Down Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs survive Browns for AFC Championship berth

The Kansas City Chiefs lost Patrick Mahomes to a concussion in the Divisional Round against the Browns but Andy Reid’s team survived to punch another AFC Championship Game ticket.

The reigning Super Bowl champions were dealt every bad card in the deck on Saturday. Superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes suffered a concussion in the third quarter just as the Browns were starting to get some momentum against the Kansas City Chiefs. And with more injuries, namely to cornerback Bashaud Breeland, the deck looked stacked against KC.

Yet, head coach Andy Reid and backup quarterback Chad Henne were unfazed by the situation. Whether it was a defensive stand late in the fourth quarter to get the ball back, Henne running for nearly a first down on third-and-14 with under two minutes to play, or a gutsy fourth-down play to get the game-sealing first down, it was a masterclass effort from the Chiefs.

And now, they’re hosting the AFC Championship Game once again as a result.

One of the defining traits of the Chiefs, as they’ve emerged as perennial favorites, has been their confidence and swagger. Both were completely on display on Sunday afternoon at Arrowhead Stadium.

In the face of the Mahomes injury, it feels safe to say that almost every team in the league would’ve crumbled. But not the Chiefs. Yes, Henne threw an awful interception that seemingly gave the Browns new life. That only inspired the defense to come up with one of their best drives of the game to set up the dramatic play-calling on the game-ending drive.

The Kansas City Chiefs will face the Bills in the AFC Championship but Mahomes’ health is the big question.

While Henne delivered an incredibly clutch run and the game-sealing pass to Tyreek Hill, there is no escaping the fact that he’s nowhere near the player that Mahomes is. So as the Chiefs now look ahead to the AFC Championship Game against the Buffalo Bills, the quarterback’s health is very much the biggest question hanging in the air.

Mahomes’ availability is completely up in the air at this point. Timetables for return from concussion injuries are notoriously inconsistent and it’s difficult to say how long it will be until he’s cleared to retake the field. Without him, it would be safe to say that they would be underdogs, even at Arrowhead, in the AFC title game against the Bills.

Even still, the intestinal fortitude of Reid and his team were on full display against Cleveland on Sunday. And if they don’t have Mahomes against Buffalo, you can expect to see more of that as they’ll play to win yet again. Of course, if Mahomes can come back, the Chiefs should be well on their way to defending the Lombardi Trophy.