Chiefs defense guides team to Week 7 victory after Patrick Mahomes injury

Editor’s update: Mahomes did not suffer any significant additional damage to his dislocated knee cap, per NFL Network. Here’s a look at a potential timeline.

The Kansas City Chiefs made Joe Flacco’s night miserable, and it was critical to the team securing a much needed divisional win. And yet, most Chiefs fans will not be overly excited by the 27-6 final score. Patrick Mahomes suffered a knee injury in the second quarter and was quickly ruled out.

Mahomes came into the game dealing with an ankle sprain, and there was some concern about the stability of the ankle. It remains to be seen how the ankle impacted the situation, but the Chiefs called a QB sneak and Mahomes came out of it in pain. Initially they brought a cart out, but he was able to walk off somewhat under his own power.

The QB went back to the locker room for an x-ray, and as noted by sideline reporter Erin Andrews, it took only a couple minutes for the Chiefs to formally rule Mahomes out for the rest of the game. Initial reports have it as a dislocated knee, but the big question raised is whether or not Mahomes suffered any ligament damage. If there is no ligament damage, one comp is Matthew Stafford. He dislocated his knee cap in 2009 and missed two games plus the team’s bye week before returning. On the other hand, if there’s ligament damage, he could require season-ending surgery. So, we wait for the MRI on Friday morning.

The game was almost an after thought in spite of a phenomenal performance by the Chiefs defense. Matt Moore took over for Mahomes, and actually looked decent. He connected with Tyreek Hill on a 57-yard catch and run touchdown, and finished the night 10 of 19 for 117 yards and a touchdown. All things considered, the Chiefs could not have expected more.

But this game was all about the Chiefs defense. You could see the way this thing was going on the Broncos first drive after Mahomes hurt himself. The Chiefs took a 13-6 lead on a field goal after Mahomes got hurt. On the second play of the next Broncos drive, the Chiefs strip-sacked Joe Flacco, and Reggie Ragland ran the ball back for a score.

And yet, things just seemed to get worse from there. The Chiefs ended up sacking Flacco nine times and the Broncos quarterback looked like he had zero interest in playing a football game Thursday evening. Considering the kind of emotional letdown you might expect for Kansas City after losing Mahomes, the 30-6 thumping was a little bit of a shocker.

The Chiefs improve to 5-2 while the Broncos drop to 2-5. The Chiefs host the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football next week, and the Broncos travel to face the Indianapolis Colts. If Matt Moore starts, he faces a huge test against a tough Packers defense, while Vic Fangio’s life does not get any easier in Denver.