Should the Kansas City Chiefs put Patrick Mahomes on ice?

I think so. He's too valuable. Even if it costs the Chiefs the No. 1 seed in the AFC, they cannot afford to lose the quarterback built for the playoff moment.

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Let’s take a tour through the anatomy of the modern NFL player. Head to toe, here’s what defined Week 15 of the NFL.

GPS systems for all teams involved were adjusted accordingly.

Brain of Jonathan Taylor. Wires got crossed at the top of the third quarter. The Indianapolis Colts running back — who’s quite bright! — malfunctioned at the 1-yard line. Instead of crossing the goal line with the ball in his hands and giving Indy a 20-7 lead, Taylor inexplicably dropped the ball to transition into his celebration. Momentum swung, Denver won, the 2024 Colts are done.

Arm of Josh Allen. It was another tour de force for the odds-on MVP quarterback. He made another half-dozen hypnotizing plays and the best of the best was this 64-yard strike to rookie Keon Coleman. He makes 274-pound Josh Paschal look 174 pounds, skipping past the defensive end with ease, before then loading up his cannon at the Bills 26-yard line and gunning the ball to Coleman at the Lions’ 18. Nothing strikes fear in defenses this season more than an arm that can fit any ball in any window. Bills teammates are fitting imaginary crowns atop their QB’s head during games. All must feel a sense of invincibility.

Feet of Jayden Daniels. This touchdown pass to Terry McLaurin in a 20-19 win at New Orleans makes zero sense. It’s only possible because the No. 2 overall pick dances so effortlessly on his toes. Considering the officials decided to stop the clock at the end of the game, the Commanders needed these theatrics, too. Maybe DraftKings can start sponsoring the NFL’s pool reports after such egregious mistakes. Either way, Daniels hinted again he’s an individual talent capable of upsetting anyone in the NFC.

Hands of Romeo Doubs. The Green Bay Packers wide receiver somehow crouched low to snag this Jordan Love TD. If these two recapture their mojo, it’s a game-changer.

But nothing matters more right now than the right ankle of Patrick Mahomes.

With 7:57 remaining in the Chiefs’ 21-7 win over the Cleveland Browns, even the pliable, Gumby-like quarterback couldn’t wiggle out of this jam. One defensive tackle (Dalvin Tomlinson) submarines the quarterback low while another defensive tackle (Mike Hall) drills him high. Reports on Monday confirmed that Mahomes suffered a mild high-ankle sprain. He’s considered week to week. Losing Mahomes would obviously be a death blow for a Chiefs team that’s been living dangerously all season long. Ten of their wins are by one score or less.

While the running joke is that officials are in the bag for Kansas City, the NFL didn’t do the back-to-back champs any favors with this brutal scheduling. They’re in the midst of playing three games in an 11-day span. The Chiefs will host the Houston Texans (9-5) on Saturday before then traveling to Pittsburgh to face the AFC North-leading Steelers (10-4) on Christmas Day for a Wednesday game. But don’t worry, everyone: “Football is Family” and Roger Goodell cares deeply about player safety.

Mahomes said he could’ve returned to the Browns game under different circumstances.

We’ve seen this all before obviously. Two years ago, the same ankle crunched in the same fashion. The grisly replays are similar — Mahomes gets sandwiched in a sea of bodies. In 2022, he suffered the high-ankle sprain in a divisional playoff win over Jacksonville. Then he reaggravated the injury in KC’s Super Bowl win over Philadelphia. Only two more wins were required. No way was Andy Reid holding his quarterback back.

Mahomes will want to play. Most competitors do — let alone one of the most diabolical competitors the sport’s ever known.

The No. 1 seed is also exceptionally important. The difference between the Chiefs hosting Allen and the surging Bills at Arrowhead and traveling to Orchard Park, NY is massive. Take it from anyone who lives here in Western New York. Most of us in the Southtowns are still digging out of 3+ feet of snow for the second time in two weeks. These Bills are especially dominant at home — in their preferred elements — with a fan base starving for a championship. Ever since getting embarrassed by Cincinnati, GM Brandon Beane and head coach Sean McDermott have been reconfiguring both the roster and the coaching staff to win games in January.

The Chiefs could gamble on the power of weekly pain meds and ‘round the clock treatment.

But this time, it’s not a matter of 2 ½ games. Even with the benefit of a bye week, Mahomes is a full six games away from hoisting the Lombardi Trophy. That’s a major difference. All pros who’ve suffered high-ankle sprains will tell you that the best treatment is time. This is also a Chiefs offense that’s had issues on the offensive line since Week 1. On Sunday, the Browns pressured Mahomes 21 times and hit him 12 times.

Point being, the odds of that right ankle getting pinched in another compromising position are very high. The next two weeks alone, the Chiefs must contend with Will Anderson Jr., Danielle Hunter, T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith. There’s a reasonable chance a “mild” sprain becomes “severe,” and Mahomes has no choice but to sit in the playoffs. And this Chiefs roster is more similar to the 2016 Raiders team that lost MVP candidate Derek Carr to a broken leg than the 2017 Eagles that lost Wentz. The season would be over. If we learned anything from Michael MacCambridge’s extraordinary three-part series on three-peating, it’s that nothing matters more than your greatest talent being healthy at the right time.

Getting Mahomes as close as possible to 100 percent for playoff games should be Priority No. 1. That’s this team’s clearest path toward another ring.

These Kansas City Chiefs should ask themselves hard questions right now.

Yes, they’re 13-1. But they’re also very flawed. They also were a bungled snap away from losing to Aidan O’Connell.

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The ace forever up the organization’s sleeve is Patrick Mahomes In The Last Minute. No quarterback is cooler. No quarterback is calmer. When Mahomes took the field for those 13 fateful seconds at Arrowhead against the Bills, remember, his heart rate slowed to a crawl. And NFL playoff games almost always boil down to the final possession. Games tighten. Coordinators pull out their best stuff. Kansas City is comfortable in these uncomfortably tight moments. Ugly as this season’s been, they’ve executed when the pressure is highest. And that’s a skill. Before the Chiefs doinked a field goal in to beat the L.A. Chargers, Mahomes pulled the red cape from a charging bull and found Travis Kelce for a conversion that allowed the Chiefs to melt the clock.

Six of the Chiefs’ seven postseason wins the last two Super Bowl runs were decided by one score or less. Through this 7-0 run, Mahomes averaged 251 yards per game with 13 touchdowns, one interception on 71 percent passing.

Historically, nobody has locked in like him. Not even Tom Brady.

Lamar Jackson was the 2023 MVP. He was rattled by such pressure moments in the AFC title game.

Josh Allen will be the 2024 MVP. It remains be to seen how he wears that crown this postseason.

There’s a dream scenario for the Chiefs. Wentz would have the best offensive coach in the NFL devising a gameplan. Perhaps KC manages to defeat Houston and/or Pittsburgh. Perhaps that Week 18 finale against Denver wouldn’t mean a thing with a No. 1 seed locked up, and Mahomes would have a full month of rest before gearing up for another Super Bowl run. Most players take several weeks to let a high-ankle sprain heal.

To win a fourth Super Bowl, the Chiefs cannot risk getting stuck with Clark Kent against Allen.

They need Superman.

No Huddle

• Stats are deceiving. Yes, Jared Goff threw for 494 yards and five touchdowns with zero interceptions. The Detroit Lions finished with 42 points. A fantasy football bonanza. But these same Lions only had 14 points as late as two minutes to go in the third quarter — trailing, 35-14. They lost command of this game from the jump. The head coach who always dictates the terms of the fight found himself attempting onside kicks with 12 minutes still to play. Goff was hit 10 times in all, three apiece by Ed Oliver and Greg Rousseau. One week after squandering a sublime performance by Josh Allen, give head coach Sean McDermott credit for embracing a track meet at Ford Field. They kept their collective boots firmly on the throats of a hurting Lions defense that lost two more defensive starters on Sunday: cornerback Carlton Davis and defensive tackle Alim McNeill. At no point did Buffalo try to conservatively manage a lead. Instead, they thirsted for more and all 48 points were required in the end. What should scare the Chiefs — and everyone in the AFC — is the Bills’ ability to toggle between play styles. They can punish a team on the ground in lake-effect snow (ask Kyle Shanahan) and they can also shift into Greatest Show on Turf mode. The key is for McDermott to grasp what sort of game he’s engaged in, early, and lean into the correct mode. The personnel’s in place to win either type of game.

• David Montgomery is out indefinitely with a sprained MCL, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Monday. This latest batch of injuries could kill off Super Bowl dreams. The Lions are now in danger of falling to the five seed. Of course, we all know better than to doubt Dan Campbell.

• Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams partied like it’s 2019, hooking up nine times for 198 yards and two touchdowns in a fun win at Jacksonville. Will a game like this be enough to convince one of the 32 teams that Rodgers is worth a starting spot in 2025? One week ago, he finally threw for 300 yards, ending a 34-game skid. My guess is that such heroics are all too-little, too-late and even bad owners realize they cannot let Rodgers railroad their franchise like he did to the New York Jets. But one team to keep an eye on? San Francisco. Brock Purdy is hoping to reset the quarterback market at $60 million per year, NFLN reported. Kyle Shanahan has taken both Purdy and Jimmy Garoppolo to Super Bowls and let’s not forget that Kyle Shanahan thinks very highly of himself. After already extending several starters to long-term deals, maybe he talks himself into squeezing a Super Bowl run out of a 41-year-old Rodgers. To quote one of the QB’s favorite movies, What About Bob… “He’s not gone. He’s never gone!” Hey, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em: Rodgers is 0-4 against the 49ers in the playoffs.

• Not too long ago, we wondered when the Packers’ pass rush would show up. In a 30-13 blowout over the Seattle Seahawks, the defense totaled seven sacks (from six different players) and 12 QB hits. Rookie Edgerrin Cooper was back and disruptive with one sack and one interception. Kingsley Enagbare, featured here in ’23, was a force with two sacks. Gary, the team’s $95M edge rusher, has 4.5 sacks his last six games. Get the quarterback off his spot to this extreme and a long postseason run is possible. At one point, even the undrafted Brenton Cox Jr. bench-pressed ninth overall pick Charles Cross to sling Sam Howell to the turf. Per TruMedia, the Packers pressured Seattle on 45.2 percent of dropbacks. Better yet? The Packers didn’t break personality. DC Jeff Hafley only sent five or more rushers 9.5 percent of the time. Green Bay’s getting pressure without blitzing, and that’s a promising sign for any team with Super Bowl aspirations. It’ll be tempting to give Cooper the green light on key downs, too.

• Coaches lose games. Players win games. We say it all the time. So, let’s give Nick Sirianni a round of applause. His Philadelphia Eagles completely imploded one year ago and have threatened to do the same at various points in 2024. Yet, all the Eagles (12-2) do is win. One week after needing an Xavier Legette drop to beat Carolina — with A.J. Brown throwing shade at his own quarterback — all was A-OK in a 27-13 statement win over Pittsburgh. Sirianni doesn’t call plays for either the offense or the defense. New coordinators Kellen Moore and Vic Fangio call the shots. But it sure seems like Sirianni has a good handle of his locker room and can manage egos. That matters. On the field, Philly needs an effective downfield passing game to go on another Super Bowl run, and they got one from Jalen Hurts against the Steelers (25 of 32 for 290 yards, two touchdowns). The Eagles are loaded with talent. Maybe all Sirianni needs to do is stay out of the way. Keep thinking about this moment, when the head coach asked Saquon Barkley if he wanted to stay in the game to set a personal rushing record. (The Eagles would just love to avoid Tampa Bay at all costs.)

• Detroit and Pittsburgh opened the door to Minnesota and Baltimore. The North in both conferences is up for grabs.

• Two years ago, GM Joe Douglas and head coach Robert Saleh were cackling and fist-pumping over the Houston Texans choosing Derek Stingley Jr. instead of Sauce Gardner at No. 3 overall. Now, both of those individuals are out of work and Stingley is clearly the superior cover corner. C.J. Stroud has regressed in Year 2, but the Houston Texans have a legit chance to crash somebody’s party in the AFC because of this defense. DeMeco Ryans’ defense held Miami to 12 points, 224 yards and created four turnovers. Miami only went 4 of 13 on third down — this was the worst a red-hot Tua Tagovailoa has looked since returning from his latest concussion. The “Terminator,” Will Anderson Jr., had the momentum-swinging sack/fumble on third and 5 in the first half and Stingley (two TFL) supplied the game-sealing interception — a leaping grab up in the sideline while covering Tyreek Hill. The Texans are AFC South champs again, which means they’ll host a playoff game. As other teams lose stars, they’ve been working back WR1 Nico Collins. Everyone’s preseason darling just may start heating up at the right time. Kansas City is next.

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