Patrick Mahomes makes his triumphant arrival ahead of his first start for Chiefs since horrific knee injury

Patrick Mahomes is officially back.

The three-time Super Bowl MVP was pictured strolling in at Arrowhead Stadium for Monday's season opener against the visiting Denver Broncos just nine months after a knee injury ended his 2025 season.

The torn ACL and LCL in Mahomes' 30-year-old left knee could have taken a year or longer to heal. Instead, Mahomes rehabbed relentlessly in an exhaustive effort to return for Week 1.

And after escaping training camp without any setbacks and skipping the preseason entirely, Mahomes' remarkable comeback is finally complete.

'It's incredible,' Chiefs general manager Brett Veach told ESPN of Mahomes' recovery. 'That's a guy that defines what leadership and what the face of a franchise should look like. He gave up an entire summer. He just attacked [the rehab]. Everybody in the building sees it. The level of sacrifice is something that has been an example throughout the entire organization.'

The foremost reason for Mahomes' expedited recovery was his decision to have knee surgery immediately after suffering the injury in December. So while he was naturally disappointed to be sidelined as the Chiefs were missing the playoffs for the first time since 2014, he still decided to fly to Dallas a day later for the procedure. 

For their part, the Broncos expect nothing less than the quarterback who has gone 13-2 against Denver since becoming the Chiefs' starter in 2018. 

'I think Patrick's gonna be Patrick,' Denver defensive coordinator Vance Joseph told reporters. 'In my opinion, he wouldn't play if he couldn't be himself. He's had a good summer and spring to kind of rehab, and from what I hear and what I read, he's feeling great. ... So, we'll get his best shot.'

'I'm going to probably say the same for Bo, you've seen enough things where he's going to be 100% and we're preparing for him at his best,' Broncos head coach Sean Payton agreed. 'We know how talented he is and I'm sure he's attacked the rehab the way Bo has - with completely different injuries. That's kind of our approach to it.'

One major concern entering the key Monday Night Football matchup is the Chiefs' offensive line.

Due to a back issue, second-year left tackle Josh Simmons has been declared out, meaning undrafted-free agent Kahlil Benson is expected to protect Mahomes' blind side against a Broncos team that led the NFL in sacks last season.

For his part, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid seemed optimistic about Benson, as he explained to reporters this week.

'He's done a nice job for us,' Reid said. 'He's obviously shown us that he has the ability to play. We wouldn't put him in there if we didn't think that. We've all been through that. I think when we first got hired, we thought we probably were pretty good at it, so I want his confidence to be that and go out and play and just use his abilities.'

The reigning AFC West champions are also getting their signal caller back on Monday as Bo Nix returns from his season-ending ankle injury that kept him out of Denver's AFC Championship loss to the New England Patriots.

But unlike Mahomes, Nix did play in the preseason, completing 6 of 9 passes for 76 yards and a touchdown.