Quarterback Patrick Mahomes has been recovering from a torn ACL and LCL sustained during a Week 15 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers last season. Mahomes is chasing a Week 1 comeback for the Kansas City Chiefs’ AFC West clash against the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football.
Analyst Doubts Chiefs Despite Patrick Mahomes’ Return
Despite Mahomes’ potential return to action, during Thursday’s segment of the “NFL Live” show, analyst Ben Solak was not confident that the Chiefs’ roster would hold up to the demands of a deep playoff run next season.
“I’m not sure I’m going to pick the Chiefs to win the West. I’m not sure they’re gonna be the second-best team in the West,” Solak said. “The Chargers and the Broncos are both really, really good from a roster perspective. We talked a lot about the offense, defensively, they’ve lost over 2,000 snaps in the secondary.
“Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson go to the Rams. Safety Bryan Cook goes to the Bengals. They’ve had pass rush issues for years now, right? They’re a tremendous blitzing team, but when they rush with four, they haven’t been able to get home, so they add Peter Woods, they add R. Mason Thomas in the draft, but we’re relying on a lot of rookies.”
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Solak highlighted Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s penchant for getting the best out of rookies, but doubted the defensive guru could turn the Chiefs into contenders in a loaded AFC West.
“And Steve Spagnuolo has been remarkable over his tenure with the Chiefs in getting production out of young guys… but you’re making a lot of bets on that side of the ball with some of those young players,” Solak added. “There are too many questions for the Chiefs in such a loaded division, such a loaded conference, for me to feel confident about them making a deep run.”
In 2025, the Chiefs missed the postseason for the first time since 2014 and the first time in Mahomes’ illustrious career. Before slumping to last season’s woeful 6-11 finish, coach Andy Reid’s Chiefs had won nine consecutive AFC West Division titles, appearing in five of the last six Super Bowl games to establish themselves as the NFL’s most recent dynasty.
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Mahomes Motivated To Make Week 1 Broncos Clash
In an interview with Yahoo Sports’ Caroline Fenton this week, Mahomes revealed his motivation to make his comeback against the Broncos in Week 1 of the upcoming season.
“That’s my goal,” Mahomes said. “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 in 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. So, 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.”
Mahomes had a mixed season last year, registering 3,587 passing yards on 62.7% completion, 22 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions, while adding 422 rushing yards and 5 scores and earning a PFN QB Impact score of 79.0, ranking him at No. 11 in the NFL.
