KANSAS CITY, Mo. — What with managing a high-ankle sprain through a short week and all, Patrick Mahomes anticipated adapting to the reality of that on Saturday when the Chiefs played host to the Houston Texans.

Among other concessions, the Chiefs quarterback said, “my plan was to not run.”

Turned out that was more a guideline than a rule.

It came to an abrupt end on ... the first offensive series of a 27-19 victory that left the Chiefs 14-1. It also reduced to one KC’s magic number to clinch the AFC No. 1 seed.

As unable to contain his spirit as opponents are, Mahomes promptly followed up a 12-yard run with a 15-yard touchdown. He even barged through a couple of defenders at the goal line.

Punctuating the point, one of the reasons he flung his body into the air, and the fray, was because along the way he was calculating how hard and painful it would be to stop on that right ankle.

Most of all, he just figured this:

“You’ve got to play ball,” he said, “at the end of the day.”

Actually, Mahomes didn’t really have to play on this day.

After all, even he noted earlier in the week that the situation wasn’t “dire,” like a postseason game would be.

Certainly, his tender ankle would have benefited for the long haul from sitting out a game.

And even if he and the Chiefs medical staff determined he wouldn’t be placing himself further in harm’s way by playing, the team’s offensive line woes this season lurked as a distressing vulnerability.

But here’s the thing about Mahomes and the pure grit that is as much a part of his transcendent game as his arm and spatial awareness.

Deep inside, it’s part of the ultra-winning right stuff that helps make everyone around him better than they would be otherwise.

Part of that stems from setting a tone of resolve and camaraderie by remaining as one with his teammates even though he stands on a tier of his own.

When I asked him why it was important to play through hurt Saturday beyond just his true love of competition, Mahomes’ instant answer said it all.

“I ask a lot from the guys around me,” said Mahomes, who completed 28 of 41 passes for 260 yards. “And so I feel like if I’m going to ask them to play through pain, if I’m going to ask them to play through little nicks and bruises and stuff like that, I’ve got to do it as well.

“That’s something that I pride myself on, is being out there with my guys and playing football. And I’m not going to put us in a position to be in a bad spot or lose a football game, but if ... I feel like I can compete and win, I’m going to be out there on that football field.”

Mahomes is so steeped in that attitude that he more or less shrugged off the idea that he was trying to set a tone by running early.

Heck, his whole way of playing is tone-setting.

And, self-critical as ever, he reckoned he could have hit Travis Kelce for a touchdown instead.

But it’s hard to even measure the energy infused by Mahomes’ mere presence, let alone abandon.

If he’s not quite Bruce Willis’ John McClane in the “Die Hard” series or a Terminator, this quality nonetheless is so rare as to be almost inexplicable.

Even as we’ve seen it for years now.

“He spoils the dog out of us there,” coach Andy Reid said. “Because he’s so tough mentally and physically. You just get used to it, but ... most guys don’t come back from that like he did.”

He added, “It sends a message to the whole team.”

Including that dealing with pain is another element of the mind over matter mojo of a team defined by a “find a way” mentality all season.

Meanwhile, I say all this as someone who would have preferred he sit Saturday, figuring the greater good would come in the rest to further assure his health for the postseason as the Chiefs seek an unprecedented third straight Super Bowl triumph.

Especially with the Chiefs playing again on Christmas Day in Pittsburgh less than 93 hours after coming off the field Saturday because of dangerous NFL scheduling that we’ll write about soon.

But even after Mahomes made that statement about this not being dire, he also was right about how vital securing the No. 1 seed and the bye is — particularly with Buffalo steamrolling everyone in recent weeks.

“Just as important as it is to get healthy,” he said Tuesday, “it is to get that number one seed.”

The latter part became the prime directive once Mahomes had no setbacks and felt nimble enough to protect himself as he engaged in full practices during the week — not to mention lived in the training room most of it.

And while Reid at least hoped for, and perhaps urged, Mahomes to proceed with whatever caution might be possible, he also understood that was a faint notion.

“Listen, I didn’t think he’d be able to get out and run like that,” Reid said.

Turning to what seemed to be more his point, Reid added, “Or would run like that.”

Then again, in the heat of the game, Reid said, there was no time for him to even fret as Mahomes took off into the end zone.

Just the same ...

“I’m glad he got up,” he said, smiling.

A lot of other things had to go right for the Chiefs to play what Reid suggested was their best all-around game of the season in this meeting with the AFC South champion Texans (9-6).

The defense held an opponent below 20 points for the ninth time this season and came up with two more interceptions, giving the Chiefs eight takeaways in the last two games after they’d mustered only 10 in the first 13 games.

On a day Hollywood Brown at last made his Chiefs debut with five catches for 45 yards, including a pair of clutch early grabs, rookie receiver Xavier Worthy took another exhilarating stride forward with a career-high seven catches for 65 yards and a touchdown.

But on a day Mahomes struggled to plant his right ankle for better fundamental passing action, the victory was underscored once more by the infectious impact he has on everything around him.

(Including, it might be noted, his young daughter Sterling, whom he lifted in the air as soon as he came off the podium after his postgame news conference.)

“You’re not going to feel great,” he said. “That’s kind of just what it is.”

What Mahomes is for the Chiefs and their fans is a marvel.

Even if it all is second nature to him and maybe something we all take for granted, it’s worth appreciating at every turn.

“Most guys,” Reid said, “don’t do that.”

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