Patrick Mahomes has won NFL games while coping with a high ankle sprain.
Sunday’s game in the Kroenke Dome may reveal if Justin Herbert can do likewise, while Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh gets his first crack at the Chiefs.
If the Chargers let him play, Herbert will have to manage the high ankle sprain he suffered two weeks ago.
Showing how it can be done, Mahomes responded to high ankle sprains by leading the 2019 and 2022 Chiefs to several wins in Super Bowl-winning seasons.
It may not be fair to compare anyone to Mahomes, but as a widely acclaimed top-10 QB based in the same conference and division, it’s on Herbert, 26, to perform at a somewhat similar level to the Chiefs’ star.
Mahomes, 29, has shown a rare ability to overcome injuries.
Despite the high sprain to his left ankle late in the season opener five years ago, he fueled a 4-0 start that sent K.C. toward a No. 1 playoff seed and its first of three Super Bowl victories under Mahomes and coach Andy Reid.
In January 2023, Mahomes limped out of a divisional-round playoff game with a high ankle sprain.
This time it was his right ankle, but the results weren’t much different. The Chiefs won out.
Also: aggravating the injury three weeks later didn’t prevent Mahomes from directing a shootout victory in the Super Bowl, 38-35, against the Eagles.
Herbert suffered a high ankle sprain late in the Week 2 win at Carolina,
He started last week at Pittsburgh and had a crisp first half, guiding L.A. to a 13-10 lead.
But after he was sacked twice in the third quarter, he hobbled off and was replaced by Taylor Heinicke. The Steelers pulled away for a 20-10 victory.
The Steelers (3-0) rush the passer better than the Chiefs (3-0) and are playing much better defense overall.
Assisted by opponents’ choking at times, the Chiefs have eked out three wins, each by seven points or fewer.
Having ruled out left tackle Rashawn Slater (chest muscle) and listed Herbert as questionable, the Chargers could sit Herbert to facilitate his recovery going into the bye week, followed by a Week 6 game at Denver.
Again, Mahomes sets a high standard.
He missed no games following his high ankle sprains, though he did get a week off before the Super Bowl practice week.
Talk to Philip Rivers about an AFC QB making it extra tough for all QBs, and he’d say tell me about it.
Most of Rivers’ career overlapped with Tom Brady leading the Patriots to six Super Bowl victories. Along the way, Brady blew past all the performance levels associated with a QB moving deep into his 30s and then his 40s.
But, as impressive as Marty Schottenheimer could be, Rivers didn’t play under a head coach as capable as Harbaugh, a former longtime NFL QB who, as a head coach, won an NFC title and Michigan’s first undisputed national title in 75 years.
So on Sunday, it’ll be up to Herbert to come close to a Mahomesian level, while Harbaugh will need to show he has the chops to counter the scourge of the AFC West in Reid, who has led K.C. to eight consecutive divisional titles and four of the past five Super Bowls.
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