Patrick Mahomes gave the Kansas City Chiefs a huge scare on Monday night before going on to inspire a dramatic overtime victory against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Chiefs continued their perfect start to the season after a thrilling encounter at Arrowhead Stadium, where Kareem AJ Hunt scored the winning touchdown in their first overtime drive.
Nevertheless, this was far from a straightforward night at the office for them.
Early in the fourth quarter, Kansas City was left holding its breath when Mahomes injured his left ankle after planting it awkwardly in the ground.
The Chiefs were 17-10 when their star man evaded pressure in the pocket and darted forward before stopping to flip the ball to Samaje Perine in the end zone.
Patrick Mahomes had to be helped off the field during the Chiefs’ game against the Bucs
Yet as he slowed down to pick out Perine, Mahomes was soon left in pain when his left leg appeared to buckle.
As the hosts celebrated scoring a touchdown and drawing level, the quarterback had to be helped off the field by team staff in worrying scenes.
The sight of Mahomes hobbling onto the sidelines was nightmare stuff for the Super Bowl champions, though he was fortunately able to quickly return to the field and play through the pain barrier without missing an offensive snap.
And that proved unfortunate for Tampa Bay.
With just over four minutes remaining, Mahomes again proved exactly how vital he is to this team by finding DeAndre Hopkins for his third touchdown pass of the night.
The link-up with Hopkins edged the Chiefs 24-17 ahead in the dying minutes and left the Bucs staring a third straight defeat in the face, only for Baker Mayfield to force overtime after picking out Ryan Miller for a pivotal touchdown inside the final minute and setting up a game-tying conversion.
Mayfield, though, then lost the coin toss to Mahomes and his dejected reaction painted a picture of what was to come. As in their first possession of overtime, the home side reigned supreme when Hunt scored the game-winning touchdown.
Mahomes was left in pain after appearing to jar his left leg at the start of the fourth quarter
He had to be helped off by Chiefs staff in worrying scenes for the Super Bowl champions
But Mahomes was able to quickly return to the game without missing an offensive play
It proved another night to savor for the Chiefs, but the Bucs will rue not going for a two-point score after Miller’s last-gasp touchdown.
Kansas City is now 8-0 for the season, ensuring they very much remain the team to beat in the NFL.
After their latest victory Mahomes was asked about the moment he gave Chiefs fans a huge fright at the start of the fourth quarter.
‘I rolled my ankle,’ he revealed. ‘I rolled it last week and when you roll it again it never feels good.’
Head coach Andy Reid said after the game that he told Mahomes he was going to take him out due to the injury, only to joke that his quarterback ‘about wanted to fight me’.
‘He might have the loosest Ankles in America,’ Reid added.
Travis Kelce, who fumbled the ball with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching on from the stands, gushed over the ‘culture’ at Arrowhead after Mahomes inspired the Chiefs to yet another victory.
‘Pat is playing out of his mind right now, Reid is dialing things up,’ Kelce said. ‘I almost handed it away a few times, my guys were right there with me.
‘Like I said it’s a culture, everybody just believes we are going to get it done. When Arrowhead is rocking like it was tonight it is hard to lose.
‘So special, even outside of here and the community, everybody shows up.’
Mahomes suffered his injury scare with wife Brittany and mom Randi watching on from the stands.
He was eventually able to go on and inspire yet another victory for Kansas City
Mahomes produced three touchdown passes as they improved their undefeated record to 8-0
Brittany could be seen sitting with Taylor Swift in a VIP suite at Arrowhead, with the pair putting their political differences to one side on the eve of the presidential election to cheer their partners on.
Mahomes went public with her Donald Trump support in September, liking multiple posts endorsing Trump and JD Vance at this week’s election.
Kelce’s girlfriend Swift, meanwhile, went public with her backing of the Democrats and even mocked Vance’s remarks about the United States being run by ‘childless cat ladies’.
But the Chiefs were a unifying force for Swift and Mahomes, who is also pregnant with her third child.
Patrick’s mom Randi, meanwhile, revealed she is voting for Trump in the election before Monday night’s game.
In a video for Outkick, filmed in a suite at Arrowhead Stadium wearing a MAGA cap, she said: ‘Make America great again, let’s do it!’
Chiefs quarterback Patrick has not said who he is voting for and says he will never reveal his choice publicly despite Brittany making no secret of her support for Trump.
