“We are short of words to express our thanks to God almighty and our dear fans and family for this bundle of joy”…Patrick Mahomes speaks on the birth of his and Brittany’s 3rd child after some periods of near miscarriages…See details of his statements.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Many of the decisions that the Kansas City Chiefs have made over the years have been with this exact situation in mind: Their star quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, gets hurt and they could need to win a couple of games without him.

Whereas the Chiefs once relied on the brilliance of their two-time MVP to simply outscore teams, the Chiefs the past few years have been able to lean on their defense to win games.

And under center, the Chiefs paid handsomely to bring in veteran Carson Wentz, who has started nearly 100 games during nine seasons in the NFL, to be Mahomes’ primary backup.

This all became relevant on Sunday, when Mahomes had his ankle rolled up on while being tackled by the Browns’ Dalvin Tomlinson on a fourth down play late in the Chiefs’ 21-7 victory. Mahomes limped to the sideline and Wentz played the rest of the way in his place, though the two-time MVP said afterward that he would have tried to play had the game been closer.

Testing on Monday confirmed that Mahomes sustained a high-ankle sprain, a person familiar with the results told The Associated Press. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the results were not announced by the team.

Now, the question is whether Mahomes — who has a history of ankle injuries — can recover on a short week. The Chiefs play the Texans on Saturday, then turn around for another short week with a trip to Pittsburgh on tap for Christmas Day.

“You know what you have to do to get back and I think that’s the most important thing,” Mahomes said after the game. “And now we just get back to the rehab part, the treatment part, and try to get ourselves ready on a short week.”

The Chiefs (13-1) have plenty riding on the next three weeks; they have a two-game lead on Buffalo for the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs, though the Bills have the tiebreaker. But they also understand the playoffs matter far more than the regular season as they pursue a third straight Super Bowl title, so they could be conservative and give Mahomes plenty of time to recover.

That seems a less daunting decision these days the way their defense has played. And with Wentz waiting in the wings.

What’s working
The Chiefs were minus-4 in turnover differential when they arrived in Cleveland. They were plus-2 when they left. They managed four interceptions and two fumble recoveries, repeatedly giving their offense the ball back in good field position.

“Coach (Andy Reid) kept preaching that it was time to turn the tide on the turnover margin. We know we’ve been a little short and we have to turn the tide,” Chiefs safety Justin Reid said. “They come in bunches and it’s coming at a good time.