Patrick Mahomes has already said he’ll be ‘good to go’ for the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game but he’ll need help for KC to get back to the Super Bowl.
Patrick Mahomes, the Kansas City Chiefs and the AFC Championship Game — that’s a combo as reliable as a Big-Mac (with ketchup, naturally) and fries. And after Saturday’s win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, Andy Reid’s team is heading back to the conference title game for the fifth consecutive year.
This time, however, they’ll be doing so with their superstar quarterback at less than 100 percent.
During the first quarter, Mahomes was taken down awkwardly by his ankle and came up limping. He was soon after pulled from the game and taken to the locker room before missing the remainder of the first half. The QB returned to play the second half but his mobility was clearly limited due to the ankle.
While we are still awaiting official word on the severity and diagnosis of the injury, Mahomes said in his postgame interview that he’s “good to go” for next week in the AFC Championship Game against either the Bills or Bengals. But if that’s true, there’s almost no chance he’s at full strength. As such, these Chiefs players should be under pressure to step up so Kansas City can return to the Super Bowl.
Chiefs: 3 player who must come to play vs Bills or Bengals with Patrick Mahomes injured
Orlando Brown Jr. has to protect Patrick Mahomes well for Chiefs to succeed
During the first quarter when Mahomes was healthy and on the field, the Jaguars and their formidable pass rush were getting some heat on the quarterback. That’s ultimately what helped lead to the play where the injury occurred. That’s something that can’t happen.
The good news for Kansas City is that we saw the best from the group once Chad Henne came in and then once their superstar signal-caller got back onto the field. They gave up only six pressures in the game according to the PFF postgame review and also didn’t give up a sack. With Mahomes playing through limited mobility, something that’s often a strength for him, that’s highly impressive.
While we could put the entire offensive line here, though, we’re really putting the spotlight on left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. to step up in the AFC Championship Game. As the blindside protector for Mahomes, it’s most definitely on him to make a big impact by not letting anyone from the Bills or Bengals get consistent pressure on his quarterback.
No matter who the matchup is against, Brown will be facing quality pass rushers coming off the edge. For a player who has experienced some ups and downs this year, that could be slightly concerning. But if he can rise to the occasion and not allow Mahomes’ limitations become too apparent, that’s going to be massively important for this offense.
With Mahomes banged up, the Chiefs need Nick Bolton to be at his best on D
If there’s one thing that you can definitely count on Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton to do, it’s fill up the stat sheet. He had 180 total tackles in the regular season and continued that by leading the team with 10 total tackles in the win over Jacksonville. Sunday in the AFC Championship Game is going to be a massive test for him, though.
For as good as Bolton is and has been overall, the truth of the matter is that he can sometimes put up empty stats. He can make tackles after the offense has already broken off a nice gain. Now playing against either Josh Allen or Joe Burrow, though, so much responsibility is going to be on his shoulders to be a sure tackler who can limit big plays.
One thing that both Allen and Burrow possess that makes them dangerous is the ability to create with their legs. If Bolton isn’t sure in his responsibilities or sure with his tackling, that could gash the Chiefs defense, which is only going to put more pressure on the other parts of the defense and on Mahomes and the offense as well. That’s not what they want.
Yes, guys like Chris Jones, Frank Clark, George Karlaftis and the defensive line need to create pressure from the line of scrimmage to also limit what opposing quarterbacks are able to do. At the same time, though, you’ve come to expect that from those guys. Bolton is a bit less of a sure thing in that, which is why he’s being highlighted as someone needing to come to play on Sunday with the AFC title on the line.
Patrick Mahomes needs Jerick McKinnon to be a big factor in the Chiefs offense
Once Mahomes returned to the field in the second half, one thing that was extremely evident due to the lack of quarterback mobility at that point in the game for the Kansas City star was that they were almost always trying to get the ball out quickly and that there was a bit more reliance on the rushing attack than there had been previously.
Isiah Pacheco undoubtedly did his part as the late-round rookie continued to shine with a nice overall performance, carrying the ball 12 times for 95 yards and also hauling in his one target for six yards. But given the way that the offense changed after Patrick Mahomes’ injury, it was surprising to see how ineffective Jerick McKinnon was as he didn’t have a catch or target and managed only 25 yards on 11 carries.
There’s no doubt that Pacheco deserves to see the bulk of the work in the run game but McKinnon has been a valuable and versatile weapon out of the backfield all season. Depending on how much Mahomes has recovered, getting the ball out quickly could be of the utmost importance once again, which will make the veteran that much more important as he’ll be a huge factor in the passing offense.
Again, Pacheco can step in and do a lot of good work for the offense. But the fact of the matter is that McKinnon has been reliable in his role as a complimentary piece to the rookie almost all season. Now, with a trip to the Super Bowl hanging in the balance, he can’t all but disappear from being that now that his quarterback needs him to provide that option more than ever.