After a week of speculation regarding Patrick Mahomes’s injured ankle, Chiefs coach Andy Reid announced Friday his star quarterback will start against the Bengals in Sunday’s highly-anticipated AFC championship rematch.
Reid also told reporters Mahomes, who suffered a high-ankle sprain in the divisional win over the Jaguars on Jan. 21, is “moving around good” as questions continue to linger concerning any limitations in his mobility. Prior to Friday’s news, neither Reid or Mahomes sounded concerned about his status against Cincinnati, with the 27-year-old maintaining since sustaining the injury that he expected to play.
Reid told reporters Monday that Mahomes was doing O.K. after working hard in his treatment, but the team would re-evaluate his condition after resuming practice on Wednesday. He went on to all but prove he’d take the field Sunday with his participation, logging three straight full practice sessions and avoiding an injury designation for the contest.
With his status for Sunday now official, Mahomes enters the weekend looking to topple Joe Burrow and the Bengals in what will be the Chiefs’s fifth consecutive AFC title game. Despite being favored at home, Kansas City will come into the matchup with a little added motivation after falling to Cincinnati last season in a 27–24 overtime thriller at Arrowhead Stadium.
The 2022 season has been another remarkable one for Mahomes as the MVP frontrunner accumulated a career-high 5,250 yards, along with 41 touchdowns and 12 interceptions during the regular season. In the win over Jacksonville, Mahomes posted a 22-for-30 stat line for 195 yards and two touchdown passes despite missing much of the second quarter after getting injured late in the first quarter.
