USA TODAY International Edition
Mahomes’ challenges go beyond bum ankle
Every superhero needs a villain to test the limits of their power.
Well, as yet another AFC championship game looms on the sacred ground of Arrowhead Stadium, Patrick Mahomes has not one, not two, but three distinct forces collaborating for potential doom:
Joe Burrow.
Lou Anarumo's defense.
That sore right ankle.
In other words, it's one thing for Mahomes to face the prospect of being upstaged again by Burrow and a Cincinnati Bengals defense that has been like kryptonite for him. Now he must also play through whatever pain and tenderness lingers from the high ankle sprain that hobbled him last weekend.
If Mahomes can punch another Super Bowl ticket under these conditions against a feisty opponent hellbent on defending its AFC title, there's hope for all of us. Maybe he can reverse global warming, too.
Sure, modern medicine and roundthe- clock treatment can be a mother. And Mahomes caught a break with the playoff schedule allowing an extra day of recovery and prep after a divisional round date on a Saturday. The Kansas City Chiefs star was back on the practice field at the appointed times this week – reports were positive, almost glowing, from the few minutes each day that were allowed for media viewing – and his purpose of quick healing will be filled with adrenaline with a trip to Super Bowl 57 at stake on Sunday.
But until shown otherwise Sunday, his ankle is the ultimate X- factor.
What can't happen is for Mahomes to be reduced to having to make too many of those throws from the pocket. Of course, he is plenty capable of making the throws from the pocket, and with a high football IQ can mimic the scanand- fire tendencies we've seen when Tom Brady is on his A- game.
Yet what makes Mahomes special is that he's Harry Houdini in cleats. He escapes, creates, extends, bends and so often breaks somebody's heart with some laser throw … or a soft sidearm lob. The footwork is essential to that equation. The odds aren't so good if he's a sitting duck or otherwise bogged down by limited mobility or mechanics thrown out of whack because of his plant foot.
Then again, if anyone can adjust, it is Mahomes. In 2019, he suffered a high left ankle sprain and didn't miss a start. In another context, he adjusted fine after his terrific receiver, Tyreek Hill, was traded to Miami last spring. Mahomes still led the league with 5,250 passing yards and 41 TD strikes.
For all those numbers, the Bengals have had Mahomes' number in winning all three matchups – including the AFC title game that went to OT around this time last year – against the Chiefs since the start of the 2021 season. Each of the three contests – all during the 2022 calendar year, as the first came in Week 17 of the 2021 season – were decided by three points. The Chiefs could've won but didn't, giving Burrow a 3- 0 edge in a rivalry against Mahomes that seems destined to become this generation's version of Brady vs. Peyton Manning.
No, the losses weren't all on Mahomes. There were busted coverages that Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase exploited. A missed field goal attempt. Some questionable decisions that backfired when in the shadow of the goal line.
Also evident was Cincinnati's job of containing Mahomes while opting not to blitz, often using three- and four- man rushes, leaving seven or eight defenders to drop into coverage. The cat- andmouse strategy game will provide some wrinkles and tweaks on Sunday.
Now, tender foot or not, comes a chance for redemption – or another dose of kryptonite.