With NFL Championship Sunday getting going here soon, a lot of the focus is on injuries some of the game’s biggest stars are dealing with.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is hobbled with a high-ankle sprain he suffered in last week’s win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Star running back Christian McCaffrey of the San Francisco 49ers pulled up lame with a calf injury in their win over the Dallas Cowboys.
As Kansas City takes on the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship Game and San Francisco visits the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC’s version, these injuries could play a role. Below, we provide you with the most-recent injury updates for all four teams taking part in NFL Championship Sunday.
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Typically, a high-ankle sprain will cost a player multiple weeks of action. In shocking fashion, Mahomes actually returned to open the second half of last week’s game against the Jaguars. He was also a full participant in the Chiefs’ first practice session of the week on Wednesday.
“I thought I had a good day yesterday. Obviously, there’s things you’ve got to work through here and there. But overall, probably better than I expected — being able to go out there, throw the football around, and get the reps in that I needed to get in.”
Patrick Mahomes ahead of NFL Championship Sunday
We know Mahomes will play Sunday against Cincinnati. Chiefs head coach Andy Reid made that clear earlier in the week. The question here is just how close to 100% the likely NFL MVP is going to be for the game. If his mobility is impacted, it could end up being a longer-than-expected day for Kansas City’s elite offense.
Other Kansas City Chiefs injury news
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Cincinnati’s injury report heading into NFL Championship Sunday is vast. It starts on the offensive line where guard Alex Cappa and tackle Jonah Williams remain out after missing last week’s win over the Buffalo Bills.
This is potentially significant news for Joe Burrow and Co. They will be relying a great deal on pass-protection if the Bengals are to get Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins involved in the AFC Championship Game.
Both are considered day-to-day despite continuing to miss practices. As Bengals head coach Zac Taylor put it, absences throughout the rest of the week won’t paint a good picture on this front.
“You know, every day that passes makes it probably a little more difficult, but we’ll see,” Taylor said Wednesday.
Other Cincinnati Bengals injury news
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McCaffrey was dealing with a bit of a calf issue during San Francisco’s divisional round win over the Dallas Cowboys. In fact, he was limited as the 49ers attempted to melt that game away in the fourth quarter.
While McCaffrey has yet to practice all week, he said on Thursday it’s a zero percent chance that he’ll miss Sunday’s NFC Championship Game outing against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Elijah Mitchell took over for McCaffrey in the fourth quarter and played well. However, the second-year back suffered a minor groin injury and also missed practice. 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said both should be good to go Sunday. San Francisco will need that to help create balance for rookie Brock Purdy under center in Philadelphia.
Another dynamic option in San Francisco’s offense, wide receiver Deebo Samuel (ankle) was limited in practice on Thursday. There’s very little reason to believe that he won’t suit up.
Other San Francisco 49ers injury news
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Star Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson was listed as a limited participant in practice on Thursday with a groin injury. There’s no reason to believe that he won’t be able to go Sunday against San Francsico.
Cornerback Avonte Maddox returned to practice for the first time in over a month due to a toe injury he suffered back in Week 16. It remains to be seen if he’ll be able to go on Sunday. Maddox yielded a mere 77.3 QB rating in nine regular-season games.