Chiefs’ victory dimmed by injury to Mahomes
Reigning NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes injured his right knee in a pileup near the goal line before his Kansas City Chiefs teammates rallied around their fallen superstar for a 30-6 thrashing of the host Denver Broncos on Thursday night.
Backup Matt Moore threw a 57-yard touchdown pass to Tyreek Hill and the Chiefs (5-2) recorded nine sacks, gave up a season-low 71 yards rushing and snapped a two-game skid in beating the Broncos (2-5) for the eighth straight time.
His balky left ankle heavily taped, Mahomes completed 10 of 11 passes for 76 yards and a touchdown before he got hurt on a successful sneak on fourthand-inches at the Denver 5-yard line early in the second quarter.
One by one, players peeled off the pile, but when Mahomes didn’t get up, the stadium grew quiet, Broncos players knelt and some Chiefs stormed away in anguish as their quarterback ripped off his helmet and covered his face.
As players milled about nervously, the Chiefs’ medical personnel appeared to pop Mahomes’ right knee back in place before he was helped from the field and taken into the locker room. The Chiefs announced minutes later that Mahomes wouldn’t return.
Coming in, the Chiefs were ranked 24th in the league with 11 sacks and had allowed an average of 190 yards rushing over their previous four games.
But the Chiefs sacked Joe Flacco a career-high eight times, drew three holding flags on grabby left tackle Garett Bolles, held Denver to 1 of 13 on third downs and benefited from the Broncos’ poor special-teams play.
The Broncos had won two straight after a winless September.
Bengals’ Green still unsure of his return
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green clarified his status Thursday without clearly saying when he might return. But it’s pretty clear it won’t be Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Paul Brown Stadium.
Green is coming off ankle surgery to repair an injury suffered on the first practice of training camp. He did not practice Wednesday and was not scheduled to practice Thursday.
So what about Sunday? “Like I said from day one, if I’m healthy enough to play, then I’m going to play,” Green said. “Right now, I still have a little ways to go.”
There was speculation that Green may have had a setback when he didn’t run routes before last Sunday’s game in Baltimore as planned.
No setback, he said. “Just didn’t run routes,” Green added. “Nothing happened. Like I said, we’re just going to take our time with it. There’s no need to rush this thing.”
Meanwhile, the Bengals signed free-agent defensive end Anthony Zettel, a fourthyear pro who played for the Cleveland Browns last season and the Detroit Lions for two seasons before that.
To make room on the roster for Zettel, the Bengals waived H-back Samaje Perine.
Peterson rejoins Cards after suspension
Cornerback Patrick Peterson returned to the Arizona Cardinals this week after serving a six-game league suspension, and he’s eager to get back on the field.
“It should be a great 10-game season for me,” said Peterson, who was suspended for violating the NFL’S policy on performance-enhancing drugs. “I’m planning on this being the best 10 games I’ve played in my career.”
Peterson, a three-time All-pro, returns just as a young Cardinals team has started to build some confidence. Arizona (2-3-1) has won two straight games and will try to get to .500 when it faces the New York Giants in a road game on Sunday.