Patrick Mahomes Hurt His Throwing Elbow on a Strip-Sack and Did Not Miss a Snap. There Is Still No Diagnosis.
Patrick Mahomes walked to the Arrowhead sideline late in the second quarter Sunday holding his right arm, and for a few minutes the Kansas City Chiefs looked like a team whose season had just ended. Then he came back out and finished a 35-12 win over the New York Jets.
The hit came with 1:40 left in the second quarter. Jets rookie edge rusher David Bailey caught Mahomes on the right arm mid-throw, the ball came loose, and Will McDonald recovered it. It was Bailey’s second sack of Mahomes in three plays. He finished with two sacks and two forced fumbles.
Mahomes went to the sideline, took test throws while trainers worked on the elbow, and returned on the Chiefs’ next possession after the Jets missed a field goal. He did not miss an offensive snap. His first throw back was a 12-yard completion to Travis Kelce.
He Finished 23 of 31 and Then Said the Quiet Part
Mahomes went 23 of 31 for 242 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Both scores went to Kenneth Walker III, who had three on the day. In the second half Mahomes was 12 of 16 for 122 yards while Kansas City outscored New York 21-0.
The honesty afterward was the interesting part. “It scares you in moments when you get some pains,” Mahomes said. “Obviously, it didn’t feel great.” He said he had not been throwing the way he wanted at halftime, and that the plan now is to “get the swelling and fluid out of it” so he can start next week.
He also described exactly what he was checking for in real time: “From the stories you hear, whenever you can grab the ball and try to throw it, you can’t throw.”
Andy Reid gave the version coaches give. “It’s sore, but he came back. He’s a tough kid,” Reid told CBS at halftime. Postgame he added, “If there’s any way he can come back from something, he’s coming back.”
Here is what nobody has: a diagnosis. Mahomes was scheduled for additional testing after the game, and as of Sunday evening there is no imaging result and no timeline. Anyone telling you how many games he will miss is guessing.
A Half-Billion-Dollar Quarterback With a Second Straight Scare
Mahomes is 31 and signed an eight-year extension reported at $504.75 million in June, the first $500 million player contract in NFL history, with a reported $237.25 million guaranteed over the first four years. It runs through the 2033 season.
It also comes one year after he tore the ACL and LCL in his left knee in Week 15 of 2025 and missed the rest of a season Kansas City finished 6-11. He has started every game in 2026. Two straight years with an in-season injury scare is the part the Chiefs cannot wave off, even on a day they won by 23.
The Kicker Problem Did Not Go Away
Harrison Butker missed two long field goals before halftime, including a 51-yarder as the half expired, and the Arrowhead crowd booed him. “I’m booing myself sometimes,” Butker said. “I gotta be better.”
Justin Tucker, 36, has been on the Chiefs practice squad since late October, signed after Butker’s rough game in Seattle. Reid refused to say what happens next. “I’ll look at everything,” he said. “I’m not making any decisions right now today.”
Kansas City is 6-2 and snapped a two-game losing streak, but Denver is 7-2 and leads the AFC West. The Chiefs are at Atlanta on Nov. 15. Whether their quarterback throws there is the only question that matters.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
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