The status of Kansas City Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes is in question. The two-time league MVP suffered an ankle injury in the second half of Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns, and was removed from the action and did not return. There is hope that he won’t have to miss any time, but the team has labeled him with a “week to week” status, clouding his immediate availability.
The schedule for the Chiefs won’t do Mahomes any favors, as Kansas City is set to play two consecutive games on short rest in the coming weeks.
NFL Scheduling Gives Patrick Mahomes Less Recovery Time
It is all thanks to the NFL’s effort to take over Christmas Day. A holiday normally owned by the NBA and its marquee slate of games, fans will now have a choice between the two sports on December 25th. Two NFL games will be held that day, the first scheduled contests to be played on a Wednesday since 2012, and for just the second time ever.
The Chiefs are one of the teams involved. In order to make it work, all four of the teams participating in the Christmas Day games will play their Week 16 games on Saturday of the coming weekend. That means that Mahomes has one fewer day than normal for a recovery on that injured ankle. If he is held out of practice on Wednesday, Thursday, or both, his chances of playing in the home game against the Texans would be lowered.
Should he happen to sit out, it would be the first time that Patrick Mahomes missed a game due to injury since 2019.
Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes considered week to week with right ankle injury. (via @RapSheet) pic.twitter.com/S5eXEki2B4
— NFL (@NFL) December 15, 2024
The Chiefs are 13-1 on the season, and in full control of their own destiny. They currently have a two-game lead on the Buffalo Bills in the race for home field advantage in the playoffs. But if Kansas City loses without their starting quarterback against the Texans, then the margin of error would be slim. The Bills are clicking on all cylinders, and hold the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Chiefs thanks to their victory back in Week 11.
Kansas City now stands alone atop the NFL with that 13-1 mark, but they are hardly the juggernaut that we’ve known them to be in recent years. Their +70 point differential ranks 11th in the league, and they are one of just a handful of teams that has yet to post a 30-point game. They aren’t even in the top-3 when it comes to Super Bowl favorites, with Draft Kings giving them a +600 designation.
Patrick Mahomes and company have the 5th toughest remaining schedule in the league. After taking on the Texans on Saturday, they’ll face the Steelers on Christmas Day. To wrap up the regular season, they’ll take on the surging Broncos in an AFC West showdown.
