Patrick Mahomes overcame an ankle injury to help the Chiefs beat the Jaguars and reach the AFC Championship game for the fifth straight season; the Divisional Round continues Sunday with the Cincinnati Bengals @ Buffalo Bills and the Dallas Cowboys @ San Francisco 49ers on Sky Sports NFL.
Sunday 22 January 2023 12:33, UK
Patrick Mahomes returned from an ankle injury and Travis Kelce caught two touchdown passes as the Kansas City Chiefs recorded a 27-20 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars to advance to the AFC Championship Game for the fifth straight season.
Mahomes missed most of the second quarter due to the right ankle injury but returned to finish 22 of 30 passing for 195 yards and two touchdowns, while backup quarterback Chad Henne also threw a scoring pass.
Kelce's 14 receptions (for 98 yards) tied for third most in NFL postseason history, with Marquez Valdes-Scantling also adding a touchdown catch for Kansas City.
Nick Bolton (fumble) and Jaylen Watson (interception) each had key takeaways in the fourth quarter to help see off the Jaguars.
The top-seeded Chiefs will face either the second-seeded Buffalo Bills or third-seeded Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC title game, with their matchup scheduled to take place Sunday in what will mark their first meeting since Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest in their Week 17 contest.
Trevor Lawrence was 24-of-39 passing for 217 yards, a touchdown to Christian Kirk and one interception for the fourth-seeded Jaguars, while Travis Etienne also rushed for a score.
Jacksonville trailed by 10 entering the final quarter but travelled 75 yards on seven plays to move within 20-17 on Etienne's four-yard run with 11:49 remaining.
Mahomes countered with his own 75-yard touchdown drive, on the 10th play of which he tossed a six-yard scoring jump-pass to Valdes-Scantling to push the lead back to 10 with 7:08 left.
Lawrence guided the Jaguars on another drive but Jamal Agnew fumbled the ball at the Kansas City four-yard line with Bolton recovering with 5:29 remaining. .
On Jacksonville's next drive, Lawrence was intercepted by Watson with 3:48 left before Riley Patterson later kicked a 48-yard field goal with 25 seconds remaining only to see his ensuing onside kick recovered by Kansas City's Kadarius Toney with 25 seconds left.
Mahomes had been hurt late in the first quarter on a play in which he was tackled by Jacksonville's Corey Peters and Arden Key, the Chiefs quarterback falling awkwardly to the ground as Key fell on his right lower leg.
Henne replaced Mahomes with 9:59 left in the second quarter and drove the Chiefs 98 yards on 12 plays for a touchdown pass to Kelce.
Mahomes subsequently returned at the outset of the second half with the ankle heavily taped.
He had got things underway in the first quarter with an eight-yard touchdown pass to Kelce, in reply to which Lawrence floated a beautifully-placed 10-yard score to Kirk.
Kansas City moved ahead 10-7 on Harrison Butker's 50-yard field goal, the possession in which Mahomes injured the ankle.
The ball was on the Chiefs' two-yard line when Henne entered the game and he drove the club downfield in Mahomes-like manner before his one-yard throw to Kelce made it 17-7 with 3:54 left in the half.
Patterson booted a 41-yard field goal for the Jaguars with 27 seconds remaining.
Butker kicked another 50-yarder with eight seconds left in the third quarter to give Kansas City a 20-10 advantage.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes: "It's a credit to the guys around me, the offensive line kept me clean in the pocket knowing I couldn't move and guys made plays around me, that's what a great team does.
"I did not want to go, they kind of gave me the ultimatum of I was not going back in the game unless I went in the locker room, they tried to take care of me but it's going to take a lot to keep me out of a football game.
"The X-rays were negative, haven't diagnosed anything yet but I'll be good to go."
The NFL Divisional Round continues on Sunday night when the Buffalo Bills host the Cincinnati Bengals for the first time since Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest during their Week 17 Monday Night Football matchup, with the winner set to take on the Chiefs. Watch it live on Sky Sports NFL from 8pm.
Then, following on from the action in Buffalo, the Dallas Cowboys travel to the San Francisco 49ers as two of the NFL's most prestigious franchises do battle in view of securing a spot in the NFC Championship Game next weekend. Kick-off in Santa Clara is at 11.30pm.
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