KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Whether or not Patrick Mahomes will be available for the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship game Sunday is the million dollar question.
After Mahomes left the divisional game against the Cleveland Browns in the 3rd quarter, the Chiefs said Mahomes was in "concussion protocol."
Reports on the injury have been conflicting.
Some believe Mahomes was in more of a choke hold since his head never hit the ground.
Other reports say Mahomes has "what is considered a concussion."
41 Action News talked with former MMA fighter Laura Sanko about the injury.
“A blood choke sometimes can be a little faster if you’ve got pressure on the carotid artery, but with an air choke, there’s no way that it could have happened that quickly," Sanko said.
In real-time or slow-motion, Sanko says Mahomes likely saw stars after going down.
“My guess would be that he quote unquote got his bell rung pretty good, he lost a little bit of faculties but it wasn’t to the point where he was ever limp on the field or completely unconscious," Sanko said.
Looking at the replay, Sanko says it's the whipping motion that will give Mahomes some problems this week. As he recovers, Sanko believes his biggest trouble will be soreness.