Patrick Mahomes' Comeback Just Got More Complicated vs. Broncos

Patrick Mahomes will be in the starting lineup on Monday night against the Denver Broncos, but in the quarterback's first game back since suffering a multi-ligament knee injury, the Kansas City Chiefs are likely to be without his blind-side protector.

The 33rd Team's Ari Meirov reported on Tuesday that Chiefs starting left tackle Josh Simmons is "unlikely to play" on Monday night against the Broncos due to a lingering back injury. Sans Simmons, the Chiefs would be forced to start undrafted rookie Khalil Benson at left tackle.

"LT Josh Simmons is unlikely to play Week 1 vs. the Broncos, which means undrafted rookie Khalil Benson would be poised to start. Simmons has been dealing with a back injury for a matter of weeks," Meirov posted on X.

#Chiefs LT Josh Simmons is unlikely to play Week 1 vs. the Broncos, which means undrafted rookie Khalil Benson would be poised to start.

Simmons has been dealing with a back injury for a matter of weeks. https://t.co/x35Utzf9js pic.twitter.com/M05pKDGJRW
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 8, 2026

Just as the Broncos are getting fully healthy coming out of the summer, the Chiefs are set to be missing a key starter on the offensive line.

What Andy Reid Said

The Chiefs have yet to confirm that Simmons is missing Week 1 against the Broncos, but Reid sounds very dubious about it.

"There's a good chance Josh [Simmons] doesn't play this week. I mean, that's where we're at," Reid said Tuesday via NFL On Prime's James Palmer. "So, we have that in our mind, and he has an issue there that he's working through, and I'm not putting any time restraint on when he can come back or when he could practice and how many practices he needs and all that.”

Reid is either playing 4D chess in the media or Simmons really isn't playing against Denver. It's shaping up to be Benson at left tackle.

Music to Nik Bonitto's Ears

Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper. — Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper converge on the Chiefs' quarterback. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

That's Bonitto's primary side of the field, and suffice it to say, he'll be licking his chops at the prospect of going against a rookie — undrafted or not — in Week 1. Bonitto has three career sacks on Mahomes, and the Pro Bowl edge rusher circled this season-opening matchup against the Chiefs months ago.

Bonitto has only been a starter for the past two years. Each season, he's earned accolades and has totaled 27.5 sacks over that span.

Bonitto's 2025 campaign was a career-year, finishing with 14 sacks. And that was with him playing with a cast on his hand.

There's a reason Bonitto has been tapped as a potential NFL sack champion and even Defensive Player of the Year in the national media this offseason. He's one of the league's top sack artists, and he's only just begun to scratch the surface of his potential.

The Mahomes Factor

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) calls the signals against the Broncos. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It will be interesting to see how Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph's pass-rush strategy will be informed by Benson starting at left tackle for Kansas City. Regardless of the shake-up at left tackle, we can expect Mahomes and the Chiefs to strive to get the ball out quickly in hopes of negating the Broncos' pass rush.

That's been the book on Joseph's defense since the Broncos led the NFL in sacks in 2024. The teams that have succeeded against Denver's defense have typically had quarterbacks capable of quickly getting the ball out.

On top of that, Joseph has noticed an increasing focus on play-action, with opponents again trying to exploit the Broncos' aggression by getting the defense moving one way, then play-faking with a throw the opposite direction. Joseph and the Broncos will have to be prepared for that and then some against Andy Reid and Mahomes.

This may be Mahomes's first game back from his unfortunate injury, but he's still Mahomes. He's not going to make it easy on anyone, especially the Broncos. It doesn't matter who's starting at left tackle; the Broncos have to respect Mahomes and the Chiefs' offense no differently than they have since he became the starter in 2018.

Xs and Os

Nik Bonitto and Travis Kelce — Travis Kelce tries to block Nik Bonitto at Arrowhead Stadium. | Scott Winters / IMAGO / Icon Sportswire

The Bonitto-Benson matchup will be one of the keys in this game. If Bonitto can win this matchup with his speed off the edge and his pass-rushing toolkit, it could force Mahomes into some bad decisions.

The Chiefs will try to insulate Mahomes by pounding the rock with their new running back Kenneth Walker III. From that, they'll try to build a potent play-action attack that utilizes All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce and Kansas City's trio of speedster wideouts.

I would also expect to see some double teams of Bonitto and a lot of chipping. Kelce will be asked to chip Bonitto, and the Chiefs will likely use some heavy tight-end sets. This is nothing new to Kelce.

While Bonitto attracts all that attention, it will be incumbent on his rush linebacker counterparts, especially Jonah Elliss, to win their one-on-one matchups while keeping one eye on containment. Mahomes is just returning, and though we don't yet know how mobile he'll be, he's one of the most elusive quarterbacks in the NFL and can make teams pay for allowing him to break contain.

The Broncos will have to walk that razor's edge. And that's never easy against the Chiefs. Don't expect it to be easy just because this is Mahomes's first game back and his left tackle is a rookie.

The Takeaway

Simmons likely being out is definitely a positive development for the Broncos, but they can't allow that, nor this being Mahomes's first game back, to put them to sleep on the Chiefs.

Given the history between these two teams and what we've heard from the coaches and players thus far, the Broncos are wide awake to all the possibilities and threats a Mahomes-led Chiefs offense can present. But Simmons missing this game can be categorized as a silver-lining development.

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