Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes will have additional testing to determine the health of his throwing elbow after injuring it Sunday.
Mahomes was drilled by New York Jets rookie edge rusher David Bailey while raring back to fire a pass downfield with 1:33 left in the first half. He came off the field supporting his right elbow with his left arm and appeared to be in significant pain.
After staying in the game and leading the Chiefs to a 35-12 victory, Mahomes said he was not pleased with the way his arm felt in the second half. According to a report, an MRI exam displayed no major injury.
But Mahomes was confident he’s not facing a major injury after he completed 23 of 31 passes for 242 yards and two touchdowns.
“From the stories you hear, whenever you can grab the ball and try to throw it, you can’t throw,” Mahomes said. “Once I threw the football … I knew it wasn’t ligament-type stuff, it was more muscle-type stuff.”
Justin Fields is Kansas City’s backup quarterback if Mahomes is required to miss any time.
“Patrick took a pretty good shot to the throwing arm today and came off the field in some pain. We checked him out right away and he told us his elbow was sore, but he was determined to get back out there,” coach Andy Reid said. “He returned, made some throws, and kept competing the way he always does. He’s one of the toughest players I’ve ever coached, and he doesn’t like missing snaps.”
–Los Angeles Rams star receiver Puka Nacua sustained a knee injury during the team’s final offensive play against the Washington Commanders and will undergo an MRI exam, according to multiple reports.
Nacua was injured on a 5-yard run late in the 20-13 road victory over the Commanders. He took a hard hit but got up rather quickly.
Nacua wasn’t asked about his knee following the contest. In the third quarter, he was examined for a possible concussion before being cleared.
Nacua had another big performance as he caught 14 passes for a season-best 150 yards and a touchdown. It marked the ninth time Nacua has posted 150 or more yards in a game.
–Seattle Seahawks quarterback Drew Lock came out of his team’s 17-3 win over the Arizona Cardinals with an oblique injury.
Lock did not miss time during the game, but coach Mike Macdonald said his availability for next week is up in the air.
Lock made his second start of the season for Sam Darnold, who missed Week 2 with a glute injury and is currently week-to-week with a quadriceps injury and a cracked rib.
Jalen Milroe is Seattle’s third-string option behind Darnold and Lock.
–New York Giants quarterback J.J. McCarthy briefly left the game against the Philadelphia Eagles with a hip injury but returned to finish off his team’s 19-11 victory.
On the Giants’ second snap of the second half, McCarthy scrambled for 3 yards and was hit in the right (throwing) shoulder and side area by Philadelphia’s Zack Baun. Jameis Winston finished out the rest of that drive and one other series at quarterback and threw for New York’s only touchdown of the day.
The Giants traded for McCarthy from the Minnesota Vikings and elevated him to the starting role on Oct. 25 against the Houston Texans, with New York coming off its bye week.
“(Winston’s performance) was definitely part of the conversation,” coach John Harbaugh said of the decision to send McCarthy back in. “But the trainers and the doc said (McCarthy) was good, and he said he was ready to go.”
Baun injured his back on the same play and did not return for the Eagles.
–If things couldn’t get bad enough for the 0-8 Los Angeles Chargers, coach Jim Harbaugh said after a 44-22 loss to the Houston Texans that quarterback Justin Herbert injured the middle finger on his left (non-throwing) hand.
The coach said it could be a fracture, but Herbert hopes to play through the injury.
“I’ll do whatever I can to make sure I’m 100%,” Herbert said.
Backup QB DJ Uiagalelei made his NFL debut in the fourth quarter as Herbert sat out the closing minutes. Uiagalelei threw a 15-yard touchdown to Derius Davis in garbage time.
The Chargers were without top wide receiver Ladd McConkey, who was a late scratch due to back spasms during pregame warmups. Defensive lineman Justin Eboigbe (ankle) and cornerbacks Isas Waxter (ankle) and Cam Hart (ankle) also didn’t return.
–Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs fractured a finger during the first quarter Sunday at the New England Patriots, coach Matt LaFleur revealed postgame.
Jacobs had four carries for 5 yards before he left the game, initially ruled questionable to return with a hand injury, but he did not return. He appeared to get his right hand stuck in an opponent’s face mask.
LaFleur did not say which finger was broken, but he left open the possibility of Jacobs playing through the injury.
“Hopefully we can do something to allow him to go out there, but he was just having a hard time gripping the ball,” LaFleur said.
The Packers also lost linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper to a chest injury during the 45-27 victory.
–Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson suffered a knee injury and was one of five New England players not to return to the game.
Stevenson carried six times for 32 yards and caught three passes for 46 yards and a touchdown before his exit. The Patriots also finished the game without left tackle Will Campbell (knee), right guard Ben Brown (knee), cornerback Carlton Davis (knee) and safety Brenden Schooler (hamstring).
–The Dallas Cowboys said tight end Jake Ferguson will undergo tests on his knee Monday after he was hurt in a 27-23 win over the Indianapolis Colts.
Ferguson, who had a touchdown catch earlier in the game, caught a pass in the flat to quarterback Dak Prescott’s left and was upended by a pair of Colts defenders. Linebacker Bryce Boettcher hit Ferguson as he flipped head over cleats at the Colts’ 11 after an 11-yard gain. Ferguson made his way to the blue medical tent from there.
The Cowboys also lost safety P.J. Locke to a concussion.
–San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said defensive lineman Gracen Halton has a fractured ankle and is done for the season.
Halton was carted off with an air cast around the injured leg late in the fourth quarter of the Niners’ 38-17 win over the Las Vegas Raiders.
The oft-injured 49ers also lost cornerbacks Renardo Green (back) and Deommodore Lenoir (foot).
–The Denver Broncos lost wide receiver Jaylen Waddle and cornerback Riley Moss to concussions during the first half of a 26-21 road win over the Carolina Panthers.
