Next Monday will mark exactly nine months to the day that Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes suffered a torn ACL in a game against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Broncos linebacker Alex Singleton can identify with that timeline.

On Sept. 22, 2024, Singleton suffered a knee injury in the first half at Tampa Bay and played the rest of the game. Singleton was diagnosed afterward with a torn ACL, and said he could have returned by June 22, 2025, if there was a game that day. So for that reason, Singleton expects not much to be different with Mahomes when the Chiefs play host to the Broncos on Monday Night Football to open the regular season.

“Since I could have played nine months after my ACL, I’m assuming he’s also going to be able to do so,” Singleton said Monday after Denver returned to practice at Broncos Park after taking three days off during the holiday weekend. “I’m expecting him to be him. He obviously has the right trainers, has the right mentality to come back and be ready to go and he wouldn’t play unless he was 100% because you just don’t want to put that out there. … So we’re preparing like he’s going to be 100% ready to go.”

Following his Dec. 14 injury, Mahomes is expected to make his return against the Broncos as the Chiefs try to get some revenge in 2026 following what happened in 2025. After Kansas City had won the AFC West nine straight years, the Broncos claimed the division in 2025 with a 14-3 record while the injury-riddled Chiefs stumbled to 6-11. That was their first losing season since 2012, the year before Andy Reid took over as head coach.

The Chiefs are a 2 ½-point favorite in a game that also marks the regular-season debut of running back Kenneth Walker III. After rushing for 1,027 yards last season with the Super Bowl-winning Seattle Seahawks, Walker signed a three-year, $43 million contract with Kansas City.

Throw in the Chiefs also having a stout defense, and Broncos coach Sean Payton knows it will be a tough task getting a win at Arrowhead Stadium.

“We have a ton of respect obviously for Andy, his staff and what they’ve accomplished,” Payton said. “It’ll be a big challenge, especially with the crowd noise in Kansas City this year.”

Before Payton arrived in 2023, Denver had lost 15 straight games to the Chiefs and the streak was extended to 16 in Payton’s first game against them. But the Broncos broke through with a win later in 2023 and overall Payton is 4-2 with Denver against Kansas City.

But in games in Kansas City with Mahomes under center, the Chiefs have won seven in a row in the series. They had an overall nine-game home winning streak against Denver until that was broken on Christmas night last year when the Broncos defeated the Chiefs 20-13. Kansas City played with third-string quarterback Chris Oladokun, who took over following injuries to both Mahomes and Gardner Minshew.

Payton last week said he expects Mahomes to be “100%” against the Broncos. He reiterated that Monday.

“We’re looking at it and expecting someone who’s 100%, someone who’s moving well based on what limited footage you get,” Payton said. “He’s going to be one of those guys that threatens you not only in the pocket, but out of the pocket. So our approach has been pay close attention to what we’ve seen historically film-wise, how we defend not only him, but their team.”

One thing, though, could be very different from what the Broncos see out of a team led by Mahomes. He now has in the backfield Walker, who has run for 1,000 yards twice in four NFL seasons.

The Chiefs haven’t had a 1,000-yard rusher since 2017, when Kareem Hunt had 1,327. That was the year before Mahomes became Kansas City’s starting quarterback.

“I think (Walker) has really good contact balance, vision with home-run speed,” Payton said. “He’s a heck of a football player.”

With that in mind, Singleton was asked if the Chiefs might look to run the ball more now, especially with Mahomes returning to action after not having played in the preseason.

“When you go get a back like (Walker), it is saying to the league and the entire NFL, ‘Hey, we want to run the ball and we’re going to show the league that we can,’” Singleton said. “And I think that’s what they’re going to come out and do. We’re going to prepare for that. … An offense that can run the ball first makes the game really hard to play. So our first goal is obviously always going to be to stop the run.”

Of course, even if the Broncos do stop the run, they will have to contend with a quarterback they expect to be 100%