How the Chiefs can keep Mahomes safe

After Sunday’s scary day for Mahomes, it is absolutely crucial that the Chiefs keep Mahomes safe during the rest of the 2021 playoff run.

The Chiefs beat the Browns on Sunday, despite having to play Chad Henne for most of the second half. Henne’s performance was definitely a mixed bag. He had one terrible INT in the endzone on the first drive, but on the last drive, he ran for nearly a first down, icing the game one play later.

It would be very hard for the Chiefs to win again with Chad Henne, especially in the AFC championship, so they must find ways to make sure Mahomes is 100% safe from now on.

The Bills have the same amount of sacks as the Browns, but the Bills don’t have Myles Garrett. They rank in the bottom 1/4 of the league in pressure rate, despite blitzing the 8th most in the league. The OL just must hold up against this rush and keep the hits on Mahomes to a minimum.

The coaching staff can help keep Mahomes safe as well. If they can draw up plays that keep Mahomes throwing fast or not out of the pocket, it would lower the number of at-risk plays. They appeared to do this after his ankle injury on Sunday, but due to his head/neck injury, we couldn’t see how it would’ve played out in the final part of the game.

I would expect the number of plays out of the shotgun to increase, along with short routes, unless a big play is absolutely needed. With most teams, I would worry about the change in the gameplan, but the Chiefs know how to adapt in these situations. I still fully expect the Chiefs to keep this game close and hopefully win the Lamar Hunt trophy once again.

All eyes are on Mahomes and company this Sunday when they play the Bills for a spot in Tampa Bay. The health of Mahomes will be a huge point of attention in this game, and it is up to the Chiefs to keep him safe and ready to put up a show.