Kansas Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes suffered a right kneecap dislocation in the second quarter of Thursday night's game against the Denver Broncos. Mahomes, who has been battling an ankle injury, ran a QB sneak on fourth down and crumpled underneath the pile after getting the first down.
Medical personnel rushed onto the field and popped his kneecap back into place. Mahomes managed to walk off the field with the help of the trainers.
Mahomes was replaced by veteran Matt Moore, who threw for 117 yards, including a 57-yard touchdown pass to Tyreek Hill.
Despite the injury, Mahomes was in good spirits after the game, celebrating with his teammates in the locker room after their 30-6 victory.
After the game, the Chiefs players described the gruesome injury.
"He was saying, 'It's out, it's out,'" guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif said. "Nobody really understood what he meant at that time, and then we saw it... That's when we started panicking. Not panicking, but seeing that he was not all right."
Tight end Travis Kelce had a hard time describing what Mahomes knee looked like to reporters.
"His knee didn't even look like a knee. It was all out of whack. I couldn't even describe it."
An MRI revealed that there was no structural damage to his knee and that he will not require surgery. He is expected to return at some point this season.
Mahomes is the latest player to fall victim to the purported "Madden Curse." Over the years, many players who graced the cover of the video game have suffered injuries or seen a decline in their production. The last player to fall victim to the curse was Patriots wide receiver Rob Gronkowski. He was on the cover in 2016 and spent most of that season dealing with injuries.
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