The Kansas City Chiefs took a deep sigh of relief Sunday evening after watching quarterback Patrick Mahomes wobble off the field during the team’s 22-17 win over the Cleveland Browns in the Divisional Round of the AFC Playoffs.
Although the Chiefs reported Mahomes underwent an evaluation for a concussion during the game, head coach Andy Reid never used that word during his postgame press conference.
“He got hit in the back of the head and (it) kind of knocked the wind out of him and everything else with it, so we took him out,” Reid said. “He’s doing great right now, which is a real positive as we look at this. Passed all the deals that he needed to pass, so we’ll see where it goes from here.”
Reid later added Mahomes would undergo further evaluation on Monday.
“He’s actually doing very well. I just talked to him, and he’s doing good,” Reid said. “We’ll see how he is tomorrow, but right now he’s feeling good.”
The injury took place midway through the third quarter with the Chiefs facing a third-and-1 at midfield. Mahomes ran a sprint option to the right side, similar to the play he ran in for a 1-yard touchdown on the team’s opening drive of the game.
Browns linebacker Mack Wilson grabbed Mahomes around the shoulder pads for the tackle, rolling over the quarterback and pulling him the ground around the neck.
Mahomes was slow to get up off the ground and appeared to stagger on his feet before teammates Mike Remmers and Anthony Sherman steadied him.
Backup quarterback Chad Henne said he spoke to Mahomes after the game.
“I talked to Patrick after the locker room, he’s in good spirits,” Henne said. “Obviously we’ll see with everything, all the testing for him tomorrow, but he’s in good spirits.”
Wilson took to Twitter after the game to defend the play, tweeting to Mahomes, “I pray you back next week!”
“All good brother!” Mahomes responded.
