Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes limps back to the huddle during their victory in the AFC division round over the Jaguars on Saturday in Kansas City, Mo. Jeff Roberson/Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Patrick Mahomes sustained a right high ankle sprain in the Kansas City Chiefs’ divisional playoff win over the Jaguars, a person familiar with the nature of the injury told The Associated Press on Sunday, but the All-Pro quarterback expects to play in next weekend’s AFC championship game.
Mahomes was hurt late in the first quarter Saturday when a Jacksonville defender landed on him. X-rays taken during the game came back negative, and Mahomes returned after halftime to lead Kansas City to a 27-20 victory.
Mahomes underwent an MRI on Sunday and it showed no structural damage, a person familiar with the results told the AP, speaking on condition of anonymity because the team did not disclose the test results.
“I don’t want to jump to things right now, but let’s just see how it goes here the next couple days,” Chiefs Coach Andy Reid said Saturday night. “It’s going to be sore, I know, but let’s see where he’s at. He’s had this before and he was able to keep pushing through, actually against Jacksonville whenever – a couple of years ago, same type of deal.
“The main thing is that he’s safe,” Reid said, “or as safe as you can be on a football field. That’s the important thing.”
The Chiefs will play at home against Cincinnati in a rematch of last year’s AFC title game.
Mahomes said after the game Saturday night that his ankle “feels better than I thought it would feel now.”
“Obviously, I have a lot of adrenaline going right now. We’ll see how it feels, but I’ll hop right into treatment tonight and try to do whatever I can to be as close to 100% by next week,” he said. “Luckily for us, we played the early game on Saturday, so we get an extra almost half a day that I can let that ankle rest.”
Still, high ankle sprains can be potentially serious injuries. Chiefs running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire sustained one in late November and landed on injured reserve, and only last week did he return to practice.
BILLS: Safety Damar Hamlin made his first public appearance since going into cardiac arrest after making a tackle against the Cincinnati Bengals three weeks ago, waving to fans from a stadium suite as the two teams met again for an AFC divisional playoff game.
The crowd at Highmark Stadium erupted when an image of the recovering Hamlin filled the massive screens at the end zones near the end of the game’s first half. Fans turned toward the glass-enclosed suite and cheered.
Hamlin, wearing a hooded jacket, stood in front of the windows and raised his arms as if saluting the crowd and encouraging it to get on its feet as the Bengals were facing second-and-goal at their 5. He ended by forming a heart sign with his hands, his signature gesture.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen described his presence as “a warm feeling.
“Obviously, we wanted to play for him … We just ran into a team that played better than us tonight,” Allen said after the loss.
Hamlin, 24, had not appeared in public since the Bills and Bengals last met on Jan. 2 in a game that came to an abrupt halt and was eventually canceled after Hamlin’s collapse on the field in the first quarter.
Bills Coach Sean McDermott said Hamlin began making regular visits to the team’s facility soon after his release from the hospital in what he described as “dipping his toe back in here and getting on the road to just getting back to himself.”
It was “just a great moment” when Hamlin appeared on screen during the game, McDermott said afterward.
Earlier Sunday, the Bills posted a video to both Instagram and Twitter showing Hamlin arriving at the team’s locker room and the message “Welcome home, Damar.” The video showed Hamlin arriving in a golf cart about an hour before kickoff, wearing sunglasses and a face covering, the hood of his jacket pulled up. He was accompanied by his 7-year-old brother, Damir, and mother, Nina.
Welcome home, @HamlinIsland. ❤️?#CINvsBUF | #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/OG88gibcVv
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) January 22, 2023
A family spokesman for Hamlin said this week that he still faces a lengthy rehabilitation.
“Damar still requires oxygen and is having his heart monitored regularly to ensure there are no setbacks or aftereffects,” Jordon Rooney told The Associated Press.
GIANTS: With the Giants’ season in the balance, Coach Brian Daboll punted on a comeback.
Yes, New York was down 21 points early in the fourth quarter Saturday night, and while its divisional playoff game against Philadelphia seemed out of reach, wilder rallies have happened in the postseason.
At the Eagles 42, facing fourth-and-6 with 13:21 left, Daboll decided against going for a first down.
Jamie Gillan punted. And the Giants got the boot from the playoffs.
The NFC East wild-card team that was one of the surprises of the season trailed 28-0 at halftime and could never get going against the top-seeded Eagles. Daniel Jones threw for just 135 yards and the Giants fell 38-7, losing to their division rivals for the third time this season.
“Crash-landing in the playoffs,” Daboll said.
The Giants were bad from the beginning.
“Bout to put my pads on,” Giants great and Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor tweeted.
L.T. in his prime couldn’t have helped these G-Men.
Jones was strip-sacked by Josh Sweat in the waning moments to complete the debacle.
“It was a collective effort in terms of not being able to get it done,” Daboll said. “That starts with me.”
The season still goes down as a win for one of the NFL’s signature franchises after years of hard times. In his first year as coach, Daboll took over a team that had five straight losing seasons and led the Giants to the playoffs. They beat the Minnesota Vikings 31-24 in the wild-card round, their first postseason win since their Super Bowl victory under Tom Coughlin against the Patriots 11 years ago.
Daboll was the fourth head coach hired by the Giants since 2016. He led the team to a 9-7-1 record in the regular season after it went 4-13 a year earlier.
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