Patrick Mahomes: I’m a competitor, I signed up for this, I’m going to go out and play football

Published September 10, 2026 03:57 PM Patrick Mahomes says he’s ready. While the Chiefs’ quarterback suffered a torn ACL in mid-December, he is set to start Monday night’s game against the Broncos to begin the 2026 season.“This has always been the goal — to get out there and play Week 1,” Mahomes said in his Thursday press conference. “It was a long offseason, a lot of work, a lot of great people around me — trainers, [my wife] Brittany, my family supporting me.“But now we get to go out there and play the sport that I love. So, super excited. I mean, to get to play at Arrowhead against a great opponent, and go out there and be myself.”Mahomes mentioned being himself on the field several times, which signals his readiness to utilize his legs whenever he feels he needs to. He noted a couple of moments in practice where he felt like he was back — precisely because he wasn’t thinking about his knee. One was a fourth-down play where he took off running and the other was when he was accidentally hit from behind. “Every coach was freaking out, but I was like, I’m glad — someone hit me and I didn’t just crumble,” Mahomes said. “Stuff like that is good for me. And so now it’s just about going out there and playing the game.”Those are moments where Mahomes has gotten the feeling that he can go out and execute.“I’ve built up the strength, I’ve built up all the days of rehab so I can be myself,” Mahomes said. “I’m going to keep myself out of harm’s way like I always will — not trying to take big hits and stuff like that. But I’m a competitor. I signed up for this, and I’m going to go out and play football. I think that’s how I’ve always rolled, no matter what it is. That’s how I’ll probably roll the rest of my career.“I think that’s what makes me who I am, is that I just love competing,” Mahomes added. “Playing quarterback is one thing. But you’ve got to love competing to have success in this league. You see that with the guys around this league nowadays. I’ll try not to lay any blocks unless it’s needed. But other than that, I’m going to go out and be myself and play football. We’ve built up all this strength over the offseason for that, so why not go out and maximize it?”Mahomes and the Chiefs will certainly be tested with Monday night’s matchup against the division-rival Broncos. Denver led the league with 68 sacks last season, which was only four sacks below the record of ’72, which was set by the 1984 Bears.