When the NFL released its season schedule in May, the league's calculated risk flashed.
In a vacuum, scheduling the Denver Broncos to face the Kansas City Chiefs for the "Monday Night Football" season opener made perfect sense. Two competitive teams with star quarterbacks and Super Bowl-winning coaches playing a division game? The intrigue was obvious.
But zoom out, and zoom back to May: The schedule-makers were banking on answers yet undelivered. The Chiefs' quarterback, two-time MVP Patrick Mahomes, was still rehabilitating from tearing his left ACL and LCL on Dec. 14. The Broncos' quarterback, Bo Nix, had undergone one surgery after a Jan. 17 ankle fracture and another in April to clean up bone spurs.
Neither injury seemed likely to threaten the quarterbacks' careers. But starting Week 1? Back in May, banking on that was more optimistic than certain.
Fast forward to now, and both Nix and Mahomes are on track to start Monday night after fully participating in their respective training camps. Nix dissolved concerns about his limitations early in camp when throwing a 48-yard pass on the run, Broncos head coach Sean Payton told Yahoo Sports. Nix also played in the preseason.
#chiefs #season #quarterbacks
In a vacuum, scheduling the Denver Broncos to face the Kansas City Chiefs for the "Monday Night Football" season opener made perfect sense. Two competitive teams with star quarterbacks and Super Bowl-winning coaches playing a division game? The intrigue was obvious.
But zoom out, and zoom back to May: The schedule-makers were banking on answers yet undelivered. The Chiefs' quarterback, two-time MVP Patrick Mahomes, was still rehabilitating from tearing his left ACL and LCL on Dec. 14. The Broncos' quarterback, Bo Nix, had undergone one surgery after a Jan. 17 ankle fracture and another in April to clean up bone spurs.
Neither injury seemed likely to threaten the quarterbacks' careers. But starting Week 1? Back in May, banking on that was more optimistic than certain.
Fast forward to now, and both Nix and Mahomes are on track to start Monday night after fully participating in their respective training camps. Nix dissolved concerns about his limitations early in camp when throwing a 48-yard pass on the run, Broncos head coach Sean Payton told Yahoo Sports. Nix also played in the preseason.
#chiefs #season #quarterbacks
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