Mahomes' Chiefs vs. Nix's Broncos Revealed for 1st Monday Night Football Game of 2026 NFL Schedule

The NFL seems to be anticipating Patrick Mahomes will be healthy for Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season, as the Kansas City Chiefs will be featured in the Monday Night Football opener.

Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, Mahomes and the Chiefs will face Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos in an AFC West showdown on Sept. 14.

Schefter noted it has not yet been determined by the league if the game will be played at Arrowhead Stadium or Empower Field with the final schedule still being finalized before Thursday's official release.

Mahomes tore his ACL and LCL on Dec. 14 against the Los Angeles Chargers. He had surgery the following day.

Rick Burkholder, Chiefs vice president of sports medicine and performance, said soon after that typical recovery time for the injuries is nine months, but "it could be a month or two less or a month or two longer."

Nine months from the day Mahomes had surgery would be right around the exact date of the Sept. 14 opener for the Chiefs.

Mahomes has said that being ready for Week 1 is his goal. Chiefs general manager Brett Veach recently updated his star quarterback's progress, telling SiriusXM NFL Radio on May 4 he is "way ahead of schedule" in his recovery.

If Mahomes is unable to play, the Chiefs added to their quarterback room this offseason by trading for Justin Fields and drafting Garrett Nussmeier.

On the other side of the field, the Broncos will have their starting quarterback back under center after an injury kept him out of their final game of the 2025 season.

Nix missed the AFC Championship Game due to a fractured ankle he suffered the previous week in a divisional round win over the Buffalo Bills. He recently underwent a second surgery on the ankle that was described as a clean-up.

Broncos head coach Sean Payton told reporters on May 9 that Nix could be on the field for some work during mandatory minicamp in June, and he is expected to be ready for full work by the time training camp begins in July.

The Broncos swept their two head-to-head meetings with the Chiefs last season en route to winning the AFC West. It marked their first time winning both matchups in the same season since 2014.

Kansas City had gone 13-1 in 14 matchups against the Broncos with Mahomes starting at quarterback from 2017 to '24.