KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - A week before the Kansas City Chiefs kicked off the 2026 season, Patrick Mahomes told fans the Chiefs were going to return to their winning ways, just in a different style.
Those comments provided a pretty grand foreshadowing -- at least for Kansas City’s Week 1 performance.
Leaning heavily upon newly signed running back Kenneth Walker, the Chiefs ground and pounded the Denver Broncos in a 31-10 season-opening win on Monday Night Football.
Walker finished his Kansas City debut with 191 total yards of offense and two touchdowns, one in the receiving and one in the rushing department. Walker ran 23 times for 173 yards. He ran for a 60-yard touchdown and put the finishing touches on a dominant win with a 2-yard touchdown reception out of a unique two-quarterback formation early in the fourth quarter.
It didn’t take long for Mahomes to prove that he was back to full strength. On Kansas City’s first drive of the game, Mahomes capped a 10-play, 46-yard drive with a 15-yard touchdown run, scrambling out of a muddy pocket and diving for a score that tied for his longest rushing touchdown in his regular-season career.
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Mahomes said being successful on Kansas City’s first trip into the red zone in 2026 was a big key to a big night.
“I think last year we had some of those penalties in the red zone and we weren’t able to finish drives,” Mahomes said, “so to be able to do that against a defense I think was number one in the red zone last year it was big.
“And for me, running like I said I wasn’t going to, and then going for the end zone kind of gave me that confidence to go out there and be myself.”
The opening touchdown came immediately following the Broncos three-play opening drive, which ended with an interception by sixth overall pick Mansoor Delane.
Delane was banged up on the play when he was tackled by several members of the Broncos. The Chiefs said Delane injured his shoulder, and he did not return for the remainder of the game.
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Just before halftime, after the teams exchanged six consecutive drives that ended with a punt, Mahomes capped a 10-play, 80-yard drive with a quick pass to wide receiver Rashee Rice. The fourth-year pro out of SMU broke a tackle from Broncos cornerback Riley Moss, bounced off another Denver defender, and scampered to the corner to score a 13-yard touchdown that gave Kansas City a 14-7 lead.
In the second half, it was all Chiefs. Kansas City outscored Denver, 17-3, with Kansas City’s defense stringing together nine straight third down stops throughout the second quarter and into the second half.
Patrick Mahomes finished his return by going 15 for 27 for 184 yards, 2 touchdowns and an interception.
“My guys around me helped me,” Mahomes said. “I didn’t play my best football and we went out and beat a really good football team pretty well, and it’s because the guys around me stepped up.”
He also ran 6 times (twice for kneel-downs) for 24 yards and the game’s opening touchdown.
“It was great to get Patrick back in the mix there, knock a little rust off. I was proud of him and how he handled it,” Reid said of Mahomes’ return, which came nine months to the day he tore his ACL on the same field. “Your hat goes off to the guy. Phenomenal.”
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Walker gets involved
Early and often, head coach Andy Reid and the Chiefs showed off their shiny new free agent acquisition. Running back Kenneth Walker III, fresh off Super Bowl MVP honors in February, was tasked with a heavy workload.
In the first half alone, Walker touched the ball 16 times, carrying it 14 times for 89 yards, including a 28-yard rush on what turned out to be Rice’s go-ahead touchdown. The 25-year-old led the Chiefs in rushing and receiving yards in the first half, as Kansas City’s passing game struggled with receivers failing to get open early. By the end of the game, Walker had the most rushing yards by a Kansas City Chiefs running back since Jamaal Charles in 2012.
“What a day he had,” Reid said.
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Facing a fourth-and-1 in the third quarter, Walker was tasked with moving the chains and did all that and more. After bouncing the run to the outside, Walker ran for a 60-yard touchdown, the longest run by a Kansas City Chief since December of 2021.
“That fourth down and 1 was a thing of beauty,” Reid added.
Walker finished his Chiefs debut with 26 touches, 23 carries and three receptions.
“You never know going in how many times you’re going to give him the ball, that’s not a calculated thing,” Reid said. “For him to play the way he did I thought was spectacular. It was something you hoped for, but you got to see it that he was the main guy and he did a great job with it.”
Kelce makes history
In the third quarter, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce made some additional history. A 59-yard catch from Kelce moved him past Dallas Cowboys legend Jason Witten for the second-most receiving yards by a tight end in NFL history.
Kelce finished the game with three receptions for 71 yards.
Up next
Off a short week following the Monday night game, Kansas City stays home for Week 2 and hosts the Indianapolis Colts (0-1) on Sunday Night Football. Kickoff at Arrowhead on Sunday, Sept. 20, is scheduled for 7:20 p.m. CT.
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