Patrick Mahomes suffered an apparent injury to his left knee on Sunday toward the waning moments of the Kansas City Chiefs’ 16-13 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers that eliminated the Chiefs from playoff contention.

Mahomes was forced to leave the game with 1:53 remaining, missing the chance to help Kansas City pull the game out and save its season. Instead, the Chiefs had to turn to backup Gardner Minshew as Mahomes walked off the field with assistance.

The injury to Mahomes happened as he was rolling out to the right and looking to fire the ball downfield. He fell awkwardly to the ground after being yanked down by Chargers defensive tackle and Alabama product Da’Shawn Hand. As Hand was pulling Mahomes to the ground, his leg was bent in an awkward fashion.

With their season on the line, Patrick Mahomes goes down with an apparent knee injury. Walks off with assistance.

Gardner Minshew is in as the Chiefs look to tie the game late. pic.twitter.com/xn5ta8XLoc

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 14, 2025

Mahomes was down on the field for a long time as trainers took a look at his leg. Eventually, the former Texas Tech star got to his feet, took off his helmet and went to be examined in the medical tent.

Then there was this gruesome scene of Mahomes not being able to walk as he was assisted down the Chiefs tunnel for further examination:

Patrick Mahomes can’t even walk.

He was helped to the locker room, game has ended. Chiefs have been eliminated 💔 pic.twitter.com/MwMUPufiD3

— SM Highlights (@SMHighlights1) December 14, 2025

The loss to the Chargers continued what has been a frustrating season for the Chiefs, who will not even get a chance to return to the Super Bowl for the 4th straight season. Instead, they fell to 6-8 on the year and will play out the string before missing the playoffs for the first time since 2014.

But Kansas City’s playoff plight was far from the only concern at Arrowhead Stadium by day’s end, as Mahomes was dealing with that gruesome injury.