Sam McDowell: Chiefs’ biggest Patrick Mahomes dilemma isn’t his injury. It’s what came before it.

CLEVELAND Its 11 minutes after a Chiefs victory here in Cleveland, the teams first double-digit win in eight weeks, and the most relevant story is the cart barreling toward the visitors locker room.

Within a few seconds, Patrick Mahomes a back-seat passenger on that cart emerges from the set of double doors, still in partial uniform but walking under his own power.

A set of tests on his injured right ankle awaits.

The pertinent final line from Cleveland: Chiefs 21, Browns 7.

And X-rays negative.

The Chiefs are 13-1 for just the second time in franchise history, a literal limp in their step toward the No.

1 seed in the AFC and its lone bye, but there is a pressing question hovering over their season: What is going on with Patrick Mahomes? Oh, I meant before the right ankle injury.

Mahomes took a crunching tackle after a fourth-down incompletion Sunday afternoon, leaving him walking gingerly as he left the field and then left the game altogether.

He wouldve remained in the game had the Browns still been competitive or had they ever been competitive.

The week ahead will feature a heavy dose of rehab for Mahomes.

The severity of his injury will depend in part on the swelling that ensues.

But weve seen this frequently enough to know how that part of the plot unfolds.

Would you really bet against him playing in the Chiefs next game, on Saturday at home? We know he returned to a game against Jacksonville two postseasons ago throwing his jacket in a fit of rage at the thought of sitting just out a few plays.

Weve learned he begged to return to a game after dislocating his kneecap in a regular-season game against the Broncos.

This isnt to compare those instances.

Its to contrast them.

A Patrick Mahomes injury used to be the beginning of a problem.

Now its the effect of perhaps an even bigger one.

The Chiefs offense stinks with him forget what it would look like without him.

Mahomes completed exactly half of 38 passes Sunday, the lowest completion percentage in a game in his career.

He totaled just 4.2 yards per pass attempt, the second-lowest mark of his career.

And just as noticeable in person, he frequently bypassed an open receiver in favor of another.

I just gotta do a better job of going through my progressions and trusting the offense, he said.

Getting the ball out of my hands and letting guys make plays.

My nature is to make the big play happen.

Sometimes defenses stop that.

When its not there, go for the underneath stuff and keep it moving.

(Its) something I have to get better on going toward the playoffs.

Sounds great.

One gigantic obstruction: the protection.

See, that noticeable limp he had as he walked toward the sideline is not a worry for what might plague this Chiefs offense.

It is a symptom of what already has been plaguing it.

They flat-out cant protect him.

Mahomes was pressured on 54% of his dropbacks, per ESPN Analytics, the highest rate hes faced in any game since 2020.

I know a common response to this injury will be that his head coach, Andy Reid, should not be asking him to drop back 40 times.

Thats right.

But mostly for an entirely different reason.

In a league that demands you throw the ball effectively, the dropback is no longer the most effective play in the Chiefs book.

Their offensive line wont allow it.

A five-step drop sets up a battered and bruised quarterback to absorb one more hit, to be sure.

But it far more frequently sets up yet one more offensive failure.

The Chiefs best drive in their initial five possessions Sunday totaled 21 yards.

Their best drive.

Not to be outdone, in the third quarter, the Chiefs strung together four straight possessions in which they gained 10 total yards over 15 plays.

In that third-quarter batch, the Chiefs dropped back on eight straight offensive snaps.

Heres how those eight plays unfolded: Incomplete.

Incomplete.

Incomplete.

Incomplete.

Incomplete.

Incomplete.

Incomplete.

Incomplete.

Mahomes was 3-for-13 in the third quarter overall.

Yet over and over again, they kept trying.

You gotta be able to throw the ball in this league, Reid said when I asked about his insistence on throwing the ball.

Thats how it works.

Hes not wrong.

He continued: You guys were at the game.

Our runs didnt work too well, either.

Hes not completely wrong about that, either, though Id point out the Chiefs led 21-0 when that string of incompletions began.

And if both things run, pass arent working, it might be ideal to use the one that at least burns some clock so you can get the hell out of town.

And, yes, its more than just a nice bonus to give your quarterback a breather.

But lets be real about this: Thats masking the problem, not solving it.

The Chiefs started Joe Thuney at left tackle Sunday, their fourth starting left tackle this year.

Reid praised his willingness to make that switch, but Myles Garrett rather enjoyed the switch, too.

A handful for most teams, Garrett, the Browns All-Pro edge rusher, pressured Mahomes eight times, including six of 24 chances (25%) against Thuney, per NFL Pro.

Five of those were pressures in less than 2 1/2 seconds.

Its a Band-Aid for a broken arm, and the Chiefs dont have a full sling waiting on the sideline.

The fact that Thuney has been more effective and less noticeable than other options tried in previous games isnt a good development.

Its an admission of just how bad its been.

And Thuneys move to left tackle vacates whats been the Chiefs best offensive strength their run blocking up the middle.

Reid commented that the running game wasnt working Sunday.

Well, the trio of Thuney, Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith playing side by side by side has produced one of the leagues most successful run games.

They are no longer side by side by side.

That weakened the run game.

It didnt solve the pass protection.

Nothing, to date, has.

Over the next day or two, well know more about whats ahead for Mahomes.

But whats most worrisome for the Chiefs future? Whats standing directly in front of him.

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