Gardner Minshew replaced Mahomes with the Kansas City’s playoff hopes on the line.
Down 16-13 with 1:53 remaining and the ball at the Chargers 46-yard line, Minshew completed three short passes before Derwin James intercepted his fifth pass attempt of the drive to end the game and eliminate a divisional rival from an 11th-consecutive postseason berth.
Mahomes was constantly harassed by L.A.’s defense before suffering the injury, getting sacked five times and sustaining several more hits while the Chargers pass rush pressured him on 48.6% of his dropbacks, per Next Gen Stats.
It amounted to a trying effort on Sunday for Mahomes, who went 16-of-28 passing for 189 yards, including one brutal interception early in the fourth quarter that led to a long Chargers possession that took seven-plus minutes off the clock.
While the Chiefs defense did their part, Mahomes and Co. had a chance to wipe away another rough outing with a game-winning drive.
Instead, Mahomes’ health was the concern as the Chiefs went on to miss the playoffs for the first time since 2014.
