Brittany Mahomes reacts to Patrick Mahomes’ stunning touchdown return after months away from the end zone (File photo/Getty Images)
How did Patrick Mahomes score a touchdown in his first drive back from a torn ACL?
Nine months after tearing both his ACL and LCL in a December loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback scored a rushing touchdown on his very first drive of the 2026 season Monday night against the Denver Broncos at Arrowhead Stadium. On a second-and-goal from the 15-yard line, Mahomes dropped back looking for an open receiver, found no one, shifted up in the pocket with a stutter-step, spotted a running lane, and dove into the end zone. It was a 15-yard scramble.
He had said during camp that he felt physically stronger than at any point in his career, but feeling ready in the weight room and actually scrambling into an end zone nine months after surgery are very different things. “He’s shown everything there,” Reid said. Patrick Mahomes did not ease his way back into the NFL. Watching from the stands, Brittany Mahomes grabbed her phone and filmed the roaring stadium crowd, then posted to her Instagram Stories with a simple, all-caps message: “HESSSSSS BACKKKKKKKK. The kind that, had you not been following the news, would give you no reason to think this man spent the better part of a year rehabbing a torn knee. Joe Buck summed it up on the broadcast immediately: “Same old Patrick. ” Mahomes had spent months staring at cinderblock walls inside the Chiefs’ training facility, putting in the rehabilitation work day after day. Andy Reid had given Mahomes the vote of confidence entering the week. “He hasn’t missed a day, as you know. He doesn’t have a brace on his leg and everything looks normal, running around the same way he’s always done and throwing the way he’s always done. Reid trusted what he had watched in practice. What happened on that opening drive validated every bit of it.
Monday night answered that question before the first quarter was even over.
The Chiefs had gone 6-11 in the 2025 season without him, missing the playoffs for the first time in Mahomes’ tenure.
Brittany had said she felt “so thankful” when Patrick was medically cleared to return, writing that sentiment on her Instagram Stories when the team shared video of him arriving at training camp in July. Mahomes himself had said at training camp: “I feel stronger than I’ve ever felt, as far as strength and lifting. That gratefulness made sense. The franchise that had reached three consecutive Super Bowls had spent an entire year watching a backup struggle in his place. I feel amazing. I’m excited just to be able to play football. There was genuine relief in those words, not the polished optimism of a scripted press conference. After months rehabbing away from his family, away from the field and the game that defines him, he meant it.