Patrick Mahomes threw for a pair of touchdowns before injuring his ankle as the Kansas City Chiefs beat the host Cleveland Browns 21-7 on Sunday afternoon.
Mahomes completed 19 of 38 passes for 159 yards but had to be replaced by veteran signal-caller Carson Wentz after getting caught up under Cleveland defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson with 7:57 left in the game.
Kansas City (13-1) had already built its 21-7 lead at the time, and Chiefs coach Andy Reid said afterward that he vetoed Mahomes’ request to return to the game.
The Browns (3-11) also switched quarterbacks after Jameis Winston had 146 yards and three interceptions on 16-for-25 passing. Dorian Thompson-Robinson took over and hit on 4 of 9 passes for 18 yards and a pick.
Jerome Ford provided one of the few highlights for Cleveland, rushing for a 62-yard TD with 3:16 left in the third quarter to get the Browns within 21-7. Jerry Jeudy hauled in 11 catches for 108 yards as Cleveland fell for the fifth time in six games.
Nick Chubb bobbled a pass from Winston on the first play from scrimmage of the second half. Kansas City linebacker Nick Bolton picked up on the mishap and pried the ball away from Chubb as the running back was trying to control it, resulting in an interception.
The takeaway ended up leading to points, as Xavier Worthy bolted to the end zone from 21 yards out to put the Chiefs up 21-0 just 2:01 into the third quarter.
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said after the game that Chubb later broke his foot in the third quarter and did not return.
Kansas City went three-and-out on the game’s opening drive but quickly got the ball back after James Proche II fumbled during his punt return. Three plays later, Mahomes found JuJu Smith-Schuster for a 7-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
Mahomes made it 14-0 by capping a 14-play, 87-yard drive with a 6-yard scoring strike to a wide-open Noah Gray with 4:46 remaining in the second quarter.
The Chiefs had a chance to add on right before the break, but Harrison Butker shanked a 29-yard field-goal attempt in the final seconds of the first half.
–Field Level Media