The Week 15 home loss against the Los Angeles Chargers hurt the Kansas City Chiefs for many reasons. First, they were eliminated from the playoffs for the first time in over a decade. Second, their franchise quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, tore his left knee LCL and ACL to end his season. Now, the league’s ruling on the play that caused the injury would only add to the growing frustration.

According to the penalties announced on Saturday by the NFL’s GameDay Accountability report, the league did not fine the Chargers’ defensive end Da’Shawn Hand.

The incident occurred in the fourth quarter, with only two minutes remaining in regulation. On a first down at LAC 46, Mahomes faced pressure from three Chargers. When Hand came too close, the QB threw the ball away towards his teammate for an incomplete pass. Since the eight-year veteran was in motion, though, he hit Mahomes’ leg that the QB was already nursing due to discomfort from the Texans game in Week 14.

“I don’t know, but it didn’t look good,” said head coach Andy Reid after the game about Mahomes’ left knee.

Now, the league’s verdict will likely make KC fans feel the same way. However, according to the league, there was no illegal tackle or action during the play. Otherwise, this kind of action might have been part of a penalty like roughing the passer, since Mahomes had already thrown the ball, and the hit came later.

Under league protocol, Hand could still have been disciplined retroactively if the Office of Gameday Accountability had ruled the hit improper. That did not happen.

Interestingly, against the Texans, too, Mahomes’ opponent avoided the NFL’s microscope.

It happened with 3:24 left in the first half in Houston vs. the Chiefs’ Week 14 clash. On a 3rd & 5 play, Mahomes rolled right, buying time before throwing for a short completion to his wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster. Then, Texans’ defensive tackle Mario Edwards Jr. reached up and grabbed the quarterback’s facemask. The flag came out immediately. Fifteen yards, automatic first down. No argument there.

However, the NFL did not fine Edwards. For context, a first facemask violation typically carries a fine of up to $11,593.

In the end, it was the Chiefs and Mahomes who had to pay the price as the ACL tear ended the QB’s season and effectively the Chiefs’ hopes.

An ACL tear generally takes at least nine months to recover. With that, not only will Mahomes not play in the remaining couple of games for KC, but his return for the 2026 season’s Week 1 is also doubtful. However, being the player that he is, the quarterback is already giving positive updates to his fans.

Patrick Mahomes begins recovery

After getting an MRI that confirmed an ACL tear, Patrick Mahomes got on a plane and flew to Dallas to get a second opinion from Dr. Dan Cooper, an orthopedic surgeon. In their results, they also found an LCL tear along with the ACL tear. Since the Chiefs were already out of the playoffs this year, Mahomes did not waste time getting under the needle and getting his injury repaired.

After a successful surgery on December 15 to repair two torn ligaments in his left knee, he began post-surgery rehab there. But there are more updates to look forward to…

According to Player Safety Advocate and NFL insider Richard Johnson, Mahomes has already started running just one week after tearing his ACL. While many quarterbacks like Tom Brady and Peyton Manning have returned from major injuries quickly to provide their teams with the backbone, what Mahomes is already able to achieve is quite outworldly.

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That early progress is tied directly to how the Chiefs are structuring his rehab.

Team officials have emphasized that the injury was clean and fully repairable, which allowed Mahomes to begin controlled post-surgery work within 48 hours. The focus right now is not speed or explosiveness, but stability, muscle activation, and restoring movement patterns without stress on the joint. Most of that work is expected to continue in Kansas City under the supervision of the team’s medical staff.

Chiefs Vice President of Sports Medicine Rick Burkholder has projected a recovery window of roughly nine months, a timeline that would place Mahomes near the start of the 2026 season in mid-September. Burkholder noted that the range is not fixed and could shift depending on how Mahomes responds as rehab progresses.

Still, even within those guardrails, Mahomes’ approach has stood out.

Burkholder described him as treating rehab like a preparation week: early mornings, late nights, and a structured routine. Head coach Andy Reid echoed that sentiment while talking to ESPN, saying Mahomes was upbeat and eager to get moving almost immediately after surgery.

So, while everyone hopes Mahomes will be back by 2026, it is still a long road ahead, and nothing about the recovery will be rushed.