The Kansas City Chiefs will officially miss the playoffs for the first time in 11 years and to make matters worse, quarterback Patrick Mahomes went down with what looked to be a serious knee injury late in the fourth quarter.
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Mahomes was scrambling to complete a pass down the right sideline with the Chiefs needing to beat the Los Angeles Chargers to keep their slim postseason hopes alive.
The Chiefs quarterback was taken from behind in a fairly innocuous tackle but was in immediate pain as he clutched at his left knee.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid told reporters after the game that Mahomes would get an MRI either on Monday or Tuesday and did not give any details on the severity.
When asked it was a serious injury, Reid said “it didn’t look good (when it happened)”.
It was the same knee that had been giving Mahomes problems all week, with the superstar quarterback spotted putting a heating pad on it during last week’s game against Houston.
During his weekly interview on 96.5 The Fan, Mahomes was asked about the injury and tried to play it down.
“I feel like I’ve played a football season,” Mahomes said.
“You know, everybody’s kind of banged up and has his things here and there, but I’ll be ready to go, and I’m excited to get back out there on the football field and try to do whatever I can to get back in a better mindset of winning.”
The Chiefs entered Monday’s game still a chance of qualifying for the postseason, but they needed to beat the Chargers while also requiring the Bills to either lose to or tie with the Patriots, the Jets to beat the Jaguars and the Cardinals to defeat the Texans.
Buffalo, however, rallied from an early 14-0 deficit to topple New England 35-31 while both Houston and Jacksonville breezed to big wins.
While the immediate concern is Mahomes’ injury, attention will soon turn to what offseason changes may be necessary for an AFC heavyweight that had usually been an automatic staple of the NFL postseason.
In fact, the Chiefs had made three straight Super Bowl appearances despite the roster being far from perfect in all of those seasons, with the defence playing at a high enough level last year to make up for an offence that struggled to create many explosives.
This year, however, there were just far too many problems for Mahomes to overcome.
Specifically, injuries decimated the offensive line while the passing attack also lacked a consistent man-beater to really test defences.
The run game was also uninspiring, with both Kareem Hunt and Isiah Pacheco struggling to produce much more than what was blocked for them.
Of course, the Chiefs could also be down one of Mahomes’ most trustworthy weapons next season with uncertainty surrounding veteran tight end Travis Kelce’s playing future.
BILLS STUN PATRIOTS IN BIG COMEBACK TO KEEP AFC EAST HOPES ALIVE
Elsewhere, Josh Allen fired the Buffalo Bills to a stunning comeback win against the Patriots.
The Bills’ 35-31 victory — after having trailed 21-0 — in sub-freezing conditions ended high-flying New England’s 10-game winning streak and kept the AFC East division title race alive.
“What makes this team this team — we’re not out of it, we’re going to continue to fight one play at a time, no matter what the score is,” said Allen.
Reigning NFL Most Valuable Player Allen orchestrated five consecutive drives with touchdowns, at least temporarily thwarting the Patriots’ bid to reclaim the division title from Buffalo for the first time in five years.
The result underlined Buffalo’s status as a strong Super Bowl favorite despite inconsistent form this season.
“Obviously, the last five-ish years, we’ve found sustained success, but never been able to punch our ticket to the Super Bowl,” said Allen.
“And the end of the goal, that’s every team’s dream.”
The Patriots had been utterly dominant in the first quarter, with quarterback Drake Maye rushing for two touchdowns in the snow and rookie TreVeyon Henderson running 52 yards for a touchdown and a 21-0 lead.
The Bills battled back. Allen found James Cook and Dawson Knox with touchdown passes on either side of half-time.
Cook then barely kept the ball airborne as he stretched across the line for a third Buffalo touchdown that was initially ruled out by officials, before Allen seized the lead with a powerful 14-yard sling to Knox.
Henderson briefly reclaimed the advantage for New England with a stunning 65-yard sprint for a touchdown. But Cook barged through the Patriots line for the game-winning touchdown score.
New England — who dominated the NFL in the Tom Brady era of the 2000s and 2010s but have faced a difficult rebuild — still have three more regular season games to claim the AFC East, which they lead over the Bills by a single game.
Elsewhere, the Baltimore Ravens ended Cincinnati’s slim playoff hopes with a dominant 24-0 win, their defense shutting out Bengals star quarterback Joe Burrow.
And Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence managed five passing touchdowns and one rushing score as the Jaguars demolished the New York Jets 48-20.
— AFP
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