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“I Definitely Didn’t Feel Good”: Patrick Mahomes Goes Candid on Another Successful Run to the Super Bowl Amidst Injury Scare

Published 01/30/2023, 1:30 PM EST

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USA Today via Reuters

Patrick Mahomes cemented his legacy on Sunday when he pulled the Kansas City Chiefs to the Super Bowl with a busted-up ankle. AFC Champion Mahomes spoke about dealing with the injury in the post-match press conference. And hearing about the heroics gives us a glimpse into No 15’s championship mindset.

The Chiefs beat Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 at a noisy Arrowhead Stadium. Mahomes snapped Burrow’s 3-0 winning record against him and his Chiefs. And this after suffering a high ankle sprain in the divisional round fixture against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Patrick Mahomes had some painful scenarios during the game

There were moments in the game when Patrick felt the pain of the injury more so than at other times. Patrick was not on the injury list before the game. However, fans could figure out the record-setting quarterback was not fully mobile.

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“I just tried to do whatever I could to win, and obviously, there were times when you could see that it wouldn’t let me do what I wanted to…. [Ossai] pushed me, pushed me pretty late there,” Mahomes told the reporters. “I definitely didn’t feel good,” the QB added. However, the most painful one, according to the 2020 Super Bowl MVP, was a recovery on a fumble where he tweaked the ankle quite unpleasantly.

Mahomes’ 15-yard first down run with thirteen seconds on the clock led to Bengals defensive end Joseph Ossai’s unnecessary roughness play. This caused a crucial 15-yard penalty to make the field goal easier for Harrison Butker. Germaine Pratt was furious, after the game, with Ossai for losing his calm on this game-changing play.

The Chiefs battled through a lot to get the conference title

Patrick Mahomes’ ankle injury wasn’t the only hurdle standing in the way of the Super Bowl berth for the Kansas City Chiefs. Mahomes’ most trusted offensive weapon and future Hall of Famer tight end Travis Kelce was also listed as questionable because of back spasms.

Also, the Chiefs Kingdom had their stress levels even higher when they lost some crucial pieces during the game. Wideouts JuJu Smith-Schuster, Mecole Hardman, and Kadarius Toney all left the game with injuries. And Kansas didn’t have too many options left. Thankfully, Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Travis Kelce came in handy for the clutch.

USA Today via Reuters

However, the Chiefs’ defense led by Chris Jones, showed up when needed the most. Also, the offensive linemen did a stellar job of protecting Patrick with a season-high 61% pass block rate last night. Mahomes passed for 326 yards with 2 touchdowns in contrast to Burrow’s 1 TD and 2 interceptions.

WATCH THIS STORY: Tom Brady calls Kansas City Chiefs superstar QB Patrick Mahomes overrated

Up next is Super Bowl LVII on February 12 at the State Farm Arena, where Mahomes and Co face the NFC Champions, the Philadelphia Eagles. With the Kelce brother facing each other and making NFL history, who have you got winning the Kelce Bowl and the Lombardi?

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Written by:

Soumyapriyo Ganguly

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Soumyapriyo Ganguly is an NFL writer at Essentially Sports. He holds a degree in Economics and Statistics from the Indian School of Business and Finance. Rivu is a sports nerd with his favorites being Soccer, American Football, Basketball, UFC, and Formula 1.
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Edited by:

Hitesh Nigam