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The NFL's decision to put the Kansas City Chiefs in primetime windows the first two weeks of the season wasn't meant to be a hint on how fast Patrick Mahomes will recover from knee surgery.
Mahomes tore the ACL and LCL in his left knee on Dec. 14 and has said his goal is to be back in time for Week 1 of the season. The Chiefs host the Denver Broncos on "Monday Night Football" to open the season on Sept. 14 and then play Indianapolis at home on Sunday night in Week 2.
"We didn't know anything more than anyone else," NFL executive Hans Schroeder said Friday.
Coach Andy Reid said on NFL Network on Friday that the NFL didn't talk to him about Mahomes' status, but is encouraged by what he has seen so far early in the offseason program.
"He's doing great right now and that's kind of how you gotta go about this," Reid said. "People go 'well, he's ahead of schedule.' Who made the schedule? Everybody's different, let's just take it day by day. Nobody is spending more time than he is rehabbing, he spends seven hours here going through it. He hasn't missed a day and he wants more, all the things that are Patrick Mahomes. Let's see where we are at as we go forward as we get a little bit closer to the game."
Schroeder said he was "excited" about Reid's comments and said that the Chiefs remained a popular team among the broadcasters as evidenced by their six primetime games, including a Thanksgiving night showdown against Buffalo that is typically one of the most-anticipated matchups of the season.
Kansas City, which went 6-11 and missed the playoffs last season after making three consecutive Super Bowl trips, also has five additional games slotted in the high-profile late afternoon Sunday doubleheader window.
"The Chiefs are an incredible story," Schroeder said. "They're one of the most popular teams in the league right now. They've been on an incredibly successful run for a number of years now, and have built a hugely popular fan base. We went into the year planning to play the Chiefs in the same number of windows. We didn't know anything more than then you did, but we're certainly hoping Patrick would be back Week 1. ... We felt really good about it and certainly feel better after seeing Andy's comments this morning with how Patrick's rehab's going."
WEDNESDAY OPENERS
With Labor Day falling later this year and the NFL wanting to play a Week 1 game in Australia, the opener was moved to a Wednesday for the second time in league history.
That might not be a one-off.
The league announced a new deal with Netflix through 2029 that guarantees the streamer a Week 1 game in addition to the traditional opening game on NBC for the defending Super Bowl champion. Schroeder said that could lead to a Wednesday start to the season again.
The 2026 season opens on Wednesday Sept. 9 with Seattle hosting New England on NBC, followed by a game on Netflix the next night in the United States between the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers. That game will kick off on Friday morning in Australia.
"I think you'll see us certainly playing on a couple nights, weekday nights to start the year going forward," Schroeder said.
The NFL played an international game in Week 1 on a Friday night the previous two seasons but can't play again on Friday night in Week 1 until 2029 because of the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 that prohibits the league from televising games on Friday night starting with the second Friday of September. The Friday of Week 1 will be on the second Friday of September again in both 2027 and 2028.
The only other time before this season that the first game of the NFL season was played on a Wednesday came in 2012 when the Dallas Cowboys visited the New York Giants. The game was moved from its usual Thursday spot that year because President Barack Obama was set to speak that night at the Democratic National Convention.
FILE - Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) is injured while being tackled by Los Angeles Chargers defensive tackle Da'Shawn Hand (91) during the second half of an NFL football game, Dec. 14, 2025 in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann, File)
FILE - Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) is injured while being tackled by Los Angeles Chargers defensive tackle Da'Shawn Hand (91) during the second half of an NFL football game, Dec. 14, 2025 in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann, File)