There's one worry on every Kansas City Chiefs fan's mind this offseason and that's the health and recovery of Patrick Mahomes after he tore his ACL and LCL near the end of last season. Fortunately, it appears that Mahomes is on track to start Week 1 but how will he hold up?
That obviously remains to be seen but fans will take any sort of crystal ball prediction to ease their minds ahead of the season. That's why Conor Orr of SI's recent "bold" prediction will be one that Chiefs fans want to read.
"Patrick Mahomes will be fine (and start 17 games)" was No. 60 on the list of Orr's 100 bold predictions for the 2026 NFL season. It might just be a random bold prediction but it's one that Chiefs fans hope come true.
SI predicts that Patrick Mahomes will start 17 games in 2026
The only possible downside to this prediction is that if Mahomes is starting all 17 regular season games, that means the Chiefs don't have a playoff spot locked up entering Week 18. After years of that being the case, having to play the starters in the final week of the season would feel like a disappointment. Such is life when your team has won three Super Bowls since 2020.
Chiefs fans are used to seeing Mahomes bounce back after injuries and hopefully, 2026 is another example of that. He's been determined to get back on the field for the first game of the season and if the early portion of Kansas City's schedule is any indication, the league clearly has faith in him returning to action by then.
If the Chiefs can get 17 games of Patrick Mahomes quarterbacking the offense, this team has a chance to get back on track and be a Super Bowl contender again. If he misses some games, that could be the difference between getting back to the playoffs or watching them from home for the second straight year.
Add us as a preferred source on Google