Patrick Mahomes recovery vs. Bo Nix: How Chiefs, Broncos QB battled back to overcome season-ending injuries

Patrick Mahomes recovery vs. Bo Nix: How Chiefs, Broncos QB battled back to overcome season-ending injuries originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The final game of the Week 1 NFL slate will pit a pair of AFC West quarterbacks looking to make momentous returns to the gridiron after lengthy injury absences.

Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes and Broncos QB Bo Nix have drawn plenty of admirers, helping propel their teams to postseason contention — and in Mahomes’ case, championships — throughout their glittering careers.

Both Mahomes and Nix were confronted with hardship after sustaining season-ending injuries at the back end of the 2025 season. They’ll look to shake off the cobwebs when they joust against one another in 2026.

With that, here’s a look at Mahomes and Nix’s injury recoveries, journeys slated to take their next step on Monday Night Football.

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Patrick Mahomes vs. Bo Nix recovery

Mahomes and Nix saw their campaigns end after they suffered severe injuries during the 2025 season. Months on, the duo is prepared to lock horns under the bright lights of Monday Night Football. Here’s how the pairing overcame their maladies to return to the field in time for the start of the 2026 season.

What happened to Patrick Mahomes?

A dour 2025 campaign went from bad to worse for the Chiefs in Week 15 when Mahomes suffered a torn ACL in a loss to the Chargers. The Chiefs hurler attempted to evade a Los Angeles tackler, only to get his left leg caught in the turf as he fell to the canvas. Mahomes also suffered a torn LCL on the play. The injuries would rule him out for the remainder of the season.

Patrick Mahomes went down with an apparent knee injury and had to be helped to the locker room 🤕

Prayers up for the Chiefs QB 🙏pic.twitter.com/HMtiJRc5Gs

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) December 14, 2025

Mahomes underwent surgery on Dec. 15, 2025 — one day after he suffered his injury. Optimistic estimates would suggest that he could be back on the field in nine months, while a more conservative outlook would put his timetable for return at one year. Given the swiftness with which he went under the knife, it seems that Mahomes was eyeing Kansas City’s Week 1 tilt against the Broncos as his comeback date.

“Every player is different. Every sport is different. Every position is different,” Chiefs vice president of sports medicine and performance Rick Burkholder said in December. “[Mahomes] is so in tune to what he does, he does it a little quicker. Ballpark on this is nine months, but it could be a month or two more, a month or two less.”

Kansas City’s medical staff cleared Mahomes to fully participate during July’s training camp. He sported a compression sleeve and brace on his left knee upon his return to the field.

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How long did it take for Patrick Mahomes to recover?

Monday’s game comes nearly nine months to the day after Mahomes suffered his ACL tear. All told, he will have missed just two games as a result of his ailment. His return-to-practice timeline of seven months compares favorably to that of other aces who were cut down by ACL tears, including Joe Burrow (seven months), Deshaun Watson (six months) and Robert Griffin III (six months).

The Chiefs are likely to be cautious with Mahomes as he attempts to find his footing after the lengthiest layoff of his career. He’ll look to join Burrow, Adrian Peterson and Tom Brady as players who shined in the seasons that followed their ACL tears.

What happened to Bo Nix?

Nix was cut down by a right ankle fracture in Denver’s thrilling AFC divisional win over the Bills on Jan. 18. The Broncos standout sustained the injury on the Broncos’ final drive, landing awkwardly after veering to the side of the field on a quarterback sneak in the hopes of easing the burden on Broncos kicker Wil Lutz.

Based on Sean Payton’s comments, the ankle injury to Bo Nix happened on this designed quarterback run, which came two plays before he took a knee to set up the game-winning field goal. Nix didn’t appear injured and stayed in the game. Really unfortunate. pic.twitter.com/bBbwwwGwcV

— Dan Kelley (@DanKelley66) January 18, 2026

Nix didn’t miss a snap after suffering the injury. Denver head coach Sean Payton only noticed the ailment while congratulating Nix on the sideline after Lutz’ buzzer-beating field goal attempt found its target, according to ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio.

Doctors found that Nix broke a bone in his ankle. He was summarily ruled out for the remainder of the postseason, pushing understudy Jarrett Stidham to the top of the depth chart for the Broncos’ AFC Championship joust with the Patriots.

Nix underwent surgery less than a week after the divisional game went final. Payton tipped him with being back in Denver colors by the start of the 2026 season.

MORE: Bills No. 1,; Rams and Chargers plummet in Week 1 power rankings

How long did it take for Bo Nix to recover?

Nix was back on the field by the end of August, throwing a touchdown in Denver’s preseason loss to the Packers. He underwent an additional surgery in April to clean up bone spurs and was largely held out of the Broncos’ team drills in their offseason program. He did throw on a limited basis during June’s mandatory minicamp.

“[I was] excited, not really nervous,” Nix said after his preseason cameo, according to ESPN.  “I knew it was just going to be a few plays and wanted to see the production.”