Patrick Mahomes has to be healing pretty Taylor Swiftly, don’t you think?
Or else why would the NFL bank on its most bankable quarterback, who tore his ACL last December, being ready for one of its most bankable windows (“Monday Night Football”) on one of its most bankable weeks (Week 1) and in one of its most bankable matchups (Broncos-Chiefs)?
Let’s get this out of the way first: The Grading The Week staff thinks the NFL is a giant, soulless, monolithic, cash-grabbing kaiju. But dang it, NFL officials sure know how to market and brand the living heck out of the most inane stuff. And at the most inane times of the year.
Fans can watch rookies run drills and pump iron at the scouting combine at Indy in February. The draft now looks (and sounds) like a football version of Lollapalooza. And the schedule release has somehow turned into one of the showcase events of the spring, elbowing its way onto the stage in the middle of the NBA and NHL’s postseasons with a mix of everything to
Speaking of fun, how about Rehab Bowl I? Between the Broncos and Chiefs, the best sports science staff wins. It’ll be like the pit crew competition during Indianapolis 500 weekend — only the wheels in this case are Bo Nix’s surgically-repaired right ankle and Mahomes’ new left knee.
Broncos getting Patrick Mahomes in Week 1 — B
Yes, the Broncos’ 2026 schedule is about 17 levels of pure brutality, especially before Halloween. So is it better for the Broncos to get the Chiefs out of the way early? And get Mahomes on the road out of the way early?
Well, historically, that glass is either half full or half empty, depending on which precedent you want to cherry-pick.
Good: Denver is 5-2 against the Chiefs in September since 2000. Less good: The Broncos went 1-1 when those matchups were played in KC.
Good: Mahomes has dropped two of his last three Week 1 contests. Less good: He’s 6-2 lifetime in openers as the Chiefs’ QB1, and 3-1 at home.
Good: Deshaun Watson and Robert Griffin III lost their debuts in the season immediately after they’d undergone major knee surgery. Less good: Tom Brady, Kyler Murray and Joe Burrow all won their “comeback” appearances.
Burrow’s 2020 season ended with damage to his ACL, MCL and PCL. In his first start of 2021, Cincy Joe completed 20 of 27 throws for two scores in an overtime win over Minnesota.
Murray blew out his knee in Week 14 of the ’22 season. During his ’23 debut, Murray beat Atlanta at home.
Brady tore his ACL early in 2008. In his 2009 lid-lifter, he rallied the Pats to a 25-24 win over Buffalo on “Monday Night football,” throwing for two scores over the game’s final 2:10.
OK, so that last one wouldn’t be a particularly good omen.
Although this nugget is: Before 2026, the last time the Broncos had to travel to Kansas City for a road opener was … 2015. Just sayin’.
Antonio Senzatela’s rebound — A-minus
The Rockies wrapped up their Keystone State road trip with a 2-4 record. Chase Dollander hurt his arm just as he was turning a corner. Michael Lorenzen and Coors Field look like a match made in Hades.
But, in the spirit of the Avs channeling all those 2022 vibes again, the baseball guys on the GTW crew are trying to keep it light and sunny when it comes to the news at 20th & Bleak.
After all, when wins are scarce, you celebrate the small ones, right? Mickey Moniak’s making a whale of an All-Star case, although catcher Hunter Goodman may pip him for that token Colorado spot. Starter Tomoyuki Sugano is keeping his walks down and some hopes high. And yet one of the most pleasant surprises of early May is how a guy the GTW kids had given up on — Antonio Senzatela — suddenly looks like the Rox’s most interesting potential deadline asset.
Colorado’s once-struggling righty is turning heads as a lockdown bullpen option. Heading into this weekend’s homestand, the 31-year-old had posted a 2,38 ERA over 11 1/3 innings at home this season, which is strong. He’d put up a 0.56 ERA in 16 innings on the road, which is even stronger. And, more to the point of a rebuild, tradeable.
