"The injury is a big deal" - Stephen A. Smith sends warning to Chiefs with Joe Burrow threat looming
The Kansas City Chiefs will host the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship game on Sunday and Stephen A. Smith has some concerns for the host team. On Monday morning's episode of "First Take" on ESPN, Smith said that quarterback Patrick Mahomes' high ankle sprain is worrisome for the Chiefs.
He said that Mahomes and the Chiefs are 0-3 when facing Joe Burrow. One of those losses came in the AFC Championship game last season.
Despite an injury, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes lead the team to its 5th straight AFC championship game. @trevorlault has more.
gma.abc/3HmZS9P
He said those losses were when Mahomes was healthy and now with the ankle injury, the situation isn't any better for Kansas City.
"This is a big deal. It's a big deal for Mahomes. I mean, there's no doubt about this, because he's 0 and 3 against Burrow. And that's when you were healthy. And that's not to say throw any shade on Patrick Mahomes. You did throw for 275 yards in the AFC Championship game. All right, when you went up against Joe Burrow, right. You did do that."
Smith went on to say that an ankle injury is a big deal no matter what. He doesn't have wide receiver Tyreek Hill like he did in previous seasons, who can cause defenses to miss and open up the field. He stated that the Kansas City wide receivers are dependable, but that they will not be able to rely solely on deep passes to score points. They will have to have good offensive play calling it a 'methodically march down the field' to make plays happen.
"The bottom line is this. The injury is a big deal. Because I think Patrick Mahomes is gonna need every nugget in his arsenal to beat Joe Burrow. Listen, Tyreek Hill is gone. You can't throw a screen pass to him and watch them take it to the house. You can't watch them take it to the house. All right. JuJu Smith Schuster, Valdes- Scantling.
These brothers can play they're not scrubs. Travis Kelce. We know he's that reliable weapon but you're going to methodically march down the field and beat an opponent if you're the Kansas City Chiefs as opposed to one big breakaway play, you know, with Patrick Mahomes making something happen if he's inhibited in any way because Cincinnati's defense hasn't gotten enough credit."
Smith finished by saying that the Cincinnati Bengals defense hasn't gotten a lot of credit, especially after their performance on Sunday against the Buffalo Bills. With the ESPN co-host convinced that Patrick Mahomes and company will have a hard time making their way to a possible Super Bowl appearance.
Patrick Mahomes has more wins than any other Chiefs quarterback
The Kansas City Chiefs won their way to their fifth straight AFC Championship game on Saturday afternoon. In the last four seasons, the Chiefs have won nine playoff games, including a Super Bowl win as well. This recent success comes after decades of loss and turmoil for Kansas City Chiefs fans.
After going 22 years without a playoff win and a 45 year span with only 3 playoff wins, Kansas City has won 9 playoff games over the last 4 years. 5 straight AFC Title Games. Patrick Mahomes has more playoff wins than every other past Chiefs QB combined. #ChiefsKingdom @KCTV5 https://t.co/LQTpiXbFxC
Before Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid arrived and flipped the script, Kansas City went 22 seasons without a playoff win. In 45 years, the franchise has won just three playoff games.
Mahomes currently has himself in a league of his own amongst franchise records. He now has more playoff wins than any other quarterback in franchise history with a 9-3 playoff record.