Patrick Mahomes’ ankle once again worth watching
Heading into Super Bowl LVII, the right ankle of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes will be a storyline every day.
Patrick Mahomes was able to throw for 326 yards and two touchdowns in a 23-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in Sunday’s AFC Championship Game. The week prior, a 27-20 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, throwing for another two scores. He did it all with one healthy ankle.
Want $250 to bet on the Super Bowl?
Therefore, the question isn’t whether Mahomes can win a third consecutive playoff game while being significantly hampered. The question is whether he’ll need to.
With two weeks before Super Bowl LVII against the Philadelphia Eagles, how healthy will Mahomes be? A high ankle sprain typically takes around four weeks to heal. By Super Sunday, Mahomes will be at three weeks and one day since being landed on awkwardly by Jaguars edge rusher Arden Key.
After Sunday’s win, Mahomes talked about where he’s at physically, suggesting ample rehab and recovery are on the way:
“I just tried to do whatever I could to win, and obviously, there were times where you could see that it wouldn’t let me do what I wanted to. But I was able to do enough on that last play to get the first down and get myself out of bounds and try to give Harrison the chance to win. Obviously, we got the flag, and [Ossai] pushed me, pushed me pretty late there.
“I definitely didn’t feel good, I think the worst one was when I fumbled. I tried to pick it up, and that was probably the worst I tweaked it during the game. They got me close as they could to 100 percent. Then I just battled through, and I’ll have a few more weeks to get it ready.”
Read: Russell Westbrook Moves To 10th In All-Time Assists
If Mahomes is healthy, he can help to somewhat mitigate an Eagles’ defensive front that led the NFL with 70 sacks during the regular season. If he’s still dealing with pain, the Chiefs’ offensive line will have to be extraordinary, or head coach Andy Reid must must go with a litany of quick throws.
Regardless, Super Bowl LVII should be one of the best we’ve seen in years, with the two best teams going after it come Feb. 12.
