CLEVELAND (AP) — The only thing the Chiefs had to worry about in the final minutes Sunday was Patrick Mahomes’ ankle.

Mahomes threw two touchdown passes before limping off with an ankle injury in the fourth quarter, Xavier Worthy ran for a score and Kansas City finally had a relatively easy win, 21-7 over the mistake-prone Cleveland Browns.

Mahomes connected for TDs in the first half with Juju Smith-Schuster and Noah Gray as the Chiefs (13-1) built a 21-0 lead and then slogged their way through an ugly second half.

The defending Super Bowl champions have 10 wins by seven points or less, with six coming on the game’s final play.

Mahomes didn’t finish the game, leaving when he got his ankle rolled up on while being tackled by Dalvin Tomlinson on a fourth-down incompletion. Carson Wentz replaced him for the final 5:23. Mahomes finished 19 of 38 for 159 yards.

After the game, Mahomes said X-rays were negative. He said he would have lobbied harder to stay in if the Browns had gotten within one score.

“We’ll get into the rehab part, the treatment part and try to get back on a short week,” said Mahomes, noting the Chiefs will play again Saturday — the second of three games in 11 days. “With all the adrenaline from the game, it’s hard to tell now (if he can play). Usually, it’s the day after when you get a good sense of it.”

Before Wentz went in, Mahomes had his left ankle re-taped while on the bench. He walked gingerly off the field but didn’t favor it while in the locker room or going to his postgame news conference. He was driven to the Chiefs’ buses on a cart.

Coach Andy Reid was relieved Mahomes was not more seriously hurt.

“It’s not broken, that’s all I can tell you,” Reid said. “We’ll have to see how it goes down the road.”

The Browns (3-11) tried to put up a fight, but had six turnovers. Other than a 62-yard TD run from Jerome Ford, Cleveland had few offensive highlights and too many self-inflicted miscues.

Jameis Winston threw more three interceptions — two in the end zone to give him eight in his last three games — and the Browns had two fumbles. The five turnovers made things much easier on Mahomes and the Chiefs, not that they needed a lot of help.

Cleveland running back Nick Chubb suffered a broken foot. It’s another setback for the star, who had a devastating knee injury last season.

Winston was pulled after his third pick and replaced by second-year QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who also was intercepted. Coach Kevin Stefanski would not commit to a starter for next week.

“You can not turn the ball over six times and expect to win,” Stefanski said. “At any level.”

Cleveland’s Jerry Jeudy had 11 catches for 108 yards and went over 1,000 for the season.

The Chiefs’ second TD — Mahomes’ 6-yard pass to Gray with 4:46 left in the first half — came on the same play Browns star defensive end Myles Garrett left the field in extreme pain with an apparent eye injury.

Garrett was rushing Mahomes and being blocked by Chiefs left tackle Joe Thuney when he suddenly stopped. The league’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year immediately grabbed his face mask and pulled off his helmet, flinging it away before dropping to the turf.

He was face down for several minutes before being helped off. As Garrett walked toward the locker room holding a towel to his face, Thuney came over and patted him on the back. Garrett was only gone for a short period before he ran back on to the field and finished the game.

“Thank God, he’s OK,” Stefanski said.

The Chiefs took a 21-0 lead early in the third, capitalizing on a pick by Winston that went off Chubb’s hands. Four plays later, Worthy took a deep pitch from Mahomes, turned the corner and scored.

Kansas City’s first score was set up by Cleveland’s first turnover.

After the Browns forced a three-and-out on Kansas City’s first possession, Cleveland’s James Proche II fumbled during a punt return and the Chiefs recovered at the 21.

Mahomes then connected with Schuster for a 7-yard TD with 12:12 left in the first quarter.

Notable no-show

Taylor Swift ended her world tour. She decided not to hit the road in the NFL just yet.

The pop superstar had been expected to attend the game to cheer on boyfriend Travis Kelce, the Chiefs tight end who grew up in Cleveland. But Swift, who turned 35 on Friday, wasn’t on hand despite rumors she would make an appearance.

Taylor has been at several Chiefs games in Kansas City the past two seasons since she began dating Kelce.

Injuries

Chiefs: S Chamarri Conner suffered a concussion while making a tackle in the second quarter. … Kelce came up limping after an early play, but walked it off and stayed in. He left the locker room before reporters had access.

Browns: CB Martin Emerson Jr. went to the locker room in the second quarter to be evaluated for a concussion. He did not return. … DT Shelby Harris (elbow) went out in the second quarter.

Up next

Chiefs: Host Houston on Dec. 21 before visiting Pittsburgh on Christmas Day.

Browns: At Cincinnati on Sunday.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL

The Economic Community of West African States hopes to use this time to convince the three nations to stay in the bloc.

Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger will have a six-month grace period following their exit from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), scheduled for January 29, a year after the countries announced their intentions to leave.

The decision, reached at a summit of West Africa’s main political and economic group this weekend in the Nigerian capital Abuja, was seen as a last-ditch effort to dissuade the three countries from leaving, a move the bloc has thus far been unable to halt. Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger reaffirmed that their decision to leave is “irreversible”.

The three countries, located in the insurgency-torn central Sahel region, have formed their own group called the Alliance of Sahel States (AES). The new effective departure date has now been extended to July 29, although January 29 will still be the official withdrawal date. The bloc hopes to use the six-month transition period to convince the countries to return.

On Saturday, the three nations stated that their territories would remain visa-free for all ECOWAS citizens post-exit. This move has alleviated concerns that their departure could threaten free trade and movement for the 400 million people living across the region.

Among those who attended the summit was Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who has served as a mediator between the 15-member bloc and the three countries set to leave.

The Senegalese president, who was appointed to lead negotiations in July, said he was “making progress” in talks with the three countries and added that there was no reason for them not to maintain relations amid ongoing security concerns in the region, where al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS) have gained ground.

The withdrawal of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger from ECOWAS would mark the culmination of a tumultuous period for the Sahel, where a series of coups since 2020 has brought military authorities to power. The new governments have fostered closer ties with Russia at the expense of their former colonial ruler, France, and other one-time allies from the region and beyond.