Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes had team-first reaction after suffering torn ACL 

Injury was added to insult when the Kansas City Chiefs were eliminated from playoff contention via a 16-13 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, as star Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes went down with a season-ending torn ACL late in the game. 

Mahomes underwent successful knee surgery on Monday. Before that procedure wrapped up, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid shared that Mahomes was thinking about more than his personal legacy following Sunday's events. 

Patrick Mahomes felt like "he let people down"

"He’s in a good place," Reid said about Mahomes, per Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk. "He always feels like he let people down, but then he comes back, and he’s ready for the challenge ahead, which is what’s real right now. ...Been pretty good quarterbacks that have had this same injury and have done pretty well after they came back. So, he’ll get after it. And he’s got good people here to rehab him and, again, he’ll be right on top of all that."

Perhaps most notably, living legend Tom Brady suffered a torn ACL and MCL in September 2008. He ultimately made a full recovery and then increased his collection of Super Bowl rings from three to seven before he retired in February 2023. 

Of course, it's far too early to know when Mahomes will be cleared for football-related activities. On Monday, Brady acknowledged that Mahomes has "a tough rehab" ahead. 

Who will be the Chiefs' starting quarterback in Week 1 of the 2026 season? 

Chiefs general manager Brett Veach may need to find a temporary starter if Mahomes needs a full year to recover. On Monday, Reid wasn't ready to discuss how the team will handle its quarterback situation during the upcoming offseason. 

"We’ll cross that as we go," Reid explained. "Brett thinks of everything. He jumps in on it, and he’s well ahead of all of it. So, I’m not worried about it, that part of it. And then Pat, you never know how these rehabs go. I just know he’s got good people that he’ll be working with. I know how aggressive he is on things, and as long as the surgery goes well as expected, then I would expect a fairly quick recovery for him — just because of those factors."

Reid said that he had spoken with Mahomes a couple of times following Sunday's defeat. It sounds like the 30-year-old wants the Chiefs to keep the door open for him to resume playing as soon as Week 1 of the 2026 season.