The Kansas City Chiefs open up their 2026 campaign at home against the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football. All eyes will be on Patrick Mahomes, as he takes center stage for the first time since tearing his ACL last December.
Some might question if Mahomes is really ready to roll as he returns to the lineup considering how bad the injury he had was. Chiefs fans, however, aren't surprised. Mahomes has always put in the work to make sure his body is the best it can be so seeing him returning in record time is not the least bit shocking to Chiefs Kingdom.
Just how effective will Mahomes be though? Well, Ian Rapoport has some news on that front.
"Here's my understanding. His strength is symmetrical from side to side. That is a very good thing for Mahomes. Obviously he only had surgery one of his knees. His function is the same side to side, and his graft is fully healed. This is a very good thing for the Kansas City Chiefs. We're going to see as close to 100 percent of Patrick Mahomes as we could possibly see, considering the timeline."
Latest update on Patrick Mahomes gives Chiefs fans reason to feel good
Ooh that is precisely what Chiefs fans want to hear as we inch closer to the season opener against the Broncos. This team can only go as far as Mahomes takes them and while, yes, other players need to step up and do their part, the fact of the matter is that, without Mahomes, the Chiefs aren't the same team. If he's "as close to 100 percent" as Rapoport indicates, that should make fans feel much better going into what should be a difficult match-up against their division rivals.
It's easy to listen to the surrounding noise about the offensive tackle situation but the fact of the matter is that Mahomes at "close to 100 percent" is better than pretty much every quarterback in the league. If the Chiefs are getting that guy back and have an improved rushing attack, that should make this offense lethal again.
It'd be exciting to see this offense get back to doing what it used to do best, scoring points at a premium and making the opposition sweat. It's natural for fans to still be a little worried about Mahomes given the state of the offensive line and the injury he suffered just nine months ago but Rapoport knows what he's talking about and if he's saying this, then it's safe to assume he's not lying.
Bring on the season.
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