Chiefs faced with a real Sophie’s Choice with Patrick Mahomes injury update

What looked like a much-needed business-like win for the Kansas City Chiefs over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday afternoon now threatens to derail the team's bid for a third straight Super Bowl title, as Patrick Mahomes was forced to leave the game in the second half with an ankle injury.

Mahomes has been diagnosed with a mild high ankle sprain, and Andy Reid has been unwilling to be any more specific than "week-to-week" when asked about his star QB's prognosis moving forward.

On the surface, this would seem to be a bullet dodged for the two-time defending champs. "Mild" is a good word to hear, and with three weeks still remaining in the regular season, that gives Mahomes plenty of time to get back to 100 percent before the games really start to count — time that the team can afford to expend, given that they're 13-1 and still two games ahead of the Buffalo Bills in the race for the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs.

In reality, though, Mahomes' injury is far more complicated than it appears, and presents the Chiefs with a brutally difficult choice that could well define their season.

How should the Chiefs handle Patrick Mahomes' ankle injury?

The schedule does Kansas City no favors. The Chiefs will play the Houston Texans on a short week on Saturday, then turn around and face the Pittsburgh Steelers on Christmas Day before finishing up with a road trip to the Denver Broncos in Week 18. Those are three games against potenial playoff teams, two on the road, two on a very compressed timeline.

The Bills, meanwhile, get the New England Patriots twice with a date with the New York Jets sandwiched in between. At this point, 3-0 seems very likely for Buffalo, which means that the Chiefs would need to go at least 2-1 down the stretch to avoid losing the top overall seed. Playing backup Carson Wentz for one or more of those final three games would seem to make a strong finish very, very unlikely.

So, which direction do the Chiefs want to go? Do you prioritize Mahomes' health for the playoffs and sit him for the rest of the regular season, knowing that it'll likely cost you home-field in a potential rematch with Josh Allen and Co.? Or do you roll the dice, letting Wentz start against Houston before bringing Mahomes back for the Christmas game in an effort to hold on to the No. 1 spot?

It's a problem without an easy solution, but if I'm Kansas City, I likely opt for the former. The most important thing has to be ensuring that Mahomes is at or near his best self come playoff time. If he's not right, or if he reaggravates the injury and has to miss more time, it doesn't matter whether the Chiefs play a playoff game at Arrowhead or in Hawaii; you can kiss the chances of a threepeat goodbye. Buffalo has already shown how tough it'll be to come into Orchard Park and win a game in January, but we've seen Mahomes at full strength work all sorts of magic acts. Get him healthy, and you have a chance. Force the issue, and it could send you packing.