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Adam Teicher, ESPN Staff Writer
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Chiefs are preparing for Patrick Mahomes to start Saturday’s game against the Houston Texans, but if their star quarterback’s ailing ankle prevents that from happening, they believe they can be successful if backup Carson Wentz plays.
“We have full confidence in Carson,” coach Andy Reid said. “If he has to step in and play, then I think everybody, coaches and players, has full confidence that he can go in and do a nice job. “He’s started in the league and been successful. He’s got a great feel for this offense. Very smart, big arm. I like the way he carries himself. I like everything about him. He should be starting in this league somewhere, so he’s a heck of a player.”
Mahomes said he’s pleased with the progress his injured right ankle has made since he suffered a high ankle sprain in Sunday’s 21-7 win over the Cleveland Browns. He said this injury isn’t as severe as a similar one he received in a 2022 divisional round playoff game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Then, he returned to the game after a short break and played in both the AFC Championship Game against the Cincinnati Bengals and the Super Bowl against the Philadelphia Eagles.
“Obviously, it’s football and you’re going to take hits, but you want to be able to protect yourself. So that’ll be where I’m at and I don’t want to limit the game plan. That’s another thing for me is I want to be able to move around the pocket so we’re not just sitting in one spot the whole entire game and letting their D-line really get after it. It’s about me finding that balance and seeing where I’m at … I won’t know until kind of close to the end of this week.”
Patrick Mahomes, on his ankle injury
“That [injury] was pretty significant,” Mahomes said. “But I want to be in a better spot than I was in that next game going up against the Bengals. So, I’ll try to see if I can get there.
“I want to be able to move. I want to be able to get out of the way. [Houston’s] is a good pass rush, a good defense. They fly around. You don’t want to go out there and put yourself in harm’s way. Obviously, it’s football and you’re going to take hits, but you want to be able to protect yourself. So that’ll be where I’m at and I don’t want to limit the game plan. That’s another thing for me is I want to be able to move around the pocket so we’re not just sitting in one spot the whole entire game and letting their D-line really get after it. It’s about me finding that balance and seeing where I’m at … I won’t know until kind of close to the end of this week.”
The 13-1 Chiefs have clinched the AFC West championship and a playoff spot but are chasing the AFC’s No. 1 seed, which carries a first-round postseason bye and home-field advantage. They would clinch with two wins in their final three games so they could lose to Texans but still get the top seed by beating the Pittsburgh Steelers and Denver Broncos in the final two games.
“I wouldn’t say it’s dire that I play,” Mahomes said. “It’s not in the AFC Championship Game where we’re playing to get to the Super Bowl. We have a little bit of room to kind of spare, but at the end of the day, we’re trying to win. We’re trying to win the football game and I’m a competitor. I want to go out there and play, so I’ll push myself to get to the best place possible over these next few days and we’ll be able to make a decision then.
“I’m not going to put our team in a bad position. If I feel like I can play and go out there and win a football game, I’ll play. And if I don’t feel like that’s the best-case scenario, I’ll let guys like Carson play. He’s a guy that’s winning this league as well, so it’s just about pushing it this week, seeing where I’m at and making the best decision.”
Wentz is in his first season with the Chiefs. He replaced Mahomes in the fourth quarter of the game against the Browns.
Reid said Mahomes has asked him why Wentz doesn’t have a starting job somewhere in the NFL himself and suggested Wentz would have one of those jobs next season.
“That’s the conversations you hear with guys that are in that room,” Reid said. “Selfishly, I’d like to keep him here in his position, but I kind of know what’s going on out there with quarterbacks and this guy is I think really good.”