MAHOMES HAVING TOE SURGERY TODAY
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes will have surgery this week on the turf toe injury he suffered in the playoffs, likely sidelining him for the start of the offseason program but ensuring he’ll be ready well before training camp.
Mahomes met with coaches and trainers on Monday, one day after the Chiefs were beaten 31-9 by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Super Bowl, and the decision was made to have surgery later in the week, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Tuesday. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the plans had not been disclosed publicly.
NFL Network was first to report that Mahomes would have surgery today.
Mahomes had his worst game as an NFL quarterback on Sunday, getting pressured on 29 of his 59 drop-backs — the most in Super Bowl history — behind a patchwork offensive line decimated by optouts and injuries this season.
He wound up going 26 of 49 for 270 yards with two interceptions and no touchdown passes. It was the fifth time in 54 career games, including the playoffs, that Mahomes failed to throw a TD pass and the first time the Chiefs failed to reach the end zone at all. His passer rating of 52.3 was more than 10 points below the previous worst of his career.
Super Bowl ratings
The Buccaneers’ rout of the Chiefs in the Super Bowl drew a total audience of 96.4 million viewers.
CBS said Tuesday the audience included record digital numbers for a game that had lost its competitive edge by halftime and was marked by limited watch parties because of the pandemic.
The most watched Super Bowl was in 2015. The New England-Seattle game drew 114.4 million viewers.
CBS said Sunday’s championship was the most livestreamed NFL game, averaging 5.7 million viewers per minute, up 65 percent from last year’s Super Bowl. It was also the first NFL game to deliver more than 1 billion total streaming minutes.
Britt Reid on leave
Chiefs outside linebackers coach Britt Reid, the son of head coach Andy Reid, has been placed on administrative leave during an investigation into a traffic crash that left two young children injured, one critically, the team announced Tuesday.
The team has said Britt Reid was involved in a multivehicle crash last Thursday near the team’s training complex next to Arrowhead Stadium. He did not travel with the team to the Super Bowl in Tampa Bay.
Andy Reid said his son underwent surgery after the crash but few other details have been released.
Notable
The Vikings will keep their playbook in the family with the promotion of Klint Kubiak to offensive coordinator after his father’s retirement.
• Colts coach Frank Reich has revamped his staff by hiring five new assistants, including Hall of Fame center Kevin Mawae. and moving four additional assistants into new jobs.