Patrick Mahomes
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Kansas City Chiefs quarterback patrick Mahomes.
All eyes will be on the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs when they cap off the 1st week of the 2026 regular season on Monday Night Football at Arrowhead Stadium.
The biggest question hanging over the game is singular — will Chiefs quarterback and 2-time NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes play or not?
Mahomes certainly seems determined to be there after tearing his ACL in Week 14 of the 2025 regular season, and seems more determined by who the Chiefs are playing after the Broncos ended Kansas City’s 9-year reign atop the AFC West Division in 2025.
It was the 1st major injury of Mahomes’ already-legendary career, which includes 3 Super Bowl wins and 2 more Super Bowl appearances.
“That’s my goal,” Mahomes told Yahoo Sports on Wednesday. “I’ve said that since the beginning is being ready to go Week 1. I can’t predict the future and I know that it’s a long process. It’s not just my decision, but at the same time I’m going to give the doctors and the coaches every single opportunity I can to let me be out there Week 1. I don’t want to miss that game (against the Broncos) because that’s the team that won the division while we were gone and you want to be out there and ready to go with your teammates. I’ll give every single thing I can to be out there Week 1 and hopefully the doctors and the coaches give me the green light and I’m able to go out there with my guys and compete against one of the best teams in the league.”