ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Patrick Mahomes watched the game from a suite high above the field at Arrowhead Stadium the last time the Denver Broncos were in town. The Kansas City Chiefs quarterback was 10 days removed from major surgery to repair ligaments in his left knee. He could only fidget on Christmas night as Kansas City, guided by third-string quarterback Chris Oladokun, lost on its home field to the Broncos for the first time in a decade.Less than 10 months later, the two-time league MVP will no longer be a spectator. The Broncos will be the first team to face rehabbed Mahomes when they visit the Chiefs for the final game of the Week 1 schedule Monday night. They don’t envision the three-time Super Bowl champion, who didn’t play in the preseason, easing his way off the starting line during his highly anticipated return.“Coming off an injury like that is pretty tough, but I don’t expect anything less from him than to be himself,” All-Pro cornerback Pat Surtain II said. He added, “It’s still Patrick Mahomes, at the end of the day.”Can the Broncos turn up the heat as Patrick Mahomes makes his return?Nick KosmiderMahomes has largely been a Broncos antagonist since making his first NFL start in Denver to close the 2017 season. He has never lost to them at home as a starter — a perfect 7-0. The Broncos, though, have won four out of the last five games overall between the two teams, including two of three when Mahomes started. The Broncos in those three games have sacked him a combined 10 times and limited him to 42 total rushing yards. Mahomes has thrown two touchdowns and three interceptions while posting a 77.2 passer rating in his last three starts in the series. Denver has pressured him on 38.7 percent of his dropbacks in that stretch. It’s a major reason Mahomes has stared at an average distance to gain on third downs of 7.4 yards.In short, coordinator Vance Joseph’s defense has routinely disrupted Mahomes in recent matchups. The sample is too small, though, for the Broncos to believe they have figured out a quarterback who led Kansas City to the AFC West title in his first seven seasons as a starter before last year’s 6-11 flop.“I think we’re looking at it and expecting someone who’s 100 percent, someone who’s moving well based on what limited footage you get,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said. “He’s going to be one of those guys that threatens you not only in the pocket but out of the pocket. So our approach has been to pay close attention to what we’ve seen historically film-wise, how we defend not only him, but their team.”One issue for Mahomes during his recent dip in performance against the Broncos is he hasn’t been supported by a strong running game, making it easy for Joseph to send an array of pressure looks the quarterback’s way on all downs. No running back for the Chiefs in Mahomes’ last three starts against the Broncos has rushed for more than 59 yards. It was part of a broader trend that saw Kansas City rank 31st among NFL teams across the past two seasons in yards per carry by running backs (3.7).Enter Kenneth Walker, the reigning Super Bowl MVP, who joined the Chiefs in free agency after four years with the Seattle Seahawks. The last time the Broncos faced Walker came when they visited Seattle for the 2024 season opener. He rushed 20 times for 103 yards, and 81 of those yards came during a third-quarter flurry that flipped the game for the Seahawks.“He’s an elite back in this league,” Broncos linebacker Alex Singleton said. “He really takes the ball anywhere on the field on any given play. You can’t just, like on a stretch play, set the front side. You’ve really got to have containment on the backside — and really all over. It really forces all 11 guys on the defense to be able to tackle him.”The Broncos, their struggles against Walker two years ago aside, rank first since the start of the 2024 season in TruMedia’s defensive rush success metric, limiting opposing running backs to 3.9 yards per carry. The matchup against Walker is an early test for a defense that enters the season without edge-setter Jonathan Cooper, the outside linebacker currently on the commissioner’s exempt list as he awaits trial on an assault charge. Controlling that battle will be key in Denver’s quest to test Mahomes’ mobility with various pressure looks — as they did while sacking him three times during his start against the Broncos in Denver in November.Mahomes, of course, is not the only quarterback returning from injury in this matchup. Broncos starter Bo Nix will be playing in his first real game since suffering a broken ankle in a January playoff win against the Buffalo Bills. The third-year quarterback has deftly handled the pressure from Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. He has posted a 108.8 passer rating in four matchups, Nix’s highest mark against any of the six teams he has played more than once in his career. Still, for all the quarterback has seen in his career, the atmosphere at Arrowhead on Monday will be a significant test for Nix in his first regular-season game working with Davis Webb as the offensive play caller. The Chiefs, as Mahomes put it earlier this offseason, will be aiming to rid themselves of the “bad taste” of a lost season. Payton expects nothing less than a menacing environment to greet his quarterback.“Steve has always done a great job disguising looks, giving you zone-pressure looks,” Payton said. “He’s not afraid to play zero (coverage). You’re going to have to have a real good protection plan and be disciplined in your approach, especially when you’re facing that defense on the road with the noise.”Mahomes and Nix appear set to battle each other at or near the top of the AFC West for the foreseeable future. The result of the next installment in this budding rivalry could come down to which player can most efficiently handle his return after an offseason of rehab.Taylor Rapp rejoins BroncosVeteran safety Taylor Rapp signed with the Broncos’ practice squad Monday. He was on the field as the team began its preparations for the Chiefs, less than two weeks after Denver released him so he could attend to a personal matter.Rapp, who has played seven NFL seasons with the Los Angeles Rams and Bills, initially signed with the Broncos on Aug. 20 after a tryout with the team. When the Broncos released him six days later, Payton said Rapp needed “a little time at home” and added there was a “better than good chance” the veteran would ultimately be back with the Broncos — and he was after another tryout over the weekend. To make room on the practice squad, the Broncos cut backup long snapper Luke Basso.The Broncos already have a plan for their Week 1 practice squad promotions, fullback Adam Prentice and long snapper Mitchell Fraboni, so Denver would need to create a spot on the active roster for Rapp if it wanted him to suit up for the opener.