What Chargers' Daiyan Henley told Chiefs players after brutal Patrick Mahomes injury

The Kansas City Chiefs were eliminated from playoff contention and lost quarterback Patrick Mahomes for the rest of the season to a torn ACL as they suffered a 16-13 defeat against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday. 

After the Chargers improved to 10-4, Los Angeles linebacker Daiyan Henley spoke with Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated about the Mahomes injury that will be responsible for one of the most-discussed NFL-related storylines of 2026. 

Daiyan Henley sent "respect" to Patrick Mahomes after injury

"It sucks to see anyone go down," Henley said. "The reason I say anybody is because there was a lot of people who touched the dirt [Sunday]. I just felt myself going to my knee a lot of times and having to send out a prayer. To see a leader of their team, a leader of this game, leader of this league, go down like that, I send my prayers to him. I send my prayers to everyone who plays this game, because this is a tough game. We all know he’s going to be back, and I told his teammates, 'Please send my respect to him,' because he wasn’t out there for me to give it to him myself."

It is, of course, far too early to know if Mahomes will be ready to return to in-game action when the 2026 season gets underway next September. In December 2022, Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray went down with a knee injury that left him needing ACL surgery and some meniscus repair. The Cardinals eventually got Murray back in the lineup in November 2023.

What Jesse Minter said to Chargers before Chiefs game

As for the Chargers, they trail the 12-2 Denver Broncos in the AFC West standings and in the battle for the AFC's No.1 playoff seed. During his chat with Breer, Henley revealed what defensive coordinator Jesse Minter said to Chargers players ahead of Sunday's game. 

"Jesse gave us a huge speech about how this team was built to beat the Chiefs — and specifically because they’ve had a decade of running this division," Henley explained. "And [the coaches] came together, and they talked about how we can beat them. It’s a testament to the coaching staff and how we prepare for these types of battles."

The Chargers next play at a Dallas Cowboys (6-7-1) team that may find itself going through the motions on Dec. 21. As of Monday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had Los Angeles as a 1.5-point underdog against Dallas. 

Also on Dec. 21, Denver will host the Jacksonville Jaguars (10-4). The Broncos will host the Chargers in Week 18.