Patrick Mahomes overcomes ankle injury, Chiefs beat Jaguars to reach fifth AFC title game in a row
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Even on one leg, Patrick Mahomes is one of the greatest quarterbacks in the NFL.
Mahomes, despite a right ankle injury, helped the Kansas City Chiefs advance to the AFC championship game with a 27-20 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium.
Mahomes threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling to retake a double-digit lead with 7:08 left, while the Chiefs defense forced two turnovers in a three-play span to outlast the Jaguars late in the fourth quarter.
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Mahomes finished 22 of 30 for 195 yards with two touchdown passes to help the Chiefs reach the AFC title game for the fifth straight season. Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce led with 14 catches for 98 yards and two touchdowns, one from Mahomes in the first quarter and one from backup Chad Henne during Mahomes’ absence in the second quarter.
Kansas City awaits the winner of Sunday’s game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Buffalo Bills at 3 p.m. ET.
If the Bengals win, the Chiefs will host the AFC title game in Kansas City in a rematch of last season. The Bengals won 27-24 in overtime last January.
If the Bills win, they will meet the Chiefs in a neutral-site AFC title game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The Chiefs have eliminated the Bills in the last two postseasons.
The NFL made this adjustment after Bills player Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest on Jan. 2, causing a game between the Bills and Bengals to be canceled. Buffalo finished the regular season 13-3, while the Chiefs were 14-3.
The AFC title game will be played next Sunday at 6:30 p.m.
Patrick Mahomes’ ankle injury takes center stage
Mahomes was clearly affected by the ankle injury he sustained during the first quarter.
Mahomes ran with a hop to and from the Chiefs sideline, and threw many passes with his heavily taped right foot planted during the game.
Mahomes was able to play through the pain, shown during his jump-pass touchdown to Valdes-Scantling that gave Kansas City a 27-17 lead with 7:08 remaining.
Mahomes suffered the injury when he was taken down by Jaguars linebacker Arden Key and defensive lineman Corey Peters after a passing play with less than two minutes remaining in the first quarter. Mahomes’ leg went sideways during the takedown.
Mahomes stayed in the game early in the second quarter, to lead a scoring drive, which ended in a 50-yard field goal by Harrison Butker. But he was replaced for the rest of the second quarter by Chad Henne, the Chiefs’ 37-year-old backup.
Henne threw his first career playoff touchdown, connecting on a 1-yard score to Kelce to increase Kansas City’s lead to 17-7 with 3:54 left until halftime.
The Chiefs offense punted four times in the second half and needed a second 50-yard field goal to take a 20-10 lead into the fourth quarter.
Jaguars fail to take control, fall short in fourth quarter
Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence, playing in his second career playoff game, kept Jacksonville in it until Mahomes’ last touchdown throw. Lawrence finished 24 of 39 passing for 217 yards, one touchdown and an interception.
Travis Etienne punched in the 4-yard touchdown run to narrow the score to 20-17 with 11:49 left in the game.
But the upstart Jaguars, playing under first-year coach Doug Pederson, faltered down the stretch.
Jaguars receiver Jamal Agnew fumbled a catch inside the 10-yard line, and Lawrence threw an interception to Chiefs rookie cornerback Jaylen Watson with 3:55 remaining that spoiled Jacksonville’s comeback.
The Jaguars added a 48-yard field goal late but were unable to recover the onside kick with 25 seconds left in the game.
The Jaguars, the AFC South champions, won a thrilling wild-card playoff game last week against Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers in which they came back from a 27-point deficit.
But they ran into the Chiefs dynasty.
Chiefs playoff outlook
Mahomes, coach Andy Reid and the Chiefs continued their playoff success with another trip to the AFC championship — the fifth in a row, which ties them with the Oakland Raiders, who also reached five straight AFC title games from 1973-77.
The Chiefs hope to reach the Super Bowl for the third time in four seasons. They won the Super Bowl in the 2019 season, and they lost to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020.
Only the New England Patriots have reached more AFC title games consecutively with eight appearances from 2011-18.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Patrick Mahomes overcomes ankle injury, Chiefs beat Jaguars to reach fifth AFC title game in a row