Mahomes, Chiefs hobble past Jags
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Hobbling along on an injured ankle, Patrick Mahomes threw for 195 yards and two touchdowns Saturday, leading the Kansas City Chiefs to a 27-20 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars and a spot in their fifth straight AFC title game.
Mahomes missed most of the second quarter after his ankle was landed on by a Jacksonville defender. But the All-Pro quarterback returned in the second half and, relying on guts and guile, led the Chiefs on a 75yard TD drive in the fourth quarter that helped to ensure a date with the Bengals-Bills winner for a spot in the Super Bowl.
If Cincinnati wins Sunday, the AFC title game will be played at Arrowhead Stadium. If Buffalo wins, it will be in Atlanta.
“I mean, it’s a credit to the guys around me,” Mahomes said. “The offensive line kept me clean in the pocket, knowing that I couldn’t move, and guys made plays around me. That’s what a great team does, is when somebody gets a little banged up, everybody around them steps up.”
The question on everyone’s mind — Will Mahomes be available next week? — might be no question at all.
“Yeah, X-rays were negative and they haven’t diagnosed anything yet,” he said, “but I’ll be good to go.”
Travis Kelce had a careerhigh 14 catches for 98 yards and two touchdowns for Kansas City. Isiah Pacheco ran for 95 yards, while Marquez ValdesScantling hauled in the eventual clinching touchdown with about 7 minutes left in the game.
The Jaguars, who rallied from a 27-0 deficit to beat the Chargers in the wild-card round, squandered two chances to mount another late rally. The first ended when Jamal Agnew had the ball pop loose inside the Chiefs’ 5 with about 51⁄2 minutes to go, and the second when Jaylen Watson made a leaping, one-handed interception to take away the ball again.
The Jaguars’ last-gasp chance ended when Kansas City recovered an onside kick with 24 seconds to go.
Trevor Lawrence finished with 217 yards passing with a touchdown toss to Christian Kirk.