Kansas City Chiefs’ quarterback Pat Mahomes will be out for as much as five weeks with a dislocated right kneecap he suffered during last week’s 30-6 blow-out win versus the Denver Broncos. It didn’t take long for fans to stop holding their collective breath as according to an MRI done on Friday, it was shown that the knee did not display any additional ligament damage. League sources told ESPN that the reigning NFL MVP could possibly come back as soon as three weeks.
Matt Moore who hadn’t played a game since 2017, stepped up as he completed 10 of 19 passes for 117 yards for the game. Moore was originally third on the depth chart before second stringer Chad Henne was placed into the Injured Reserve list. Henne suffered a broken ankle and is eligible to come back to practice with the team by week eight. Looking for options outside of an out-of-practice Moore and a hobbled Henne, the Chiefs called up undrafted rookie Kyle Shurmur from the practice squad. The Vanderbilt alum is the son of current New York Giants Head Coach, Pat Shurmur, who also served as an assistant under Andy Reid back when the latter was head coach in Philadelphia for ten seasons.
Even Mahomes’ return may bring a lot of questions, many of them centered on whether he’ll return back to the level he had been playing for the last year or so. Mahomes was already dealing with a nagging ankle injury, but that didn’t seem to affect his game for much of this season. Mahomes’ game is very much tied to his mobility and ability to throw for long distances on the run. As of Oct. 23, “The Gunslinger” has racked up 2,180 passing yards and an above average touchdown to interception ratio of 15 touchdowns to a measly one interception.
In this four-week stretch the Chiefs will face the Packers and Vikings at home, capping off with back-to-back road games against the Titans and Los Angeles Chargers. According to Pro Football Focus, three out of the four teams are ranked in the top 15 in overall defense. Green Bay, Tennessee, and Minnesota have very stout defenses that might pose serious issues for Kansas City’s offense. Throughout week six, Minnesota’s trio of Eric Hendricks, Anthony Harris, and Harrison Smith have a combined 15 forced incompletions.
The Vikings feature one of the savvier defenses as they’re well coached and are very good at communicating with each other, thus making it easier for them to adjust to complex offensive plays. The Chargers have a budding tour de force in Joey Bosa who, this season, has five sacks and 14 solo tackles. The 6 foot 5, 280-pound defensive end’s combination of size, speed, and strength makes him a near impossible matchup to game plan against. Green Bay’s dynamic duo Preston Smith and Za’Darius Smith are both in the top ten leagues wide in sacks with six and seven respectively. Tennessee’s ranked fifth in points allowed and might be the toughest matchup Kansas City will face. As Mahomes works his way back on the field, the Chiefs can only weather the storm and hope for the best.