Did Jaguars defenders intentionally try to injure Patrick Mahomes?

Patrick Mahomes went down with a leg injury, and some are wondering if the Jags’ defense might have intentionally went after his ankle.

The NFL has done a good job in recent years to try to protect the quarterback, but some who are watching the Kansas City Chiefs host the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Divisional Round are wondering where some justice is at for a play that they believe to be dirty—targeting superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who injured his ankle on a play in the first quarter.

Mahomes went down when trying to throw downfield late in the first quarter after being hit by a couple of Jags players. Specifically defensive lineman Arden Key rolled on top of Mahomes’ leg at a freak angle and the Chiefs quarterback came up limping.

Mahomes would stay in the game for a few plays, but over time it became clear that he needed more treatment from trainers and the Chiefs turned to Chad Henne to take over the offense in the second quarter.

Injuries are a natural part of the game, and 99 percent of the time, they are the logical outcome of a physical battle. That said, there are moments when opposing players play dirty or allow their emotions to get the best of them. Some players are worse about this than others, but a couple of key NFL analysts and figures were talking about this in terms of an intentional injury shortly after watching it.

First, NFL analyst Warren Sharp called out the Jags defense in a way that said they meant to hurt Mahomes.

From there, Mahomes’ own trainer, Bobby Stroupe, weighed in and retweeted Sharp’s post with his own take that pushed the same narrative—that Key and/or other Jaguars’ defenders were attempting to gain some sort of on-field advantage by hurting Mahomes.

No flags were thrown on the play, so there are no ramifications here, but it will be interesting to see if anyone looks at this closer after the fact from the league office. At the very least, the players involved, including Mahomes, will be asked about the nature of the injury and how it happened.

As of press time, Mahomes is back on the sidelines and it will be interesting to see if he re-enters the game and/or how he looks if he does. But for now, there’s plenty of drama for those wondering whether or not the Jags are playing dirty and how it might affect the game’s biggest star.