KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes was able to play through pain in his right arm after absorbing a massive hit during Sunday's 35-12 victory over the Jets, with sources telling NFL Network's Ian Rapoport that an MRI taken postgame didn't reveal any major injury to the quarterback's right elbow.
Jets edge rusher David Bailey hit Mahomes' right arm while he was attempting a pass late in the second quarter, with edge rusher Will McDonald IV and defensive lineman Darrell Jackson Jr. also hitting the star QB on the play.
The quarterback grimaced as he was on the ground, then got up with his arm dangling by his side before slowly walking off the field.
But Mahomes flexed his elbow on the sideline, threw a couple of warmup passes and then returned to the game without missing an offensive snap.
"If I'm able to play, I'm going to play," Mahomes, a 10-year veteran, said. "That's part of the game. It scares you in moments, when you get some pains in certain areas of your body. Obviously, it didn't feel great, but I was able to kind of get it worked on a little bit, especially at halftime."
The MRI did not reveal a major injury, according to Rapoport, and Mahomes' injury will be monitored over the next few days for pain and swelling. Kansas City next plays Sunday against the Falcons in Atlanta.
"It's definitely something that scares you more than anything," he said. "I feel good now. The adrenaline is pumping. I'm sure I'll be sore tomorrow. I didn't even ice [my arm] when I used to pitch [in high school]. That probably wasn't good for me. I've never had any elbow issues. Hopefully we can stay away from those."
Coach Andy Reid said Julie Frymyer, one of the Chiefs' top assistant athletic trainers, spent halftime helping Mahomes get his right arm loose. Frymyer was also instrumental in Mahomes' rehab this offseason after he had surgery in December to repair the torn ACL and LCL in his left knee.
"Any time it's elbows and knees, it's always scary, just because you just don't know," Mahomes said. "Even my knee last year, after we were doing the initial test, I thought, because I could walk off the field, I was going to be good. Then, all of a sudden, you do one test, and you're just out [for the rest of the season]. That stuff scares you. Once I could throw the ball, I knew it wasn't a ligament and it was more muscles."
Reid adjusted the Chiefs' offensive game plan in the second half to help Mahomes. Most of the QB's completions in the third quarter were on short throws, leading to yards after the catch for skill players such as running back Kenneth Walker III and receiver Xavier Worthy.
"I'm just glad he was able to finish the game with us," Walker said of Mahomes. "That's the type of competitor he is, a great leader of the team. He'll continue to be that way."
The Chiefs' opening drive of the third quarter ended with a 1-yard touchdown run, a play in which Mahomes used both hands to push the ball backward to tight end Travis Kelce, who ran with the ball behind fellow tight ends Noah Gray and Jake Briningstool to score on fourth down.
"Pat did some nice things, even with the sore arm," Reid said. "He hurt his elbow region there but was able to come back. He's a tough kid. If there's any way he can come back from something, he's coming back. I didn't know until we were getting ready to start that [next] series."
Mahomes averaged just 2.8 air yards per attempt, his second fewest in a game in his career, according to Next Gen Stats. He finished with 23 completions on 31 attempts for 242 yards and two touchdowns, both occurring before the injury.
Mahomes' longest pass of the second half was on a 38-yard reception by Kelce in which the ball traveled 15 yards downfield.
"Out of halftime, I wasn't throwing the ball the way I wanted to," Mahomes said. "But as the game went on, as we kind of continued to work through it, [my arm] kind of got warmed back up. I thought I started throwing the ball better. That will be important this week, getting that swelling and the fluid out of it, so I can be ready to go from the first snap next week."
