A look back at last time a Chiefs QB started playoff game one week after ankle injury
Facing the Jaguars in a must-win game, the Chiefs saw their quarterback go down with an ankle injury. But KC’s backup quarterback led a key touchdown drive before the starter returned, and the Chiefs beat Jacksonville at Arrowhead Stadium.
That happened Saturday, right?
It also took place in the Chiefs’ regular-season finale in 2006.
Chiefs quarterback Trent Green’s ankle was injured during that Jags game more than 16 years ago. But he came back to start a week later in a postseason game.
I spoke with Green, who is now a CBS Sports analyst, about that experience and to possibly shed light on what Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is going through ahead of Sunday’s AFC Championship Game.
The extent of Mahomes’ ankle injury is unknown, but Green did more than suffer a sprain.
“I tore two ligaments and one of the ligaments tore a piece of bone off my ankle,” Green said. “So I don’t know what they call that. But we played the Colts the next week in the wild-card round.
“So I did play in that. I did treatment basically all day every day just getting ready for it.“
The Chiefs squeezed into the playoffs that season with the win and losses by three teams in the last week of the regular season (two in overtime).
That set up a postseason meeting with the Colts, who had the No. 2 offense in the NFL that season.
With Green slowed by the injury, Chiefs coach Herm Edwards’ plan was to lean even more heavily on his workhorse in the playoffs. Running back Larry Johnson had an NFL-record 416 rushing attempts (for 1,789 yards) that season.
Indianapolis shut down Johnson, but it was only a one-score game heading into the fourth quarter.
However, Peyton Manning’s touchdown pass to Reggie Wayne early in the period gave the Colts a 23-8 lead and that’s how it ended.
“Herm was the head coach and he wanted to keep it close and run the ball,” Green recalled. “But eventually we fell behind by a couple scores and we had to start pushing so that’s when the interceptions happened. There’ just wasn’t enough time left, so we had to try pushing the ball up the field. That wasn’t a fun one.”
Green completed 14 of 24 passes for 107 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions that day against Indianapolis.
That hard work didn’t end with the playoff loss and the start of the offseason.
“After that game, I probably had another six weeks of rehab where I was going in every day just continuing to rehab so it didn’t affect me the following season.
“(Returning from an injury) is part of the deal, though, during the season and especially when you get to the postseason.”
Mahomes can attest to that.
