With the schedule released, Kansas City Chiefs fans will be hoping they can finally see their star quarterback in action as the team takes on the Denver Broncos at Arrowhead on September 14 in an opening night matchup. It has been five months since the star went down after suffering an ACL injury. The recovery for an ACL injury usually takes between 9 months and a year. It looked like Mahomes was set to miss the start of the 2026 season,  but reporter Adam Schefter has dropped a major update on his potential return for the big opening night matchup against the Broncos.

“You would never bet against Patrick Mahomes, and the NFL certainly hasn’t. The league has scheduled the Chiefs for the opening Monday night game of the year,” said Schefter on ESPN’s show ‘Get Up’. “The league doesn’t do that unless they think that there’s a realistic chance that Patrick Mahomes is going to be back. And I think the feeling is right now you have to see how the knee is progressing during the course of the summer, but the feeling right now within the organization is that he is tracking to be ready for that Monday night game against Bo Nix, who is coming off his own surgeries on his ankle, and the Denver Broncos in Kansas City.”

Mahomes suffered this injury during a matchup against the Chargers in Week 15. The Chiefs lost this game and failed to secure a berth in the playoffs for the first time in the Mahomes era. The following day, Mahomes underwent surgery and has spent his time on the sidelines recovering since then. The typical recovery from ACL surgery takes nine months to recover. However, despite the intensity of the surgery, Mahomes has worked hard and is eyeing a return in Week 1.

“I want to be ready for Week 1. The doctors said I could,” Mahomes said in January. “But I can’t predict what happens throughout the process. That’s the goal: to play Week 1 and have no restrictions. You want to be out there healthy and give us the best chance to win. I hope to do some things in OTAs and training camp and be able to do things there.”

The Chiefs will be playing on prime time on opening night for the fourth year in a row. They are 3-1 in these games, and with Mahomes looking likely to return, the Chiefs could add another win to their tally on opening night.

Mahomes has recovered well, which is evident from the workout footage he shared on social media in March, where he looked surprisingly close to his old self. The latest word from Schefter comes a week after the team’s general manager, Brett Veach, shared that the quarterback is “way ahead of schedule” in his recovery. Earlier this month, head coach Andy Reid told reporters there is a good chance Patrick Mahomes can participate in OTAs, which are set to begin on May 26. However, he revealed that the team would keep him limited at first. 

“Yeah, we’ve got to see about that,” Reid said at the presser. “He is in a good position to be able to do some things. There are some rules and regulations to go over, so we have to just make sure that we’re on top of that. But if he can do some things—Phase two, remember, there’s no contact; there’s no offense versus defense. So it’s Phase three that you get into that.”

It’s no secret that the Chiefs’ offense depends on Patrick Mahomes. Despite having a lacklustre year as a team in the 2025 regular season, Mahomes racked up 3,587 passing yards and 22 touchdowns in the 14 games he played.

If he continues recovering well, the Chiefs quarterback could be available for the matchup against the Broncos, who are slowly developing into their rivals in the AFC division.

Which is why going into the opening night games, the expectation from the Chiefs will be to bag a win and show the Broncos how capable they are.

Chiefs vs Denver could be the matchup that decides the AFC

The Broncos had an impressive run last season, when they nearly made it to the Super Bowl. If not for their QB Bo Nix’s injury, they had a decent chance of defeating the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship game. During the AFC divisional round, Nix suffered a fracture in his right ankle. He also underwent surgery in January and had a follow-up procedure before the draft.

But now their entire focus would be on the upcoming campaign. Their fans now have a reason to cheer, as Nix could be making a way back to the field. Head coach Sean Payton has recently revealed that there is a good chance of Bo Nix returning for the team’s minicamp in mid-June, while also confirming the star quarterback’s availability for the training camp to be held in late July.

As the Broncos gear up for their Week 1 matchup against the Chiefs, the two star QBs are set to make a return to the field in this divisional game will be a new chapter in their matchup. Broncos fans showered Nix with praise last season when the Broncos pulled off a rare season sweep of the Chiefs.

The quarterback was critical in ensuring his team’s 22-19 win in Week 11 against the Chiefs. Denver’s defense was equally impressive, as they harassed Mahomes the entire game with constant sacks and picks. However, the real story of the game night was Nix’s standout performance.  He kept his cool to lead a comeback drive that featured a miracle 3rd-and-15 conversion from deep in Denver territory. Their second win came at the Arrowhead on Christmas Day. With the scores tied at 13 with under two minutes, it was once again Nix who threw the touchdown pass to help the Broncos get to a win.

Having these two dynamic QBs face off in a high-stakes divisional battle right at the start of the season is exactly what the NFL needed to set the tone for 2026. If Patrick Mahomes’ recovery continues at this ‘ahead of schedule’ pace, September 14 will be the season opener and the date of his return. While there are still a few months to the grand matchup, the countdown to Monday Night Football is officially on.