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Patrick Mahomes didn’t miss a snap Sunday after New York Jets defensive end David Bailey hurt his elbow on a strip-sack late in the second quarter of a 35-12 Kansas City victory, but that doesn't mean the Chiefs quarterback’s throwing arm won’t be an issue throughout the upcoming week.
“It scares you in moments when you get some pains in certain areas of your body, so obviously didn't feel great,” Mahomes said after the game, “but (I) was able to kind of get it worked on a little bit, especially at halftime, and then was able to go out there and play the rest of the game.”
But Mahomes, who missed the final three games last season after tearing the ACL and LCL in his left knee, admitted to being worried after the hit.
“Anytime it's elbows and knees, it's always scary, just because you just don't know,” Mahomes said. “... Even my knee last year, after we were doing the initial test and I could walk off the field, I thought I was going to be good. Then, all of a sudden, you do one test and you're just out.”
Initial testing on the sideline didn’t lead the Chiefs’ medical staff to believe there was ligament damage in the elbow, but Mahomes planned to have imaging done to be sure.
“Well, I haven't got that yet, so we're going to go do some testing here whenever I get done with this media stuff right here, and we'll get a better understanding of it,” Mahomes said.
He said he expected Kansas City coach Andy Reid would provide an update at his press conference at noon Monday.
“I feel good now,” Mahomes said. “Obviously, (you) get the win and the adrenaline's pumping. I'm sure I'll be sore tomorrow, but we'll get right to it. We'll get to work on it. We'll get ourselves ready to go.”
Nobody wearing red inside Arrowhead Stadium felt good when Mahomes stayed down, clutching his throwing arm close to his chest before rolling onto all fours as he remained down in the aftermath of Bailey’s hit.
“Yeah, you don't want to see it — at all, especially when our job is to protect him,” right guard Trey Smith said. “(It) doesn't feel good, doesn't feel great, and we’ve got to put that on ourselves and do a better job protecting the greatest quarterback in the game.”
Mahomes was helped to the sideline in obvious discomfort and treated during the ensuing defensive series, but he returned to lead a drive into field-goal range in the final 32 seconds.
“He's a tough kid,” Reid said. “If there's any way he can come back from something, he's coming back. But I didn't know until we were getting ready to start that series.”
Mahomes, who finished 23 of 31 for 242 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions, said he felt like it took extra time for his elbow to get loose in the second half.
“Out of half, I wasn't throwing the ball the way I wanted to,” Mahomes said. “But as the game went on and we kind of continued to work through it and kind of got warmed back up, I thought I kind of started throwing the ball better towards the end of the second half. That'll be important this week, kind of getting the swelling and the fluid out of it, so I can be ready to go from the first snap next week.”
He was 10 of 14 for 108 yards with two touchdowns before the injury and 13 of 17 for 136 yards after it.
Mahomes vowed to do everything in his power to be ready when Kansas City (6-2) travels to Atlanta for another noon kickoff next Sunday against the Falcons (3-6), who lost their Week 9 game against Cincinnati in Madrid, Spain.
“If I'm able to play, I'm going to play,” Mahomes said. “That's part of the game.”
None of Mahomes’ teammates are surprised.
“That's just the type of mentality he has,” said Kenneth Walker III, who totaled 143 yards from scrimmage and scored three touchdowns against the Jets. “That's the type of competitor he is — a great leader of the team, on and off the field — and he'll continue to be that way.”
It’s an inspiration for Kansas City’s whole organization.
“When you have a quarterback that is tough, it affects everybody,” Reid said. “That's that position. They're supposed to take everybody's game and help raise it. Part of that is: Sometimes when you're banged up a little bit — you're in a vulnerable position back there, so you're going to get banged up a little bit — but if you get banged up, that you're able to get back up and go. Nobody does it better than he does it.”
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