Eric Bieniemy’s return to Kansas City was meant to reignite the offense, but his first major observation has been witnessing Patrick Mahomes. This may be his second time in Kansas City, but the coach is still surprised by the franchise quarterback’s resilience.

“Just having an opportunity to see him go through his rehab process,” he said in an interview. “The thing I love about Pat, which I have always loved, is his competitive spirit. He’s so fired up. If Pat could come out there and do whatever he can tomorrow, he would show it off and be ready to roll.”

After tearing both his ACL and LCL in Week 15, Patrick Mahomes has already set his sights on a Week 1 return in 2026. But that optimism runs headfirst into reality. As Mike Florio cautioned on Pro Football Talk, late-season ACL injuries rarely cooperate with clean September comebacks.

Over the last few seasons, Kansas City hasn’t always played clean, mistake-free football, but it usually came away with a win thanks to Mahomes’ mentality. In 2024, the Chiefs went 12-0 in one-score games, and each time it came down to it, the quarterback came through.

It is no surprise that he is extending that same mentality into his recovery. In the Chargers matchup, Mahomes took a hit that caused his knee to buckle awkwardly, causing the tear. The season ended right there for both Mahomes and the Chiefs, who were mathematically eliminated from the postseason.

Mahomes underwent surgery in December to repair the knee, and most of the rehab since then has taken place back in Kansas City. He’s been working closely with Chiefs assistant athletic trainer Julie Frymyer, and things have progressed about as well as could be expected.

“Obviously, I think long term, I want to be ready for Week 1,” Patrick Mahomes said a couple of weeks ago. “The doctor said that I could be, but I can’t predict what’s going to happen throughout the process. But that’s my goal. And so I’ll try to prepare myself to be ready to play in that Week 1 and have no restrictions.”

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Getting him back for the opener matters because the Chiefs can’t afford another slow start. They opened the 2025 season 0-2 and never quite recovered from it. Mahomes knows that, and it’s part of what’s driving his push to get back to 100%.

It’s not realistic, but ideally, he should be there for the preseason. With Bieniemy bringing a slightly different offensive lens, it would’ve been helpful for Mahomes to experience it firsthand because the new OC’s philosophy will be very different from Matt Nagy’s.

Will Eric Bieniemy prioritize the run game?

As a coach in the NFL, Eric Bieniemy has the most experience looking over the running game. Most recently, he handled the running backs in Chicago, and before that, he spent five seasons in the same role with the Kansas City Chiefs from 2013 through 2017.

So it’s fair to wonder whether his return as offensive coordinator could tilt the Chiefs a little more toward the ground game. The OC opened up on his offensive outlook for next season.

“First of all, I love running the ball,” he said. “This game is cyclical, and the way the evolution of the game has changed, one thing that hasn’t changed is that you gotta make sure you are playing through your strengths.”

Bieniemy pointed out that one of the Chicago Bears’ strengths last season was their offensive line and running back group. Because of that, the run game became a focal point, but what they did on the ground was designed to support everything else, especially the passing concepts layered on top of it. For Bieniemy, striking a balance is what matters the most.

This season, Kansas City leaned heavily on the pass, finishing with 584 passing attempts compared to 430 rushing attempts, which is hardly surprising when Patrick Mahomes is under center. Still, with Bieniemy now calling the shots, it’s worth watching whether that ratio shifts slightly.