The Return of the King: The Three-Time Super Bowl MVP Has a Statement to Make in 2026
Media talking heads are shoveling dirt on the Kansas City Chiefs. In the wake of a catastrophic 2025 campaign in which the team went 1-9 in one-score games to go 6-11 overall, it seems all it takes is one bad season out of years of consecutive conference championship appearances and multiple Super Bowl victories for the lights to dim on a dynasty. When Patrick Mahomes went down in Week 15 against the Los Angeles Chargers with a torn ACL and LCL, it made final the darkest year of football the three-time Super Bowl MVP had ever taken part in. Since becoming a starter in 2018, it was the first year Mahomes had missed the playoffs after dominating the AFC West Division every year he was behind center previous to the Denver Broncos winning it last year. After a stunning return to full practice during a tireless and ongoing rehabilitation, the quarterback who will one day coast into the Hall of Fame on skates will return in 2026 to show the league and media he hasn’t gone anywhere.
When Tyreek Hill was traded to the Miami Dolphins in 2022, it was believed by many to be such a vital loss that it would set the franchise back a step. Mahomes had lost one half of his one-two punch, the other half being Travis Kelce. Could he possibly lose such a weapon and keep winning at the pace he was with Hill on the field? The answer to that question is storied NFL history and has been branded into Chiefs lore forever. Yes. The answer was yes. In 2022, the very year the Cheetah left, KC went 14-3 and beat the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl. Mahomes earned his second Super Bowl MVP and his second league MVP and threw for over 5,000 yards on the season. The Chiefs would then go back-to-back to defeat the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII; the two-time All-Pro would pick up another MVP and then make an appearance again in the Super Bowl the very next year with a chance at a historic third victory in a row, which he ultimately would not achieve against Philadelphia. This is currently the best résumé among active quarterbacks in the league, by far. One of the best résumés for a QB ever. It is undeniable. It is not yet finished.
2026 is not a redemption year. There is nothing to be redeemed. A team won’t win every season, and after such a dominant run, Kansas City was due for a downturn. No, this campaign will be one of reclamation, of reclaiming the division, the postseason, and the attention of naysayers. Not since 2018 has Mahomes had a consistent and feared running attack when Kareem Hunt ran for over 800 yards in just 11 games before being dismissed from the team. Now he has a fellow Super Bowl MVP in Kenneth Walker III toting the ball, backed up by a rebuilt running back room. With Andy Reid and Eric Bieniemy’s return as offensive coordinator, and three-time Lombardi winner Chad O’Shea coaching the receivers, Mahomes is somehow flying under the radar with championship-caliber coaching personnel. He’s been doubted before; he’s being doubted again, and he’ll take those doubts all the way to more Super Bowls.
