Patrick Mahomes On The Injury Report Before AFC Championship Game

01/22/2025 05:26 PM

Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs are set to play in their seventh straight AFC Championship Game on Sunday.

For the sixth time in the last seven years, that conference title game will be at Arrowhead Stadium. After going 15-2 in the regular season and earning the AFC's No. 1 seed, the Chiefs handled the Houston Texans in the Divisional Round last weekend, winning 23-14. They'll meet the Buffalo Bills this weekend to determine who will represent the conference in Super Bowl 59.

Mahomes is looking for his fifth career Super Bowl appearance. On Wednesday, the three-time champion appeared on the Chiefs' initial injury report for Sunday's game. 

Not to worry though: Mahomes was marked as a full participant. His injury designation was for his ankle, which he's been dealing with for a while now but has played through without issue.

Three other players--offensive guard Mike Caliendo, offensive tackle Jawaan Taylor and cornerback Jaylen Watson--also made the injury report, but all three were full participants.

Heading into Sunday, one of the major storylines surrounding the Chiefs is how Mahomes is officiated. 

Opposing fans and even some media members have accused NFL refs of being biased in Mahomes' favor, but the two-time MVP denied that's the case.

"I don't feel that way,'' Mahomes said today, via ESPN. "At the end of the day, the referees are doing their best to call the game as fair and as proper as they possibly can. And all you can do is go out there and play the game that you love as hard as you can and live with the results. ... I think that's what we preach here in Kansas City.

"You get new referees every year, you get new circumstances, and you never can really tell because every play's different and that's what makes the NFL so special. I feel like I've just continued to play the game, and I just try to win, and whatever happens kind of happens.''

Mahomes did admit he "probably" oversold a hit near the sideline in last week's game in an attempt to draw a penalty.

"I would say that the only one I felt like I probably did too much was the one on the sideline where I didn't get a flag, and the ref saw it and didn't throw a flag. And I understood it immediately and know that I probably shouldn't have done that," Mahomes said. "But, at the same time, the one that everybody's talking about where I fell down, it's like I was just trying to get out of the way of getting smoked by the defensive lineman running in.

"So, I'll try to keep doing that and not take those hits because that's the smart way to stay in the football game." 

The AFC Championship Game is set for 6:30 p.m. ET on Sunday on CBS.

Jim Nantz and Tony Romo will have the call.

Related: Patrick Mahomes Reveals If He Thinks He Gets Special Treatment From Refs