a playoff game before Sunday.
Mahomes, the current Super Bowl MVP, aggravated his foot during the first half of Sunday’s game. At halftime, Chiefs’ coach Andy Reid told CBS Sports that Mahomes was fine and that the Chiefs would not change his offensive game plan. After Mahomes left the game, the Chiefs extended their lead in Harrison Butker’s third field goal of the afternoon.
Mahomes did 21 from 30 to 255 yards before leaving the game. His 20-yard touchdown pass to Travis Kelce helped the Chiefs to take a 16-3 lead at halftime. Mahomes hopes to be available to play next week against the Bills, as the Chiefs are trying to become the first repeat champion since the 2003-04 Patriots.