Patrick Mahomes made a successful return to the field Monday night, helping the Kansas City Chiefs open their 2026 season with a 31-10 victory over the Denver Broncos at Arrowhead Stadium.
Mahomes had plenty to celebrate after returning nine months following surgery to repair the ACL and LCL injury he suffered last December in his left knee.
The Chiefs’ quarterback completed 15 of 27 passes for 184 yards and two touchdowns while adding 23 rushing yards and a score. Speaking after the game, Mahomes delivered a special message to Mexican fans during his postgame interview with ESPN’s John Sutcliffe, enthusiastically shouting, “¡Viva México!” ahead of the country’s Independence Day.
The moment quickly drew an enthusiastic and overwhelmingly positive response from ESPN Mexico’s audience, with fans celebrating Mahomes’ gesture and his interaction with Sutcliffe.
“Ja ja ja buena onda Patrick,” a user wrote. “Good vibes, Patrick.”
“Grande @PatrickMahomes. Grande @espnsutcliffe,” another one posted, alongside Mexican flags. “Huge @PatrickMahomes. Huge @espnsutcliffe.”
“Espectaculares ambos!” a third one commented. “Spectacular from both!”
Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images
On Monday, Kenneth Walker III carried much of Kansas City’s offensive workload, rushing the ball 23 times for 173 yards and two touchdowns in his Chiefs debut.
“That’s a good football team. They were in the AFC Championship Game for a reason,” Mahomes said of Denver. “For us to go out and win like that, that’s the first step. It shows all the work in training camp paid off. But how can we be better?”
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Added Mahomes: “It’s just the start of it. We’re still so early in the season. It’s a great win, but it’s just Week 1.”
The Chiefs will return to action on Sunday when they visit the Indianapolis Colts at 8:20 p.m. ET.
