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Adam Teicher, ESPN editor
CLEVELAND — Minutes after being ruled out of Sunday’s game with a right ankle injury, Kansas City Chiefs strategist Patrick Mahomes said he did not know if he would be available to play next Saturday against the Houston Texans.
“It’s hard to say right now,” Mahomes said after the Chiefs’ 21-7 win over the Cleveland Browns. “You always have adrenaline and it’s usually the next day that you get a good sense of it. I feel like I could have completed the game under different circumstances, but I figured the smart decision… was to put Carson Wentz In.
“…You just do what you have to do to come back, and I think that’s the most important thing.” And now we’re just going back to the rehab part, the treatment part, and trying to get ready for a short week against a good football team.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid said Mahomes’ ankle was not broken.
“It’s painful and he’ll start the rehab bit by bit, and then we’ll just have to see how he performs later,” Reid said.
Mahomes was ejected midway through the fourth quarter after being hit while throwing an incomplete fourth-down pass. The Chiefs then led 21-7 and Wentz finished the game. Mahomes remained on the sideline until the end of the game and limped as he left the field to go to the locker room.
Reid also said Mahomes could have stayed in the game, adding, “It wasn’t necessary.”
“He wanted to fight for it, but we have good support behind him with Carson and it was good to give him some reps there too and let our guys hear that count in case he has to go,” Reid said.
On the play, Mahomes was dragged from behind by the Cleveland defender Dalvin Tomlinson while being hit by Mike Hall.
“I was trying to run in the pocket, obviously fourth down, trying to make a play,” Mahomes said. “And as I was throwing the ball, I kind of got hit — and I didn’t see it — but it felt like someone hit me from behind as well. And so I kind of found myself wound up. It happens a little bit in football, so I tried to bounce back, but obviously it hurt a little bit. But now we’ll just take care of the rehab part and try to be ready for next week.
“I thought the defense played really well, and I wanted to get back there, and I probably would have fought a little harder if they were able to bring the game back to one score (margin). But I also have a lot of confidence in Carson. … We put him out there and I thought he did a great job of moving the football, buying time and putting us in position to win the football game.
Mahomes was 19 of 38 for 159 yards and two touchdowns before leaving the game. Mahomes was hit on multiple pass attempts and was pressured 21 times, according to ESPN Research.
“You just have to trust the offense,” Mahomes said. “…I just have to do a better job of following my progression and trusting the offense, getting the ball out of my hands and letting guys play.” And my nature is to try to make the big play happen, and sometimes defenses stop it, and then when it’s not there, go for the pieces underneath and keep moving forward.
On each of two possessions before the injury, the Chiefs, with a two-touchdown lead, went three-and-out with six incomplete passes, leading Reid to defend his play position after the game.
“You have to be able to throw the ball in this league,” Reid said. “Some of our runs haven’t been going too well either, so we need to make sure we clean that up and get things going.” That’s where I can kind of give him (better plays), do a better job for him.